iPhone Developer Success Stories Continue to Inspire
Most developers will tell you that getting rich quickly through an iPhone App is the exception, but the stories of those who do continue to inspire many. Newsweek profiles some of the biggest winners of the App Store at this early stage.
Ge Wang is the developer behind Smule who has created a number of $0.99 applications, the most popular of which is Ocarina, a virtual musical wind instrument (video). Ocarina has seen over 400,000 downloads in less than a month and remains in the Top 10 Paid iPhone Apps. Wang expects his company to pull in close to $1 million this year.
Pangea Software is another company that has been able to find huge success on the App Store. As a long time Mac developer, Pangea was able to leverage several of their existing titles into popular iPhone Apps. Games such as Cro-Mag Rally and Enigmo will help Pangea generate $5 million in revenue this year. Pangea's Brian Greenstone notes that in the past four and a half months, Pangea's iPhone apps have generated more income than retail sales of all of Pangea's apps for the Mac for the past 21 years combined. It's no surprise that Pangea has given up writing Mac games and will focus entirely on the iPhone from now on. Greenstone claims this sort of success is within anyone's reach:
Ge Wang is the developer behind Smule who has created a number of $0.99 applications, the most popular of which is Ocarina, a virtual musical wind instrument (video). Ocarina has seen over 400,000 downloads in less than a month and remains in the Top 10 Paid iPhone Apps. Wang expects his company to pull in close to $1 million this year.
Pangea Software is another company that has been able to find huge success on the App Store. As a long time Mac developer, Pangea was able to leverage several of their existing titles into popular iPhone Apps. Games such as Cro-Mag Rally and Enigmo will help Pangea generate $5 million in revenue this year. Pangea's Brian Greenstone notes that in the past four and a half months, Pangea's iPhone apps have generated more income than retail sales of all of Pangea's apps for the Mac for the past 21 years combined. It's no surprise that Pangea has given up writing Mac games and will focus entirely on the iPhone from now on. Greenstone claims this sort of success is within anyone's reach:
"Some kid in his bedroom can literally make a million bucks just by writing a little app," Greenstone says.
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41 months ago
"Some kid in his bedroom can literally make a million bucks just by writing a little app," Greenstone says.
There is of course only 1 in a million chance :p
41 months ago
So what, no more games for Macs? Whatever happened to "doing something for the love of doing it?" Are Ge Wang and Pangea Software, the Curt Flood of the Mac App Industry? I need to barf...:eek:
41 months ago
As an iPhone developer I'm tired of seeing these types of stories published. Yes, a few people are making lots and lots of money, but in general the market is incredibly saturated with junk apps and new-comers will probably not like the situation they find there. Please, listen to other, less successful developers, the majority of which are just struggling to hold on in this insane marketplace apple has devised, and stop this gold rush! Stories like this only encourage more junk apps!
41 months ago
Not every developer is going to be as successful, but news about the big winners will certainly inspire more established Mac developers and brand new developers to give iPhone application development a shot.
With the increased quantity of apps, we'll get more that are worthwhile as well as more than aren't.
With the increased quantity of apps, we'll get more that are worthwhile as well as more than aren't.
41 months ago
It's no surprise that Pangea has given up writing Mac games and will focus entirely on the iPhone from now on. Greenstone says this sort of success is within anyone's reach:
Well thats not a good thing.
Lets hope this is an isolated occurance.
41 months ago
Some kid in his bedroom can literally make a million bucks just by writing a little app," Greenstone says.
My guess is that "some kid" needs to be very knowledgeable in programming and love his work with passion to come up with something all by himself. I'm glad it's turning out ok for some folks, especially those that have been making Mac games for 21 years. Now that's persistence :D
My guess is that "some kid" needs to be very knowledgeable in programming and love his work with passion to come up with something all by himself. I'm glad it's turning out ok for some folks, especially those that have been making Mac games for 21 years. Now that's persistence :D
41 months ago
Well thats not a good thing.
Lets hope this is an isolated occurance.
I friggin hate stories like this. One in a 10,000 app made it to the top, draws the attention a million developers wannabe. And appstore turns into the biggest pile of crap. All users are forced to sift through pile and pile of junk to find a gem.
41 months ago
As an iPhone developer I'm tired of seeing these types of stories published. Yes, a few people are making lots and lots of money, but in general the market is incredibly saturated with junk apps and new-comers will probably not like the situation they find there. Please, listen to other, less successful developers, the majority of which are just struggling to hold on in this insane marketplace apple has devised, and stop this gold rush! Stories like this only encourage more junk apps!
Totally Agree... I can't comment on the Apps mentioned in this article as I've not used them but for the most part, the App store is saturated with pointless and completely useless "Apps".
41 months ago
If I were a developer, I would be strongly urging Apple to allow the use of the iPhone with more service providers (Verizon, Sprint). More potential customers will help all of the developers. The problem right now is that there is a bigger barrier to entry for consumers than there is for producers.
Also, I really think there needs to be a better system for searching through applications. I also hope that there would be a way to show a list of the all-time best sellers. Along with possibly what is best selling (cumulative) this year.
Another possible way that we could encourage fair pricing of apps is to have a ranking of best selling apps that is weighted by price. Therefore, those who price their application optimally and get the best price X sales figure will be rewarded.
Also, I really think there needs to be a better system for searching through applications. I also hope that there would be a way to show a list of the all-time best sellers. Along with possibly what is best selling (cumulative) this year.
Another possible way that we could encourage fair pricing of apps is to have a ranking of best selling apps that is weighted by price. Therefore, those who price their application optimally and get the best price X sales figure will be rewarded.
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