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Dec 21

iPhone Game Developer Reports $1M in Sales Per Month

Posted in: Apple, apps, Games, Phones, Software, Today's Chili

Plenty of iPhone programmers whine about their failure to strike it rich in the App Store, but Tap Tap Revenge developer Tapulous can’t complain. The maker of the popular rhythm game reported sales nearing $1 million per month.

The Palo Alto, California startup told Reuters that it generates the revenue through sales of its games, ads and selling songs inside games.

Apple has sold more than 50 million iPhone OS devices (iPhones and iPod Touch units) to date. Earlier this year, research firm ComScore estimated that one-third of iPhone OS users had installed Tap Tap Revenge, Tapulous’ most popular game title. Many compare the game to Rock Band or Dance Dance Revolution. (In Tap Tap Revenge, you tap glowing dots as they hit the bottom of the screen.)

Tap Tap Revenge 3, the latest version of Tapulous’ game, is $1 in the App Store. There are free tracks, but mobile gamers have to buy some major artists’ songs for 50 cents apiece. The strategy seems to be working for artists, as well as for Tapulous.

Tapulous’ story is uncommon. Several media outlets have described the App Store phenomenon as a digital gold rush, earning some software companies big and small hundreds of thousands of dollars. Apple’s App Store provides a simple business model for developers to market and sell their apps. However, the store is now overflowing with more than 100,000 apps, and the app market is becoming increasingly crowded and competitive. Even those who succeed in selling their apps in big numbers have difficulty retaining their success.

For example, in February 2009, Wired.com reported the story of Ethan Nicholas, who earned $600,000 in a single month with sales of his iPhone game iShoot. Nicholas, who quit his job after iShoot got popular, admitted eight months later in an interview with Newsweek that his success was “pure luck.” He said iShoot had been buried by copycats and other similar titles.

“It’s terrifying,” he told Newsweek, adding that he feared being a one-hit wonder.

So $1 million a month in sales for Tapulous wasn’t an easy feat. Not bad for a staff of 20, huh?

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