Apple Event September 9th and App Store Market Success
posted by arn on September 1st, 2009 12:16 PM EDT in News
The big news yesterday was that Apple had scheduled a media event on September 9th where they are widely expected to introduce new iPods. The new iPod Touches are likely to be upgraded to similar specs as the iPhone 3GS, incorporating the faster ARM processors and improved 3D graphics hardware.
Meanwhile Android developer Larva Labs reveals that sales numbers on Google's Android marketplace are pretty poor at this stage. Despite holding the #5 and #12 spots amongst the most popular apps in their market, Larva Labs reports only earning about $62.39 / day on average. Similarly ranked games on the iPhone would deliver thousands of dollars a day in revenue. Mobile advertising firm Admobs has recently estimated the iTunes App Store market as being worth nearly $2.5 billion a year.
In fact, Gameloft today announced that they alone have sold over 6 million iPhone games to date.
The company currently has 35 games available on the App Store, of which 18 have made the Top 10 Paid Games list worldwide. The iPhone OS continues to be Gameloft’s number one platform.
*Only* $60 a day? That's $20,000 a year. If this developer isn't doing this as their primary job but as an addition to other employment, that's a good chunk of side change. Although if they're doing it as their primary job, yeah, that's a problem.
it's $60/day for the #5 most popular app on the android store. That means the majority of developers are getting next to nothing.
arn
To be fair, if you are 200-300 on the app store that is about what you are making as well.
Are you really saying a fairer comparison is between the #5 ranked game in one store vs. #'s 200 – 300 in another store?
Yes – as there are 100x more apps in the app store.
True…but you're still comparing the revenue generated by apps ranked #5 on Android, and anywhere from 200-300 on iPhone/touch. There's a huge disparity there, and the comparison isn't faulty because of how many APPS there are on iPhone/touch, but, rather, how many CONSUMERS there are that use the Android app market vs. the iPhone/touch app market. If it were about number of apps, an Android app would actually benefit due to there being less competition, but Android apps don't because there are far less consumers. That's the point the Trism devs were making.
There is no doubt at this point it is better to be an idevice developer than an android dev
.
I think the secret of making money on any type of app store is to port to them all. So, you have this game idea which you think will do well for the iPhone, but consider the game for the Ovi Store, PSP Minis, Blackberry, Android, and countless others.
A lot of time and money needs investing in getting this technology working – build some game code and drop it into any app store code wrapper.
And hopefully some application you do will be a hit on a few app stores or if you get lucky you will end up with a multi-platform hit.
My motto is think big, put some hard work in, then be rewarded…
SOB!!! Dammit apple!!! They comeout with a new iPhone/iTouch every 6 months!!!
The come out with new iPod Touch every year.
In some ways I wish the Android market was doing better, as competition drives innovation and improvement…
The Trism numbers we've heard are especially amazing. Trism on Android had an even sparser field of competition on Android than it did when it came (officially that is) to iPhone. Only this time, it also had bigger mindshare and Web coverage going in as well.
Trism was a smash hit on iPhone, quickly making hundreds of thousands of dollars, and is still very fun and slick by any standards. (It's also my favorite match-colors game to this day.) Yet on Android it only sold 500 copies in 3 months??
I think it points out three things:
1. The power of Apple as a brand, and that includes things like iTunes
2. The bad start for Android. The introduction phone was not as highly rated as it should have been, and didn't have the cachet of iPhone.
3. The importance of iPod touch. I recall reading that the average iPod touch owner is younger than the average iPhone user, and that a higher percentage of iPod touch owners buy game applications than iPhone users. If true, that points out how Apple has a power that the Androids and the nGage's, Blackberries and Palm's of the world don't: the platform isn't tied only to mobile phones but rather also spread to portable multimedia devices. That's something that the competition doesn't have…yet.
If MS ever does merge ZuneHD with XNA and Windows Mobile and release a ZuneHD based phone, Apple might actually have better competition on a more even keel. Same deal with Sony if they ever get their heads out of their butts and think to merge the PSP platform with their Sony Ericsson phones as well as their Walkman line. Until a competitor spreads their platform to products that don't only include mobile phones, they may never get that lucrative younger install base that is more apt to buy games.
BTW, the thing I'm anticipating isn't a new 3Gs based iPod touch. It's a given we'll see that. And I'll be among the first in line to buy it.
I'm not eagerly anticipating the rumored Apple net tablet either. Honestly, I have no need for such a device, and it could be more miss than hit (if it's a clamshell design, though, with touchscreen inputs on both the top and bottom screens, it might catch my interest more).
What I really want to see is if Apple actually announces a new Apple TV. It is considered part of their iPod line, after all (go to the Apple online store).
If they do…I'm betting they'll announce something for that product's successor model that served to shake up and increase the exposure of iPhone/touch, and can perhaps do the same for their "hobby" product (Apple TV): free SDK, and an App Store. Totally digital download apps, including games. If positioned correctly, they could carve themselves a nice niche.
I agree – the apple the does need an update. Its hasn't been properly updated for ages.
Well what are the current specs on an apple tv? Could it even handle iPhone games? I would imagine so, but im not sure
If i remember correctly, its got a pentium-M based chipset inside it. It could handle a iphone game, probably even upscaling it with full screen anti-aliasing.
Pentium M CPU, NVidia GeForce Go 7300, iirc.
That aside what I'm thinking is that Apple should announce an entirely new AppleTV device. The problem with the current AppleTV hardware, from a business standpoint, is that it is one of the only things Apple sells which probably loses them money or doesn't make much in way of profit from hardware sales.
So I think they should make a new AppleTV, and have it be based on iPhone/touch hardware…but vastly upgraded. Multicore ARM CPU, multicore PowerVR GPU, much more RAM. For HD video, that's more than enough. And that way they could ease developers into it more as it would use the same or similar SDK as iPhone/touch, plus they'd be able to use it as a testing ground for components that could go into future iPhone/touch devices.
Pack it in with a new Apple Remote that features it's own set of accelerometers and they'd have a Wii for more mature users. After all…the apps offered wouldn't just be games. All those iPhone/touch photo, video, productivity, etc. apps? They could be offered too.
My Android sales are horrific. But there's only 2 Android handsets out on one tiny carrier. I think the potential for Android is next year when other *MAJOR* carriers launch devices. But I don't think they're gong to be using Market.
the new ipod touch 3G or the zii egg?
iPod Touch 3G!
I talked too Apple today noone is admitting too the show on Sept 9th. They also said that if they come out with a new ipod touch there will be no more 2nd gen ipods, They will only be the third Gen. They only sais all games should work on the 2nd gen if you keep the firm ware up. They will not admit too anything. I hate them. Mine is not even a year old it is the 2 gen.