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Only Three of Top 20 Grossing iPhone Apps Have In-App Purchases

Submitted by on January 16, 2010 – 4:31 pm2 Comments

I am very surprised to see that just three of the top twenty grossing iPhone Apps include in-app purchases:

- The Sims 3 (#5)
- Madden NFL 2010 (#8)
- Tap Tap Revenge (#13)

It wasn’t long ago that free iPhone Apps were moving into the top grossing ranks due to in-application micro purchases. But just a couple months later, it appears as though there has been a shift in developer philosophy and/or consumer behavior… the latter of which I find difficult to believe (thanks to Zynga, Facebook and so on). It could very well be that iPhone development and mobile behavior make it difficult to fully capitalize upon in-app purchases. Of course, it could also be that the economics clearly suggest that it is in the developer’s best interest to capture the revenue up front. In-app purchases obviously require significant and ongoing engagement – so this could also suggest that the lifecycle of an iPhone game is shorter than anticipated.

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  • http://twitter.com/Abbott Bruce 

    I find Skies of Glory made by our good friend Shervin Pishevar over at SGN to be an excellent game, one of the best, and more importantly possesses simply irresistible in-app purchases. If I was speaking on the subject, I'd present the game as the best case.

    I think in-app purchases are highly valuable drivers of revenue, however, there is difficultly with adoption with non-gaming app's. With enough unique product value, exploiting in-app purchases can be the best revenue driver. That case is pretty rare outside the gaming category.

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