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Old 07-28-2012, 09:07 AM   #1914
Jim Sachs
Developer
 
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Join Date: Dec 2000

Location: Southern Oregon
Posts: 9,768
That slogan should be "If you advertise it, they will come".

There are still far more computer users who don't have the Aquarium than do. Many would buy it, but don't know about it. When there were still computer stores displaying the CD version of the program on their shelves and monitors, sales were fantastic. Now that all those stores have either gone out of business (like CompUSA, Circuit City, and nearly all neighborhood computer stores), or don't sell or display software on their monitors any more (like Costco and Sam's Club).

There are many who say, "Well, you wrote one of the most popular computer programs of all time, which lasted for years instead of weeks like most programs. You should have invested the money better". These people are absolutely right, but that doesn't really help going forward.

The popular impression is that sales would improve if I added more creatures and objects to the tank, but this is not substantiated by any evidence. Creating the last 3 fish, the Featherduster coral, the Moray Eel, the entire 3D environment, and the moving background objects all had no noticeable effect on sales. On the other hand, the advertising that Mindspark has been doing has resulted in doubling of sales for the past month. We'd still need another 5X increase to even approach what they were in the old days, but it is encouraging and may be enough to justify some new development.
Jim Sachs
Creator of SereneScreen Aquarium
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