No Extra Robots’ excessive downhill freeriding expertise Descenders ($9.99) simply hit cellular platforms this month by Noodlecake Video games as a premium launch. That is No Extra Robots’ first sport on cellular. Following the sport’s launch on each iOS and Android, I had an opportunity to speak to No Extra Robots Firm Director Mike Rose in regards to the bringing Descenders to cellular, the response up to now, how they labored with Noodlecake Video games, potential future cellular ports, subscription companies, and much more.
TouchArcade: How has the response been to Descenders on cellular up to now?
Mike Rose: It’s been respectable! On iOS there’s been just about zero points, so gross sales have trundled alongside and the rankings are good. On Android it’s been a distinct story. With what number of completely different Android gadgets there are, it’s ended up being the case {that a} bunch of gadgets have points. So we’re having to do a bunch of labor to suss that every one out. However regardless, the Android model has been promoting decently, even higher than the iOS model! We’re nonetheless fairly pleased with it.
TA: What made you resolve to convey Descenders to cellular as No Extra Robots’ first title on the platform?
MR: In our quest to beat Skyrim to “sport on most platforms ever”, it made sense that cellular can be subsequent. We additionally had been very satisfied as soon as we noticed the job that Plastic Fern did translating the controls to the contact display. It’s nonetheless sort of insane to me how good the controls really feel on the contact display.
TA: Descenders has seen releases on principally the whole lot, and has even been in subscription companies like Xbox Sport Go. You’ve previously talked about how Xbox Sport Go has been nice for the sport. How has the response been on the service because the Xbox Sequence X improve arrived?
MR: We put out a Sequence X improve final summer time, and that went down very nicely. It upped the variety of gamers in a foyer from 4 to eight, and it added 4K help, 120fps help, the works. Having a very next-gen model of Descenders has undoubtedly helped, particularly as an increasing number of folks lastly get their palms on the brand new {hardware}.
TA: Noodlecake Video games is superior, however how did you find yourself working with them for this port and publishing it on cellular?
MR: I used to be attempting to suss out how you can get Descenders on cellular, particularly with our lack of know-how out there, and I ended up doing what I all the time do: utilizing my Twitter account to search out assist. I tweeted out we had been in search of a accomplice, and Noodlecake landed in my DMs. Had one chat with them, and it was clear fairly rapidly that they labored in a really comparable method to us. So all of it panned out fairly rapidly from that time.
TA: How was it working with Noodlecake Video games on porting Descenders to cellular?
MR: Superb — they dealt with just about the whole lot, so we solely needed to leap in on the finish and begin hooking up our group with the sport’s launch. Positively hoping to work with them on future NMR titles for cellular.
TA: Prior to now, you talked about going with a $24.99 value level would make gamers assume Descenders gives the next high quality than different titles (or one thing to that diploma). Did that additionally apply to why the cellular model is priced at $9.99?
MR: Yeah we wished to go along with the next value on cellular, partially to point out that we imply enterprise, partially to point out that we’ve made a sport that’s real high quality, and partially as a f*ck you to the cellular area too. We’ve had an enormous quantity of backlash to it, particularly from Android customers, and but persons are nonetheless shopping for it for $10, and it’s promoting simply as many copies as on the console platforms. So clearly it’s extra of a public factor to whine in regards to the value of cellular video games, but there’s nonetheless loads of people who find themselves keen to help cellular video games with the next value.
TA: Will updates for all platforms arrive on the similar time going ahead?
MR: That’s the plan! We plan to place some extra cellular updates out too, simply so as to add some new bike parks and that form of factor.
TA: Did you think about releasing Descenders on a subscription service for cellular or was the plan to all the time have it launch as a premium purchase as soon as and play sport?
MR: We undoubtedly thought-about it, the truth is we had been speaking to somebody large in regards to the sport being on their platform. However the talks dragged and dragged to the purpose that the sport was able to go on cellular for weeks, however we had been simply sat ready for them to reply us extra rapidly. So we determined to screw that and simply go for it. Large companies are simply so bloody sluggish! Actually undecided how any of them ever get something performed.
TA: How is the sport doing on Android in comparison with iOS?
MR: Yeah as I discussed, surprisingly nicely! Particularly contemplating that the consumer score has taken successful as a consequence of points on sure telephones. We’re hoping that when we now have these points sorted and the score begins climbing once more, we’ll see gross sales go up with that too.
TA: Have you ever had any shocking suggestions from cellular gamers up to now that you just didn’t count on?
MR: One of the troublesome issues on the launch, was that 99.9% of Android customers assumed that the sport was going to be free. So when it launched with a price ticket, some folks obtained extraordinarily nasty all throughout social media about it. We had messages on Instagram, Tiktok, Reddit, our Discord server, everywhere, primarily saying “how dare you cost cash to your sport.” Loads of backseat analysts letting us know that every one we wanted to do was make the sport free, put some advertisements in it, and we’d make tens of millions! Can’t imagine we didn’t consider that.
It’s hilarious, after all, that for years all of us spent so lengthy complaining about shitty free-to-play video games with gacha mechanics, pay-to-win, obtrusive advertisements, and screamed “simply let me pay to play the sport!!”… and now it’s been utterly reversed. A complete platform of avid gamers has been taught to not pay for video games, and as an alternative beg for advertisements. So simply this as soon as, you’ll be able to simply give us cash for our sport, after which we’ll provide you with a full, uninterrupted console-quality sport.
TA: What No Extra Robots sport would you wish to see on cellular sooner or later?
MR: Oh the objective is to convey as a lot of them as doable to cellular. I reckon it’s probably we’ll sort out the likes of ‘Sure, Your Grace‘, ‘Let’s Construct a Zoo’, ‘Nowhere Prophet’ and ‘Spirittea’ subsequent!
Because of Mike Rose of No Extra Robots for his time following the launch of Descenders on cellular.
