iPhone Developer Success Stories Continue to Inspire

[MacRumors]

Most developers will tell you that getting rich quickly through an iPhone App is the exception, but the stories of those who do continue to inspire many. Newsweek profiles some of the biggest winners of the App Store at this early stage.

Ge Wang is the developer behind Smule who has created a number of $0.99 applications, the most popular of which is Ocarina, a virtual musical wind instrument (video). Ocarina has seen over 400,000 downloads in less than a month and remains in the Top 10 Paid iPhone Apps. Wang expects his company to pull in close to $1 million this year.

Pangea Software is another company that has been able to find huge success on the App Store. As a long time Mac developer, Pangea was able to leverage several of their existing titles into popular iPhone Apps. Games such as Cro-Mag Rally and Enigmo will help Pangea generate $5 million in revenue this year. Pangea's Brian Greenstone notes that in the past four and a half months, Pangea's iPhone apps have generated more income than retail sales of all of Pangea's apps for the Mac for the past 21 years combined. It's no surprise that Pangea has given up writing Mac games and will focus entirely on the iPhone from now on. Greenstone says this sort of success is within anyone's reach:

"Some kid in his bedroom can literally make a million bucks just by writing a little app," Greenstone says.

Article Link: iPhone Developer Success Stories Continue to Inspire

 

[oshoel]

Skills

If only I had the skills

 

[InkMaster]

"Some kid in his bedroom can literally make a million bucks just by writing a little app," Greenstone says.

There is of course only 1 in a million chance

 

[SFStateStudent]

So what, no more games for Macs? Whatever happened to "doing something for the love of doing it?" Are Ge Wang and Pangea Software, the Curt Flood of the Mac App Industry? I need to barf...

 

[holmesf]

As an iPhone developer I'm tired of seeing these types of stories published. Yes, a few people are making lots and lots of money, but in general the market is incredibly saturated with junk apps and new-comers will probably not like the situation they find there. Please, listen to other, less successful developers, the majority of which are just struggling to hold on in this insane marketplace apple has devised, and stop this gold rush! Stories like this only encourage more junk apps!

 

[Doctor Q]

Not every developer is going to be as successful, but news about the big winners will certainly inspire more established Mac developers and brand new developers to give iPhone application development a shot.

With the increased quantity of apps, we'll get more that are worthwhile as well as more than aren't.

 

[tkidBOSTON]

It's no surprise that Pangea has given up writing Mac games and will focus entirely on the iPhone from now on. Greenstone says this sort of success is within anyone's reach:

Well thats not a good thing.

Lets hope this is an isolated occurance.

 

[yalag]

Well thats not a good thing.

Lets hope this is an isolated occurance.

I friggin hate stories like this. One in a 10,000 app made it to the top, draws the attention a million developers wannabe. And appstore turns into the biggest pile of crap. All users are forced to sift through pile and pile of junk to find a gem.

 

[JS77]

As an iPhone developer I'm tired of seeing these types of stories published. Yes, a few people are making lots and lots of money, but in general the market is incredibly saturated with junk apps and new-comers will probably not like the situation they find there. Please, listen to other, less successful developers, the majority of which are just struggling to hold on in this insane marketplace apple has devised, and stop this gold rush! Stories like this only encourage more junk apps!

Totally Agree... I can't comment on the Apps mentioned in this article as I've not used them but for the most part, the App store is saturated with pointless and completely useless "Apps".

 

[B1gMac]

If I were a developer, I would be strongly urging Apple to allow the use of the iPhone with more service providers (Verizon, Sprint). More potential customers will help all of the developers. The problem right now is that there is a bigger barrier to entry for consumers than there is for producers.

Also, I really think there needs to be a better system for searching through applications. I also hope that there would be a way to show a list of the all-time best sellers. Along with possibly what is best selling (cumulative) this year.

Another possible way that we could encourage fair pricing of apps is to have a ranking of best selling apps that is weighted by price. Therefore, those who price their application optimally and get the best price X sales figure will be rewarded.

 

[holmesf]

Not every developer is going to be as successful, but news about the big winners will certainly inspire more established Mac developers and brand new developers to give iPhone application development a shot.

With the increased quantity of apps, we'll get more that are worthwhile as well as more than aren't.

Perhaps not. When you saturate the iTunes app store with many junk apps and small minority of really worthwhile stuff, with only the very top apps receiving additional promotion from Apple, what you get is a situation where quality apps and low-quality apps get roughly equal promotion. The result is of this situation is that the most economic incentive exists for a developer to create a huge number of low quality applications. I'm afraid that if Apple doesn't change the structure of the store, pretty soon developers will only be able to get by by turning out a large quantity of low-value applications.

Most people don't understand how bad the situation really is.

 

[wesg]

And that is why I am learning Cocoa and Objective C. I need to pay for University!

 

[crees!]

So what, no more games for Macs? Whatever happened to "doing something for the love of doing it?" Are Ge Wang and Pangea Software, the Curt Flood of the Mac App Industry? I need to barf...

Then there's also the reality of business; sustaining and growth.

 

[Unspeaked]

I'm glad it's turning out ok for some folks, especially those that have been making Mac games for 21 years. Now that's persistence

I think you mean those that had been making Mac games for 21 years.

 

[Littleodie914]

Then there's also the reality of business; sustaining and growth.

That's a good point. It's certainly a two-sided coin; you need to care about what you're doing, but it's often very difficult to do it for free for any extended period of time.

I say kudos to the kids who make millions off this, but I hope that they realize that there's more to it than the money, and I certainly hope that they don't think that the industry will work that way in every (or nearly any) situation.

 

[DipDog3]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 2_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/525.18.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/3.1.1 Mobile/5F136 Safari/525.20)

The kid in the bedroom needs a great marketing plan along with a great app to just make it.

These people are more lucky than anything else.

 

[Mal]

If only I had the skills

I don't think skill is the issue. Sure, you have to learn how to code an app properly, but that you can learn if you put a little time into it. I think the biggest thing in making a successful app is coming up with something that is both unique and either entertaining or useful (depending on the intended goal). From there, of course the second most important thing is marketing. The actual coding is really not a big deal in the process of making a million dollar company from an iPhone app.

jW

 

[detz]

I don't think skill is the issue. Sure, you have to learn how to code an app properly, but that you can learn if you put a little time into it. I think the biggest thing in making a successful app is coming up with something that is both unique and either entertaining or useful (depending on the intended goal). From there, of course the second most important thing is marketing. The actual coding is really not a big deal in the process of making a million dollar company from an iPhone app.

jW

I agree with this 90%. The idea has to be unique and work well on the iPhone but the target audience has to be correct too. There are so many young people with iPhone's and iPod touches that a quality "adult" application doesn't get much tration where useless cheap programs like Pull my finger do.

 

[schneb]

If I were a developer, I would be strongly urging Apple to allow the use of the iPhone with more service providers (Verizon, Sprint).

If they would allow Pay-As-You-Go, I would drop my iPod Touch and buy an iPhone today.

 

[MacTheSpoon]

I gotta say, I am really impressed and entertained by all the cool apps that people are coming up with. Keep 'em coming!

 

[ivladster]

iFix

I think Apple will fix this whole problem with developers. They just need to make better App Store and expand it into Apple TV and Macs.

 

[ztigerpaw]

If I ever get into App Developing for the iPhone/Touch, the intension will be for fun. Both on my side & the consumers.

I've also noticed a increase in ports like Katamari and the upcoming Sim City (DO WANT x2 EXTREME!!!!!). That are preetty dang impressive compared to the early line ups. Which will give the PSP a run for its money next year no doubt.

I think Apple will fix this whole problem with developers. They just need to make better App Store and expand it into Apple TV and Macs.

If they expand app development to the Apple TV, then you basically got yourself the next PlayStation.

 

[swarmster]

Perhaps not. When you saturate the iTunes app store with many junk apps and small minority of really worthwhile stuff, with only the very top apps receiving additional promotion from Apple, what you get is a situation where quality apps and low-quality apps get roughly equal promotion. The result is of this situation is that the most economic incentive exists for a developer to create a huge number of low quality applications. I'm afraid that if Apple doesn't change the structure of the store, pretty soon developers will only be able to get by by turning out a large quantity of low-value applications.

Most people don't understand how bad the situation really is.

How is this situation different from any kind of store? A retail store like Target advertises a few choice products every week in a circular and otherwise it's up to the product manufacturer to externally advertise and get people to be aware of and want their product.

When is the last time you saw an ad for an iPhone app paid for by the app maker? Have you ever seen a magazine or newspaper ad advertising a company's new iPhone app? Why do iPhone devs think Apple owes it to them to do all their marketing for them? Putting your product on a retailer's shelf is not sufficient.

A lot of the most successful games (besides being fun) give places like Touch Arcade press releases and/or review copies and get the word out there. I can't remember the last time I browsed the App Store and its "top 10" or "top 100" lists, but I've bought a lot of great games that have been marketed toward me through sites like that.

 

[BornAgainMac]

I don't think skill is the issue. Sure, you have to learn how to code an app properly, but that you can learn if you put a little time into it. I think the biggest thing in making a successful app is coming up with something that is both unique and either entertaining or useful (depending on the intended goal). From there, of course the second most important thing is marketing. The actual coding is really not a big deal in the process of making a million dollar company from an iPhone app.

jW

The point the poster is making is that if they are really good ideas and marketing, they can't do something some programmers take for granted such as making the actual iPhone App. (Even Hello World!)

I can see some iPhone Developers that are very skilled but are terrible in the idea department.

 

[bretm]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 2_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/525.18.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/3.1.1 Mobile/5F136 Safari/525.20)

The kid in the bedroom needs a great marketing plan along with a great app to just make it.

These people are more lucky than anything else.

You keep thinking everyone that is successful is just lucky and you sure never will be. Iit's a mindset that will cripple your success in life. They might be a better programmer than you. They might be more creative than you. And sure, some are lucky. Good for them.