Wow! This is so interesting! I did wonder if
My Cup of Coffee had done better/worse than more traditional VNs, but it seems like for pwyw we're all fairly similar. For the record, I didn't expect any tips at all so I'm well chuffed that people did tip (even if one of them was a very generous close friend)! And if the pwyw model didn't exist I would've put the game up for free, because ultimately I just wanted people to play it. ^_^
Steamgirl: 580 downloads - 0.03 per download - $1.50 suggested
saguaro: 223 downloads - 0.05 per download - $1 suggested
Fox Lee: 1,546 downloads - 0.01 per download - $1 suggested
sendo: 408 downloads - 0.01 per download - $1 suggested
ibukichan: 763 downloads - 0.02 per download - $1 suggested
Camille: 12,646 - 0.11 per download - $5 suggested
Kuroonehalf: 1,383 - 0.04 per download - $1 suggested
The Blind Griffin's an interesting outlier - clearly the various decisions made (such as making the suggested price $5, other things mentioned, etc) have made a difference. But also (and I hope no one else takes offense to this) I think it's probably a more polished, bigger game than the others. It's kind of a shame to see so little reward for the creators.
It would be really interesting to find out what the stats are like for VNs which charge something, say $1. Do they still get the same number of sales? More? Less?
And then for people who give an incentive, like soundtrack, or artbook or something extra.
As for Cinders - it's truly amazing! The best selling EVN of all time, right? I really loved the game. Shame I can't find the article by Tom which originally mentioned the power of being able to share sales stats. I wonder how much the art style helped bring it to a broader audience? Many people I know find the anime aesthetic creepy/weird, but the aesthetic of Cinders beautiful...