Apple’s snuck some additional marketing pizzazz onto the App Store today with the release of Clumsy Ninja. Frederico Viticci noticed that along with the usual app screenshots, the game also had embeded video trailers.
Clumsy Ninja’s video opens the built-in iOS media player in portrait mode, and it features music playing in the background with no voiceover or custom App Store branding. It is, effectively, a game trailer on the App Store; right now, it’s only available in the special Featured page for the app, as the app’s regular App Store page doesn’t show the trailer.
On the surface the feature helps developers convey exactly what an App or game is about to potential buyers, but deeper down it’s a way for consumers to figure out if they’re being scammed by some jackass developer who’s piggy backing on app naming conventions to make a buck or two through obfuscatory practices.
It’s as win-win-win as you can get these days. That said, why the heck has it taken Apple so long to include such a fantastic marketing tool on the App Store? I’ve been calling for something like this for a while now, but can’t find the article where I mentioned it.
