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App Store Holds 85-90% Share of Mobile App Dollars Says Analyst
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The situation of iOS and Android is a bit like the situation was with Microsoft Windows and IBM OS/2 back in the 1990s: OS/2 was MUCH more powerful and feature-filled than Windows and it could do much more stuff right out of the box than Windows that the corporate users needed to purchase less third party software for it.
When I compare the software of my out-of-the-box-Galaxy S2 with the iPhone 3G and iOS 4.2.1 that I had before the Galaxy, the situation is similar. The Galaxy has almost everything on board that I need to get my daily business done; I bought a few games for it and some remote administration software, and that's it. And the Android's web browser also feels much more like a "real" -- read: desktop -- web browser than Mobile Safari.
There's probably also a HUGE difference in the respective customer bases and their individual needs and demands. That the iOS App Store sells more games than the Google Market for Android probably already says a LOT about the iOS demographic. From a distance, it feels a bit like people are comparing the Wii console with a real computer...
Mind sharing where you found this? And percentage of apps is more applicable, as there aren't equal numbers of apps overall in both app stores/marketplaces. Not sure where the Wii part comes in. Video game console compared to productivity machine? Both app stores are for devices that make calls and consume media, mind you. Not just one or the other.
No, the other reason. It's simple. Just admit you were wrong. Is it THAT difficult for you? Do you never make mistakes? Just man up.
I'd be curious on better numbers on this. The Flurry data (link) suggests that just iOS revenue in 2009 was 19% of mobile gaming revenue, and then iOS + Android was 34% of a smaller pie in 2010. I don't think there's any evidence that the iOS market has already saturated, let alone started to decline, and so as of 2010 it doesn't seem likely that the 34% represents a cannibalization from iOS's prior 19% by Google -- rather I think it's more likely iOS was still ahead of Google at least at that point. That jibes with what a number of game developers have said also.
Given that the iOS market had a longer time to groundswell, I think it's probably true that, at this point that there is more gaming revenue on iOS than Android. It's weird Flurry didn't break it out, though.
And it may not last forever.
But it doesn't say what one obviously might think. What it actually says is that android users rarely buy apps, any apps, games included, even if there are far more game players among android device users.
What it thus says about the iOS demographic is that these iOS users are willing to spend money on apps. Which is a great incentive for (non-freeware, non-advertising-supported) developers.
I think what's also not being captured is there's a much larger percentage of Android games that are free, versus paid as in IOS.
So would you rather waste gas to go to a box-retailer and buy a CD or just download an app in minutes?
Some people like leaving their house and and participating in society.
Before the app store, software was sold in boxes in stores, and the publisher took a huge chunk of the profits, and people bought much less software. This has quite clearly been an improvement, I'm not sure how you think developers are getting screwed over.
And as a consumer, I take great comfort knowing that all software is vetted, and isn't just downloaded off of random websites, with random spyware and trojans being included. That feeling of security allows me to buy more software from smaller players, and not just stick to software from big names. Developers are getting value with that cut to Apple.
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