There are certain big iPhone publishers that have been so successful (like Chillingo that was just bought) that they are able to drive lots of new downloads for new launches (and thus get them on the Top charts which will drive loads of more downloads) by cross-promoting new games to their existing user base. There are also certain other cross-promotion and marketing tools (like Tapjoy, Scoreloop, and Aurora Feint – or indeed Applifier on Facebook)
The featuring and app sorting process is currently based on manual editorial judgment, with new games added to its database every day and the feature lists being refreshed.
The Game Trail has picked up really good traction – the app was last week in the top 10 of the US App Store, peaking at #2 in Entertainment and #7 in Top Apps.
Tommy Palm, CEO of The Game Trail and Fabrication Games, said the app was generating 30,000 to 50,000 new downloads during the chart peak, and that the app is serving up to “5 years of game play video” every day. Majority of the users come from the US, with Brazil, UK, Germany, and Korea being also strong countries.
Palm said that the key to The Game Trail’s growth has seemed to be their YouTube channel, which has grown a lot in popularity and generated awareness. They haven’t really spent any money on any other type of marketing so far.
Fabrication Games was born as a management buy-out by Alexander Ekvall (on the left in the photo) and Tommy Palm from Swedish skill gaming company Jadestone. The duo had been making mobile games for many years as part of Jadestone, which had also been founded by Tommy Palm in 1999. Palm explained they further spinned off The Game Trail last spring as a new startup to attract some angel seed funding for the firm.