

180,000 Free Downloads in 1 Week - PSolt
http://iphonedev.tv/blog/2012/12/19/180000-free-downloads-in-1-week

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RyanZAG
$400-600/month

This is a pretty successful app by the sounds of it, but it's not even pulling
in anywhere near the amount of money it would take to keep an iOS dev paid..
even for supporting 10 of these apps.

From what I've experienced of iOS/Android dev, these kind of numbers are
pretty much what to expect. So my question is: why are there so many apps on
iOS/Android when it's clear that most of them aren't coming anywhere near to
covering the development costs on the free market. Oversupply of iOS devs?
Will the growth of new apps shrink rapidly in future as the realities of the
market become more clear, or is this a self-perpetuating cycle where new
hopefuls constantly enter and try to create 'that one big app'?

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mromanuk
My perception is that the IOS market is over saturated since a few years. The
2nd problem is the "winner takes all" effect of the rankings and the web in
general. Angry Birds is a hit, any other similar game doesn't even get
downlaoded.

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PSolt
Angry bird's install base definitely gives them a leg up on cross-app
promotion. With so many users they can push them to each of their new apps.
And they have a ton of revenue to re-invest in advertising/app development.

However, I wouldn't say "Angry Birds" is going to remain king. Another game
can very well dethrone them. Nothing's a guarantee when Apple can change the
rules of the game for the App Store.

