The golden rule for ANY business. But the best one is definately... Fortune favours the prepared mind - Louis Pasteur You can increase always increase your chances but never increase your luck.
I for myself has been researched appstore for awhile and currently building my first iOS game with my friends. At first we got so much idea about a game we should build but after some research, we got a long checklist about what to do build a great iPhone games. Some of them are: 1. Casual, simple and short games is better. 2. Iconic and cute character. 3. Unique gameplay utilising iPhone feature. 4. Unlimited replayablity. 5. Larger audience, the game can be played by anyone girls, boys, or kids. 6. etc We choose the games we build based on the checklist, the game concept with most points is the one we will worked on.
I think the main issue lies in execution. It doesn't matter what the idea and concept are. Have you tried explaining why games such as Angry Birds or Fruit Ninja or Cut the Rope are fun to someone who has never heard of them and has never owned an iOS device. I have. They genuinely believe you are joking. The problem is that small time developers have no idea of how much return they will get in terms of how much time and money they spend on their app so execution is cut down. I think developers need to take more risks and develop the best app they can. On the other hand, I don't believe a small time iOS developer should spend $100,000 on resources and 2 years on development.
