Life simulator apps designed for children ages 6–8 show distinct traits in their App Store content. As the category suggests, the assets focus on different life experiences, with content designed to keep the storyline exciting through character and detail-rich content. These apps emphasize creativity and immersive gamer motivations to appeal to their audience and drive app installs. Let’s dive in deeper below.
Design
The ability to express oneself through multiple options can be seen ranked highest as a selling point, particularly through the character’s clothing and appearance choices. This is evident in the app preview videos, which start with this content, and early screenshots support this finding. Showing multiple options to choose from indicates that the child can practice decision-making within the app.
App preview video for Avatar World®
Discovery
Another key selling point encouraging app installs is discovery. This is achieved by visualizing various life situations and environments. Both the app preview videos and the screenshot sets showcase a variety of interesting settings, from hair salons to parties, and grocery stores to outdoor activities.
Notably, the use of multiple bright colors draws attention to details. Especially in Barbie Dreamhouse Adventures and Avatar World® the icons and screenshots from all top apps are content-rich in design, encouraging viewers to install the app and explore further.
Barbie Dreamhouse Adventures screenshots
Immersion
Tagline wording as well as strong character and location focus combined with conveyed interaction opportunities make immersion one of the key selling points. One can analyse the apps messaging fantasy of being someone else in another world.
Toca Boca World screenshots
Icon contents as well as screenshots are primarily character-led, making the characters familiar to viewers already before installing the app. The secondary focus in icons is on items or pets, held by characters, conveying life skills through accountability.
Summary
To summarize, the top 3 kids’ life simulator apps aim to get installs by highlighting design, discovery, and immersive functions. They simulate everyday life situations as well as special events such as parties, keeping children interested and excited to interact with the app.
These assets are analyzed in the context of the Apple App Store of the top 3 apps in the US market within this category in June 2024. The apps are Toca Boca World, Barbie Dreamhouse Adventures, and Avatar World®.
