Apple have released a list of the iPhone / iTouch App Store's ten best sellers for 2009, and amongst the huge publishers (EA Games, Gameloft) and well known licenses (Need for Speed, Sims, Assassins Creed etc) listed in it is the recently GDAA Awards celebrated title, Flight Control, by Melbourne developer, Firemint. It takes out the number #7 best selling title position, just behind Assassin's Creed: Altair's Chronicles.
Firemint's other title, Real Racing, takes out an impressive second placing position in the other App Store "Best of 2009" chart. Firemint also worked with id Software to bring Doom Classic to the iPhone, and that collaboration has scored them the #10 position in the same chart. Nice work, Firemint!
However, equally as amazing is the work of another Melbourne mobile developer, IronMonkey Studios, who have taken out the #1 and #3 spot in the App Store's ten best sellers chart with The Sims 3 and Need for Speed Undercover (both for EA Games). Excellent stuff!
App Store's ten best sellers for 2009:
1. The Sims 3 (EA Games)
2. The Oregon Trail (Gameloft)
3. Need for Speed Undercover (EA Games)
4. Madden NFL 10 (EA Games)
5. Tiger Woods PGA Tour (EA Games)
6. Assassin's Creed: Altair's Chronicles (Gameloft)
7. Flight Control (Firemint)
8. Cooking Mama (Taito)
9. Civilization Revolution (2K Games)
10. Wheel of Fortune (Sony Pictures)
The top-rated games listed in Apple's "Best of 2009" chart:
1. Spider: The Secret of Bryce Manor (Tiger Style)
2. Real Racing (Firemint)
3. Zenonia (Gamevil)
4. Ravensword: The Fallen King (Gameloft)
5. Earth vs. Moon Ep. 2: Enter the Perk Shop (Low Five Games)
6. Sally's Spa (Games Cafe)
7. Ragdoll Blaster (Backflip Studios)
8. Canabalt (Semi Secret Software)
9. Blades of Fury (Gameloft)
10. Doom Classic (id Software)
Saw this earlier on Gamasutra
And they were impressed that Flight Control made #7 considering the first list is primarily based on revenue and Flight Control was sold at $0.99 a pop. I also see it amazing since it wasn't a port from a larger game, like most of the others were, and thus reliant upon the licence.
But also congratulations to IronMonkey Studios. I had no idea they had a hand in those projects and I'm happy to see any sort of success by companies out these ways nowdays.
Impressive
Certainly a good performance for Australia in this segment of the market.
Branch out!
Don't limit yourself to the iPhone! Develop some stuff for Windows Mobile and Android and really get your product out there. Sure the iPhone is well and good but it's not the only mobile platform available. WinMo has a very large market share and Android is catching up fast. So I say branch out and increase your customer base.
It's good to see some Aussie devs having success regardless of the platform.
Agreed with branching out
While I agree with branching out, I don't think Windows Mobile and Android can touch iPhone's marketshare just yet. I do see some great potential with Android, but it seems to have gotten to a shaky start with game developers like Gameloft leaving it altogether, mainly due to its app store and tiny marketshare.
Flash based games and social gaming, however, seems like something very much worth delving into. I just want to know when Infinite Interactive are going to do a Puzzle Quest for Facebook.
Of course you shouldn't
Of course you shouldn't restrict yourself to one of the other platforms, what I'm saying is do those in addition to the iPhone. For sure the iPhone has the market share, no doubt about that, but that doesn't mean you neglect the other potential platforms. I mean if current-gen game developers only targeted the platform with the most market share we'll only be seeing Wii games and nothing for the PS3 or 360. Don't underestimate the amount of phones out there running WinMo, and Android is only going to get stronger. Symbian's days definitely seem numbered, though.