iPhone/iTouch sells 30 million in 19 months

[averyblund]

1337 Gamer said:
thats amazing but most of these people are not going to buy more than 1 or 2 games that you need to pay for. This isnt a fact but everyone i know that has one has only bought a few if any games. The free games are the ones that most people seem to get and thats why 30M units will not translate into huge $.

But i could be wrong has anyone noticed anything different? I dont hate /love the iphone im just posting what ive noticed

 

I think you are right, but that is not as important as price. A system doesn't need a high attach-rate to be a success if it has unit volume BUT, right now the platform seems to be stuck with a stigma against paying more than $10 for a game. This puts devs on a tight budget and means that very few "epic" games have been released.

 

The good thing is that this perception can change. However if Apple wants to make that change they will need to do a few things. Right now the way the App Store  is set up is by popularity. With 25,000 applications/programs most people just check the top 100 so they know they are gettign a quality product. Sadly it seems the vast majority of the things bought are in the $1-$2 range. So many higher end products end up lost in the shuffle and nearly impossible to find unless you have already heard of them. Developers are finding work arounds, one of which is to do a lot of external advertising with a link that points to their app. This is great but Apple needs to do something also.

 

One proposal that has been rumored for a few months is a "premium" section, where only $20+ apps are allowed, complete with its own top 100, ect. To me this is a winner and will provide confidence to developers that it is OK to make longer, more expensive games without the worry of them falling into obscurity.

 

Lastly Apple seems to have been advertising the Touch as game oriented which should help keep gaming in a spotlight.

 

On thing is for certain looking at the top 100 payed and free. 80%+ are games, so keep your eyes on this one.