5 ms·

"In terms of cash, it was not worth it, if we count costs (without time) + taxes, then the “earnings” from those $632 will be lower than 0. I had lost the cash,

by evo_9 5y ago

"In terms of cash, it was not worth it, if we count costs (without time) + taxes, then the “earnings” from those $632 will be lower than 0. I had lost the cash, the first month is mostly the “best” month of sales, so my next month’s sales will be worse and worse, maybe a few % of my first month. Someone might be curious why I’m still keeping early access, working on the game, to be honest, I don’t believe in some magic “boom” and millions of players, I’m just fixing bugs, adding new things because… People have paid for the game :-} I could drop it because Yerba Mate Tycoon generated cash loss (working more on it, generate bigger losses). But people paid for it, it got some players, so I will work on it :-} I know that some developers drop in that situations game, it’s a logical step from a business side, but it’s against my work ethic. I never promised huge things, but I have to finish what I started."

jay_kyburz 5y ago
You can't really make a super niche game and expect it to sell well. Nobody knows what Yerba Mate is. Nobody is searching for Yerba Mate. Also, the video is funny, but it really doesn't tell us anything about what you do. It doesn't show us the consequences of any of your decisions. Anyhow, I wish the developer all the best. I hope sales to pick up and that they enjoyed making the game.
- vincentpants 5y ago
  I know what Yerba Mate is, I’m even drinking some now! I even managed to start a Yerba Mate scene at my old work. And considering how many dev stations have gourds among their vinyl toy collection makes me think there were a bunch of Canadian video game developers googling Yerba Mate at some point. I imagine this game can do well with a little bit of niche online community spelunking. We’re out there!
  - Krasnol 5y ago
    > Yerba Mate scene How did such a scene work? Did you have get togethers to talk about your Yerba Mate experiences? Are there Yearba Mate VIPs you worship together? Did you have Yerba Mate merchandise?
    - krustyburger 5y ago
      His scene seems to have attracted a sardonic detractor, so I’m inclined to believe it actually is real.
  - jay_kyburz 5y ago
    Perhaps the developer is just a but too ahead of the curve. In a few years time the game could huge. Also, I wonder how many people knew what spelunking was before Spelunky!
- hn_throwaway_99 5y ago
  > Nobody knows what Yerba Mate is. I think it may depend on your region. Obviously it is very well known in South America (I first became acquainted with it about 25 years ago after being friends with someone from South America who drank tereré, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terer%C3%A9 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terer%C3%A9, all the time), but now I see these, https://guayaki.com/our-product-family/ https://guayaki.com/our-product-family/, all over Whole Foods in Texas, so somebody must be drinking them here.
- ehnto 5y ago
  He mentions knowing about regional popularity of Yerba Mate, I think he was fully content with making a niche game for specific areas.
- leipert 5y ago
  Mate is ridiculously popular in IT and hacker circles in Germany. Drinks (like a sparkling lemonade) based on it have been around since the 1920s.
- animal531 5y ago
  I agree with the poster. If he'd for example renamed it to Tea Tycoon and made it about tea blends then I'd imagine that he'd be doing at least 10x better.
- pbhjpbhj 5y ago
  Isn't this the effect that the web does make work, super-niche things work globally that won't work locally. I've heard of it, Yerba mate, but I've never seen it mentioned anywhere offline (UK). Tea Tycoon, I'd have to presume has been done? Otherwise, it sounds like something people would go for.
bemmu 5y ago
This type of niche game might actually be the exception where long-term sales are more than the initial sales. I would rather own this game than yet another clone of some overdone theme with similar sales up to this point. Some reasons: * If anyone were to search for such a game, this will be the top result by default, so there might be a trickle of sales over time that just doesn't stop. * This game may trend on some relevant subreddit/twitter clique/forum and get later sales boosts from that. * If you have a Yerba Mate blog or podcast, this is basically the only game you can even feature if you wanted to talk about something new. My next step would be to make a spreadsheet of anything Yerba Mate -related that could possibly feature the game and contact them all.

by evo_9 5y ago

jay_kyburz 5y ago

You can't really make a super niche game and expect it to sell well. Nobody knows what Yerba Mate is. Nobody is searching for Yerba Mate. Also, the video is funny, but it really doesn't tell us anything about what you do. It doesn't show us the consequences of any of your decisions. Anyhow, I wish the developer all the best. I hope sales to pick up and that they enjoyed making the game.

vincentpants 5y ago
I know what Yerba Mate is, I’m even drinking some now! I even managed to start a Yerba Mate scene at my old work. And considering how many dev stations have gourds among their vinyl toy collection makes me think there were a bunch of Canadian video game developers googling Yerba Mate at some point. I imagine this game can do well with a little bit of niche online community spelunking. We’re out there!
- Krasnol 5y ago
  > Yerba Mate scene How did such a scene work? Did you have get togethers to talk about your Yerba Mate experiences? Are there Yearba Mate VIPs you worship together? Did you have Yerba Mate merchandise?
  - krustyburger 5y ago
    His scene seems to have attracted a sardonic detractor, so I’m inclined to believe it actually is real.
- jay_kyburz 5y ago
  Perhaps the developer is just a but too ahead of the curve. In a few years time the game could huge. Also, I wonder how many people knew what spelunking was before Spelunky!
hn_throwaway_99 5y ago
> Nobody knows what Yerba Mate is. I think it may depend on your region. Obviously it is very well known in South America (I first became acquainted with it about 25 years ago after being friends with someone from South America who drank tereré, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terer%C3%A9 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terer%C3%A9, all the time), but now I see these, https://guayaki.com/our-product-family/ https://guayaki.com/our-product-family/, all over Whole Foods in Texas, so somebody must be drinking them here.
ehnto 5y ago
He mentions knowing about regional popularity of Yerba Mate, I think he was fully content with making a niche game for specific areas.
leipert 5y ago
Mate is ridiculously popular in IT and hacker circles in Germany. Drinks (like a sparkling lemonade) based on it have been around since the 1920s.
animal531 5y ago
I agree with the poster. If he'd for example renamed it to Tea Tycoon and made it about tea blends then I'd imagine that he'd be doing at least 10x better.
pbhjpbhj 5y ago
Isn't this the effect that the web does make work, super-niche things work globally that won't work locally. I've heard of it, Yerba mate, but I've never seen it mentioned anywhere offline (UK). Tea Tycoon, I'd have to presume has been done? Otherwise, it sounds like something people would go for.

bemmu 5y ago

This type of niche game might actually be the exception where long-term sales are more than the initial sales. I would rather own this game than yet another clone of some overdone theme with similar sales up to this point. Some reasons: * If anyone were to search for such a game, this will be the top result by default, so there might be a trickle of sales over time that just doesn't stop. * This game may trend on some relevant subreddit/twitter clique/forum and get later sales boosts from that. * If you have a Yerba Mate blog or podcast, this is basically the only game you can even feature if you wanted to talk about something new. My next step would be to make a spreadsheet of anything Yerba Mate -related that could possibly feature the game and contact them all.