The iPhone first caused a stir back in 2007, when it was first released. Plenty of people don't recall, however the iPhone did not launch with the ability to put in 3rd party application. There was no App Store, and no games. Apple saw the primary appeal of their new device as a way to surf the world wide web whilst away from home, indeed their promotion revolved around the 'desktop' web surfing experience that the iPhone could offer.
The video games industry has been well established now for well over 30 years. In all it is history, there has seldom been such a seismic shift in the industry as has been seen in the recent past. Whole new niches within the market have opened up wide, and as a result more people are enjoying video games. Moreover, the kinds of game selling well have changed dramatically, and even their method of distribution has shifted. Make no mistake, an dreadful lot of this change has to do with a device they call the iPhone.
On it is launch the App Store contained 500 applications, and nobody saw the gambling potential of Apple's iPhone bit. Speedy forward to the finish of 2008, and by this time games were the number use for smart rings outside of actually using it as a phone, e-mail, and texts. Mobile games had suddenly got bigger than any business application - the intended audience of smartphone devices!
It was over a year until Apple launched the iPhone App Store, a place where someone could sell their application to any of the millions of iPhone owners worldwide. It was introduced along with the iPhone 3G, and marked a significant shift in the way application was distributed to mobile devices. Seldom before had someone tried to centralise the method, providing a one-stop-shop where someone could extend the functionality of their phone. Digital distribution in video gambling was much unheard of, but the power of this model soon became clear when combined with a device with an always-on information connection. What business would not need to be available for sales 24-7, whilst being carried around in their customer's pockets in every single place they went!
The first person to make a living from the App Store was a man called Steve Demeter. His preliminary investment in developing his first game, Trism, was $5000. After his game released, they quickly made a quarter of a million dollars in profit in six months!
Sure , the iPhone rags to riches tales that they are so used to hearing these days, were beginning to break.
Ethan Nicholas was struggling with mortgage payments and medical bills when they read about Steve Demeter's success. They decided that even a small slice of such success could help him turn things around, and worked flat-out for 6 weeks to create his game, iShoot. Amateurish though this title may appear by today's standards, they finally sold over six million copies of this game at $2.99 a game!
More recently, the success of the best-selling iPhone game of all time has shown that these kinds of success tales are continuing. Back in 2009 a struggling Finnish games company short of money was in the throes of a make-or-break business plan, when of their designers came up with the idea for some bird-like characters which they finally built a game around. That game become Annoyed Birds, a sales phenomenon which has been downloaded over 40 million times! Annoyed Birds accounts for 200 million minutes of play worldwide, every single day!
Recently the ten billionth app was downloaded from Apple's App Store, and guess what- it was a game! Her download of Paper Glider netted Gail Davis of the United Kingdom a $10,000 iTunes Gift card as a prize. Not bad thinking about it was a free game!
Growth in mobile gambling doesn't look set to stagnate any time soon. Google are shaping up to be a thorn in Apple's side, with their Android platform, and Microsoft have now entered to market with their Windows 7 Phone. thing is sure, it is a lovely time to be a mobile gamer.
Peter Morris is an IT enthusiast, and developer. He is been a keen gamer since his childhood, and a long term fan of Apple's devices.
http://www.iphonegamesblog.info
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