in-app advertising

Creating a mobile game requires plenty of hard work and creativity. But creating the game itself is just the first step in a long and involved process that developers hope will result in a dedicated--even addicted--fan base. How can developers migrate their customers from casual players to die-hard gamers? A number of developers offer their views.

Instead of viewing customers as just part of the mass market, new developer tools help highlight individuals with unique needs, expectations, tastes and potential for engagement. While most developers don't have the technology or manpower to deal with people on a one-on-one basis, they may be able to sort users in a more knowledgeable way. This, in a nutshell, is mobile app audience segmentation, and it's an industry segment that's likely to mature significantly in the next few years.

AppStori, which is still in beta, is among a handful of firms offering various forms of crowdsourcing in the mobile app space, where developers work directly with their target audience to solicit ideas and improvements for their games and tools and in the process, provide more transparency to the development process.

The most popular gaming apps challenge players to chase after pigs and aliens, destroy fruit and even play god. For the developers who make them, there's an even bigger challenge: finding a path to profitability.