First-Day Mac App Store Sales Results: 'Chopper 2' Grosses Nearly $30,000

[MacRumors]

Beyond Apple's announcement this morning revealing total downloads of over one million on the Mac App Store's first day of business, we've been curious about the performance of individual applications debuting with the store's launch and have followed up with a couple of developers to get a sense of how things are going.

At the high end of the scale, we spoke with David Frampton of Majic Jungle Software, the developer responsible for Chopper 2, which currently ranks #2 on the "Top Paid" chart behind Angry Birds. Chopper 2 is currently priced at $0.99, 80% off of its planned stable pricing, in order to make a splash with the Mac App Store's debut.

Riding the momentum of discounted pricing and an established fan base from the original Chopper for Mac and successful Chopper and Chopper 2 games for iOS, Frampton tells us that Chopper 2 for Mac saw nearly 30,000 copies purchased through the Mac App Store yesterday. Accounting for Apple's 30% cut of Mac App Store revenue means that Majic Jungle Software brought in a little over $20,000 yesterday.

Chopper 2's performance is obviously not the norm for most developers, however, so we took a look at a few apps from other developers lower down on the charts, as documented in a thread in the Unity forums. Out of approximately 220 paid games currently available on the Mac App Store, here are some first day sales units and revenues, as well as ranks on Apple's "Top Grossing" list for games:

- 4x4 Offroad Racing ($3.99): 93 units sold for a total of $371, ranked #76
- Bubble Bang ($2.99): 17 units sold for a total of $51, ranked #150
- Light Quest ($9.99): 3 units sold for a total of $30, ranked #173
- Bubblez ($2.99): 7 units sold for a total of $21, unranked (not in top 180)

As we noted yesterday, we've been curious about whether the Mac App Store will experience a similar "race to the bottom" in pricing as seen on the iOS App Store. And in the store's second day of business, we're already seeing developers cut prices on some of these low-performing applications in an attempt to stimulate sales, as Chimp Studios reports that it has slashed the price of Light Quest from $9.99 to $4.99 in hopes of generating interest as the market begins to take shape.

In considering the performance of the Mac App Store, it is important to keep in mind that Apple maintains a Mac OS X installed base of about 50 million, with not all machines running Mac OS Snow Leopard and even many Snow Leopard users undoubtedly yet to install the Mac OS X 10.6.6 update required for Mac App Store compatibility. In contrast, Apple's iOS App Store is well-entrenched with a two-and-a-half year history and over 125 million devices sold.

Article Link: First-Day Mac App Store Sales Results: 'Chopper 2' Grosses Nearly $30,000

 

[goobot]

Because it was a dollar

 

[smileyborg]

Chopper 2's ability to use an iPhone/iPod touch as a remote for the iPad or Mac version is really cool. That's why I bought it, especially at $0.99! Plus Chopper (the original) was one of the very first games I purchased back when the iPhone App store first came out.

 

[notjustjay]

While on the one hand I understand the problem with the "race to the bottom", on the other hand, it can still end up having tremendous payoff. Look at Angry Birds (or insert any number of other success stories). 99 cents for the app, but look how many millions of copies it sold, because it was cheap, which lowered the barrier to entry, and it was well-made, so users were delighted with the purchase (and at how great a value it was!) and were only too happy to recommend it to others, to buy it sight-unseen based on the enthusiastic recommendations of others, to buy additional copies of the game for their iPads/Macs/Android, etc.

It's like that age-old lemonade stand game. Price it too high and you make a lot of money on individual sales but you get fewer individual sales. Price it too low and everyone wants it, but you don't make enough money to sustain it.

I'd say that 99 cents is a decent "try it and hey, if you don't like it, it was cheap" price for an iOS app.

Mac App pricing may be different, though, depending on whether or not a "free trial" version is available (through the App Store, or elsewhere). If I can't try it out first to see if I actually plan to keep it, then I wouldn't risk paying more than maybe $5-10. If a free trial is available so I can make sure I like the app before buying it, then the sky's the limit.

 

[Small White Car]

Controlling Chopper 2 on my Mac with my iPhone as a remote really makes me wish they'd hurry up with the Apple TV apps!

 

[Rudy69]

While on the one hand I understand the problem with the "race to the bottom", on the other hand, it can still end up having tremendous payoff. Look at Angry Birds (or insert any number of other success stories). 99 cents for the app, but look how many millions of copies it sold, because it was cheap, which lowered the barrier to entry, and it was well-made, so users were delighted with the purchase (and at how great a value it was!) and were only too happy to recommend it to others, to buy it sight-unseen based on the enthusiastic recommendations of others, to buy additional copies of the game for their iPads/Macs/Android, etc.

It's like that age-old lemonade stand game. Price it too high and you make a lot of money on individual sales but you get fewer individual sales. Price it too low and everyone wants it, but you don't make enough money to sustain it.

I'd say that 99 cents is a decent "try it and hey, if you don't like it, it was cheap" price for an iOS app.

Mac App pricing may be different, though, depending on whether or not a "free trial" version is available (through the App Store, or elsewhere). If I can't try it out first to see if I actually plan to keep it, then I wouldn't risk paying more than maybe $5-10. If a free trial is available so I can make sure I like the app before buying it, then the sky's the limit.

Angry Bird sells because it's Angry Bird... at this point they would still get sales at $9.99 Everyone knows about Angry Bird. BUT they wouldn't be where they are if they didn't start at a low price...

 

[satcomer]

Because it was a dollar

That's why I bought it.

 

[notjustjay]

Angry Bird sells because it's Angry Bird... at this point they would still get sales at $9.99 Everyone knows about Angry Bird. BUT they wouldn't be where they are if they didn't start at a low price...

And that's my point. The cheap initial cost was what caused a lot of people to buy it, love it, tell their friends, and now everyone knows Angry Birds. Now that they've built mindshare, they absolutely can (and will) raise the prices, create new versions and level packs, in-game purchases, etc. And we will pay, happily.

Bottom line is that if your app is written well, appeals to a large audience, and people enjoy using it, having a low initial price point is not going to harm you.

 

[0815]

That's why I bought it.

same here - and I haven't even tried it out yet - was more an impulse buy to have something when I have the time for it.

 

[jclardy]

Wow, that is pretty impressive. It will be interesting to see how it spans out over the next few months though.

I bought Chopper 2 to try out the iPhone as remote feature.

 

[jeznav]

Because it was a dollar

The cheaper it is, the more you'd make.

What the total mean of app prices drop in a few weeks.

 

[adztaylor]

Just bought Chopper 2 for Mac, my first Mac app purchase. I just simply wanna see what its like with the iPhone control. Not bad for 59p.

 

[ericinboston]

Because it was a dollar

Exactly. Companies cannot sell software for $1-$2 and earn money. Even if they sold a million copies grossing $1million, they then fork over $300k to Apple leaving them with $700k...to pay for things like salaries, real estate, R&D, advertising, etc.

Sure, if you're a 1-5 man shop and can whip up some cool apps and net a few million bucks (that's after paying Apple), it may be pay well and pay the bills.

I think Mac Apps are going to average about $10 a pop. Yes, there will be the $1 apps and yes the $40 apps.

That $1 Chopper 2 pricetag was simply a advertising/marketing ploy to kick off the excitement. And 30,000 downloads may sound like a lot in a day but I would have expected a lot more for a $1 game that millions of Mac users had the ability to grab (unless millions of Mac users have no idea what the Mac App Store is).

The game looks very well designed and I bet a lot of work (time and money) went into it. Sure, I'll steal it for $1 but I would likely have easily paid $10 for it.

Reminds me of Choplifter. Ahhhh...Apple //e back in early 80s.

 

[diamond.g]

Reminds me of Choplifter. Ahhhh...Apple //e back in early 80s.

Thats the name of the game.... That is why I brought Chopper 2. It reminded me of how much fun Choplifter was...

 

[GimmeSlack12]

So does this mean we'll see the same crapware begin on the Mac too? Super

Though in Apple's defense the Mac App store is quite a good idea to get developers to see the incentive to developing more stuff for the Mac.

And finally it is Day 2, so I should probably take this all with a grain of salt huh?

 

[Eidorian]

Weclome to Steam, keep your hands and feet inside the car.

Now when you tell your friends, they're going to wait around to get it when it's a dollar if they missed it the first time.

 

[tatonka]

Thats pretty cool .. if there was a million downloads and Chopper 2 sold 100k copies .. every 10th person bought it.

But I agree. Steering with the iPhone is rad, although I had some quirks with the wireless .. probably should use and ad hoc network.

T.

 

[hugodrax]

Exactly. Companies cannot sell software for $1-$2 and earn money. Even if they sold a million copies grossing $1million, they then fork over $300k to Apple leaving them with $700k...to pay for things like salaries, real estate, R&D, advertising, etc.

Sure, if you're a 1-5 man shop and can whip up some cool apps and net a few million bucks (that's after paying Apple), it may be pay well and pay the bills.

I think Mac Apps are going to average about $10 a pop. Yes, there will be the $1 apps and yes the $40 apps.

That $1 Chopper 2 pricetag was simply a advertising/marketing ploy to kick off the excitement. And 30,000 downloads may sound like a lot in a day but I would have expected a lot more for a $1 game that millions of Mac users had the ability to grab (unless millions of Mac users have no idea what the Mac App Store is).

The game looks very well designed and I bet a lot of work (time and money) went into it. Sure, I'll steal it for $1 but I would likely have easily paid $10 for it.

Reminds me of Choplifter. Ahhhh...Apple //e back in early 80s.

You are making the assumption that all these app store companies are these huge companies.

 

[dpace32]

Controlling Chopper 2 on my Mac with my iPhone as a remote really makes me wish they'd hurry up with the Apple TV apps!

I agree! Apple TV has a LOT of potential right now. The Remote app is a step in the right direction

 

[Popeye206]

You are making the assumption that all these app store companies are these huge companies.

I think the key is, $.99 apps are going to be apps like Angry Birds that are "candy store" applications. In other words, you buy it because it's cheap and entertaining. Also, for the developers of Angry Birds, it's only about a month for someone to port the iOS version, so if you develop a candy store application for iOS, why not port to the Mac and pick up another few hundred thousand dollars? Easy ROI if you know it's popular on the iOS and lends itself well to the MacOS.

More involved applications won't be this cheap that's for sure. But, I do think we'll see more involved games come to the Mac and down in price due to the fact that the distribution is so easy and cost effective. I would expect most more involved games to range from $4.99 to $19.99. Still a big savings over buying in a box store at $10-$40.

Overall... I stand by the fact that this is really going to attract developers and therefore attract more customers. I great move by Apple.

 

[Moyank24]

That $1 Chopper 2 pricetag was simply a advertising/marketing ploy to kick off the excitement. And 30,000 downloads may sound like a lot in a day but I would have expected a lot more for a $1 game that millions of Mac users had the ability to grab (unless millions of Mac users have no idea what the Mac App Store is).

I think it may be important to note that there is a huge possibility, as the article noted, that many Mac users haven't updated yet. Those of us on here have the advantage of knowing the minute the update is released...we all DL right away and started grabbing apps.

I think that's a decent showing for an app that was in the store for less than 24 hours and wasn't named Angry Birds.

I'll be interested in the numbers in a week or so as the more casual Mac users upgrade and start using the store.

 

[Popeye206]

I agree! Apple TV has a LOT of potential right now. The Remote app is a step in the right direction

I think AppleTV is going to be the "Horse of Troy" in the game market. In other words, when the timing is right, Apps will come to AppleTV and with iPod, iPad, and iPhone connectivity as controllers will blast Apple into the Game Counsel market over-night (so to speak). It's such a natural and the potential is very exciting.

Bring it on!

 

[0815]

I think AppleTV is going to be the "Horse of Troy" in the game market. In other words, when the timing is right, Apps will come to AppleTV and with iPod, iPad, and iPhone connectivity as controllers will blast Apple into the Game Counsel market over-night (so to speak). It's such a natural and the potential is very exciting.

Bring it on!

Games on the appleTV, that might push me to finally buy it. At $99 it is really tempting (already without gaming). I have right now my (old) macBook connected to the TV so I don't really have the need (maybe for some convenience) - but having games on their and use the iPhone and iPods as controllers - can't wait.

 

[Dr McKay]

Someone is smoking a big fat Cuban cigar at his desk right now.

 

[Antares]

The 3 people who bought Light Quest are probably pissed right now.

I haven't bought anything yet...but will get Chopper 2 since it's only a dollar.