Just noticed the OUYA store has been given an update.
Must say I'm not a fan of the idea of a "Trending" section. If it is what I think, it'll basically serve the same function as the Top Downloaded Charts on the various mobile app stores.
Anything that has the feedback cycle whereby something that is popular gets more downloads / playtime, and so gets more visibility, and in turn more downloads, really works against discoverability by solidifying the position of a small selection of games that do make it into the list.
It also damages the chances of indies getting a fair go at the store, without being drowned out by larger companies who can just plain spend more on marketing to get their games more popular in the first place
Edit: Oh, and also unless the metrics used are complicated enough that no one can figure them out, it could encourage game devs to manipulate the system (for example, encouraging people to leave their game running when they go afk by giving rewards for long play sessions)
I've not seen what all categories they have in the Ouya store. Does there also happen to be a "New" games section? If so I think they will be fine, but I would still try to give the "New" games section more attention than "Trending". Since as you said, the game would already be popular, so why does it need more visibility?
I don't think Trending will act just like a Top Downloads chart - hopefully it will be more like Twitters trending topics, which tend to be based on keywords that show an increase in frequency above their average, rather than overall frequency (otherwise certain popular hashtags would always dominate the trending list all the time). So if something spikes in popularity over a few days, I'd expect it to appear in Trending (the amount that downloads, play time, sales, recency of updates or other things count toward popularity is the special sauce that will make it work, or not).
AFAIK Twitter is pretty tight lipped about and details of their trending algorithm to prevent gaming the system, and I presume Ouya Inc might have to take the same approach. I think if one (weighted) metric was how much people were actually paying for a game (in terms of IAP), this would help prevent gaming of the system, since players that might be casually persuaded to skew the stats are unlikely to cough up money to do it ... and if they are enthused enough to pay, the game probably deserves to be highlighted.
The word trending tends to mean a recent short-term burst of activity, not so much like top grossing or whatever.. but even so from day to day the iPhone charts fluctuate a bit via trending and yet the big-name big-money games still stay near the top. But you can't really avoid that if it's in any way based on number of plays or sales or whatever. But since Ouya isn't having prices in the store it could be interesting to find out what it trends based upon, like longevity, number of plays, recentness, whatever.
If I recall correctly, the OUYA team stated some time ago that there was going to be a system in place to discover games, based not only on downloads but on more variables like play time, the number of times players return to that game, frequency of play sessions, etc. So I guess taht's what the "Trending" section is about.
The more subtle point I just realised is that at least half of the problem is not what you're measuring (whether it be downloads, revenue or 'engagement' and 'time people have spent playing it'). It's a problem of how you present that data.
When things are in a list, they are by their very nature ranked. Even if you don't put a number next to them, the assumption is that the top of the list is #1 followed by #2, #3 etc. That changes consumer behaviour. #1 is assumed to be the best, #2 will probably get half the attention of #1, #3 half again.
This is in contrast to the way the "Genre" section of the store is laid out. If top left is #1, it isn't obvious which game is #2 and #3
This is in contrast to the way the "Genre" section of the store is laid out. If top left is #1, it isn't obvious which game is #2 and #3
Is that necessarily a bad thing?
Also, I'd wager drop-off has a lot to do with UI responsiveness as well; the Xbox is absolutely awful in this respect, though iOS/Android aren't much better. Significant lag when inspecting a specific title and returning to the list discourages exploration. I really hope the OUYA team has the sense to background pre-load the detailed info for the currently displayed set, and make the store UI as fluid and responsive as possible. As anyone who's done any sort of internet sales knows, less friction = more sales.
A couple additional features that would really help IMO is a dedicated button to queue up a download without prompts, and having the right stick cycle through the icon image as well as screenshots right from the list.
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If I recall correctly, the OUYA team stated some time ago that there was going to be a system in place to discover games, based not only on downloads but on more variables like play time, the number of times players return to that game, frequency of play sessions, etc. So I guess taht's what the "Trending" section is about.
When things are in a list, they are by their very nature ranked. Even if you don't put a number next to them, the assumption is that the top of the list is #1 followed by #2, #3 etc. That changes consumer behaviour. #1 is assumed to be the best, #2 will probably get half the attention of #1, #3 half again.
This is in contrast to the way the "Genre" section of the store is laid out. If top left is #1, it isn't obvious which game is #2 and #3
Edit: So someone asked me elsewhere to back this stuff up with a bit more data:
http://baymard.com/blog/serial-position-effect (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serial_position_effect)
http://journal.sjdm.org/11/11407/jdm11407.html
I guess I exaggerated when I said 50% drop off, but it's still a big fall as you go down the list
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