Well its true. But that figure is mostly made up of casuals who play a game or two in between Point A and B.

Don't compare just revenue, you'd have to compare profits. Tiny games come out on the iOS platform all the time and when you have a horde that large, even when they're tiny, they're overpowering by revenue numbers.

http://appadvice.com/appnn/2012/05/a-whopping-60-percent-of-ios-apps-fail-to-make-the-developer-a-profit

Only 40% of iOS apps ever make profit, and even those that do, how much profit do they make? It'd be interesting to see total profit on iOS vs the other handheld platforms.

Many smart phone users have them for business -- email, calling, etc.  They upgrade because after two years of use, the old phone is rubbish.  That is what happened to my wife's iPhone, which is why she has a 4S rather than a 3G. (Also, software upgrades often make the older models virtually unusable.)

A lot of people moved away from Blackberry and to iOS or Android when they became options because Blackberry server charges. It was often their office and not themselves making the decision. 

And as for costs, all Smartphones, which most people want to text, surf and navigate, cost similar amounts both for plans and handsets.

Personally, I have an Android phone (18-month old Galaxy that I will upgrade to a Galaxy III because it is acting funny -- proving my earlier point) and an iPad 2 -- both of which came from work.  I have spent $2 on software for the Galaxy (a video game database) and maybe $12 on games for the iPad ($7 on Minecraft, $3 on Intellivision Lives, $1 accidently on a poster maker and $1 on a puzzle game). However, I do download "Apps gone free" daily, check the free stuff out, and then often delete them.  But email and web surfing take up far more of my time on those devices than game playing.

Mike from Morgantown

i'm not saying that everyone is gaming on their iphones.  but the OP said, "Iphone sells because it is a phone.." and that couldn't be further from the truth. iphone is a success because of all the other things it can do that aren't related to the phone.

and what you are saying in bold is basically bigotry imo. 

If you look at the graphic, it is even worse than that as four developers out of five have unsustainable businesses.

Mike from Morgantown

So where's your citation that greater than 40% of all 3DS/Vita titles generate a profit for their developer? Without actual data on said titles, your statement is just conjecture.

Of course, I could point to someone like Epic which stated that Infinity Blade is more profitable than Gears of War as a citation that profits may not always be what you think, or Rovio which created a billion-dollar empire in just 3 years due to an iOS game.

That is why revenues are likely key. If 60% of iOS titles are failures, I would question how many of said titles were shoddy and had horrible review scores from users and the press. Your citation pretty much confirms that most failures are due to horrible promotion and guesswork by developers, lending creedence to the problem not being the iOS ecosystem so much as it is the developers themselves.

My fiance uses her Galaxy S3 to constantly play Scramble and Words with Friends. Before that it was Draw Something.

I use my iPhone to play games and listen to music. Currently playing Maple Story Live Deluxe & Squids.

My mother plays Scramble with my fiance using her Motorola Atrix. She is also playing some Kairosoft title, just can't think of the name at the moment.

I don't know what my dad does with his. I think he uses it primarily for music.

My sister plays games on her HTC phone all the time.

My co-worker is playing Words with Friends. I only know that because I hear the sound it makes when it's your turn and you recieve more letters.

I have another co-worker who tries to keep up with me in GameCenter score. He is at 1,997 and I am at 5,979.



iOS and Android are very much used for gaming and not just making phone calls. People claiming that they sell only because people want to upgrade to the next are insane.

I wonder how long before people stop being so afraid of mobile devices and just accept that they have a place in all of it as well, even if you don't like those styles of gaming.

Music : SURE

Videos : SURE

Texting : SURE

Internet : ABSOLUTELY

Gaming : No Way in Hell!

Euphoria14 said: My fiance uses her Galaxy S3 to constantly play Scramble and Words with Friends. Before that it was Draw Something. I use my iPhone to play games and listen to music. Currently playing Maple Story Live Deluxe & Squids. My mother plays Scramble with my fiance using her Motorola Atrix. She is also playing some Kairosoft title, just can't think of the name at the moment. I don't know what my dad does with his. I think he uses it primarily for music. My sister plays games on her HTC phone all the time. My co-worker is playing Words with Friends. I only know that because I hear the sound it makes when it's your turn and you recieve more letters. I have another co-worker who tries to keep up with me in GameCenter score. He is at 1,997 and I am at 5,979. iOS and Android are very much used for gaming and not just making phone calls. People claiming that they sell only because people want to upgrade to the next are insane. I wonder how long before people stop being so afraid of mobile devices and just accept that they have a place in all of it as well, even if you don't like those styles of gaming.

Casual gaming, not serious gaming.

Profits probably none, Revenue all together not even close to Halo 4 or Black Ops 2 this year.

Mobile gaming isnt a threat, in fact its a joke and developers wont really care about it once Vita starts getting good sales like 3DS.

so essentially you agree with me...you bought your smartphone because it does all that extra stuff.