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Should I ship an Arcade Basketball game?
Basketball + Arcade
Of 31 developers who shipped an Arcade Basketball game in the last 2 years: 3 in 10 made under est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method., the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method., 1 in 4 cleared est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method., 1 in 20 cleared est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 32 more are announced, ×2.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $720, ×0.5 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $180. 32 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.3 per shipper, while revenue is up 200% on the market.
| Bottom 30% | $178 (exactly $178) |
|---|---|
| Median | $719 (exactly $719) |
| Top 25% | $5.7k (exactly $5,694) |
| Top 5% | $316k (exactly $315,689) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 31 |
| Released games | 95 |
| Announced | 32 |
| Effort | 7 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| Typical price | $6.99 |
momentum: how a niche's revenue percentiles and developer count moved between two equal, adjacent periods, divided by the market's own move. See method., 12 months: revenue up 200% on the market, supply 20% fewer developers than the period before.
Free games: 13%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Basketball
- effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band
- Arcade
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
- Systems
- Basketball, Arcade; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Sports, Action, Local Multiplayer
- Price point
- $6.99 typical · top 25% priced $34.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Cute, Pixel Graphics
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $34.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.
The top 10 games average 81% positive over 2,217 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $180. Nearly all of the 21 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 32 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.3 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Basketball with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + PvPFair
- + SimulationFair
- + PhysicsLong shot
- + Character CustomizationPoor odds
- + Local MultiplayerPoor odds
- + ManagementPoor odds
- + StrategyPoor odds
- + SportsPoor odds
- + ActionPoor odds
- + AdventureDead
- + Immersive SimDead
- + PlatformerDead
Comparable games
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | FlatOut 2 | older | $9.99 | 19,466 95% | 584k | $5.8M (exactly $5,833,960) | Bugbear Entertainment, ZOOM Platform Me… (Bugbear Entertainment, ZOOM Platform Media, Jordan Freeman Group) |
| | NBA THE RUN | $29.99 | 900 68% | 27k | $810k (exactly $809,730) | Play by Play Studios | |
| | All-In-One Sports VR | older | $19.99 | 700 84% | 21k | $420k (exactly $419,790) | Appnori Inc. |
| | New Retro Arcade: Neon | older | $19.99 | 579 78% | 17k | $347k (exactly $347,226) | Digital Cybercherries |
| | Hoop Land | · EA | $14.99 | 702 96% | 21k | $316k (exactly $315,689) | Koality Game |
| | Double Dragon Revive | $34.99 | 157 63% | 4.7k | $165k (exactly $164,803) | YUKE’S | |
| | Salamander County Public Television | older | $9.99 | 233 96% | 7.0k | $70k (exactly $69,830) | Tinzone Games |
| | Basketball Classics | older | $9.99 | 176 92% | 5.3k | $53k (exactly $52,747) | Namo Gamo |
| | KUNKUN Defender 2 | $4.99 | 294 94% | 8.8k | $44k (exactly $44,012) | Seal | |
| | RoboDunk | older | $14.99 | 90 95% | 2.7k | $40k (exactly $40,473) | Jollypunch Games |
| | Lacrosse 26 | $34.99 | 17 88% | 510 | $18k (exactly $17,845) | Crosse Studios | |
| | Full Court Heroes | · EA | $15.99 | 26 38% | 780 | $12k (exactly $12,472) | Tireswing Games |
| | Hoop Fighters: Party Basketball | · EA | $3.99 | 71 88% | 2.1k | $8.5k (exactly $8,499) | Team K6 |
| | Dunkadillo | $9.99 | 19 100% | 570 | $5.7k (exactly $5,694) | Thomas K. Young | |
| | Layup Legends™ | $9.99 | 17 100% | 510 | $5.1k (exactly $5,095) | Luke Stanback | |
| | Dunk Dunk | $6.99 | 14 92% | 420 | $2.9k (exactly $2,936) | Badgerhammer Limited |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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