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by kumarm 2848 days ago
>>A successful iOS game makes $4,000 annually (this goes for any app frankly). A successful Android game makes one seventh of that (one third at best)

Not true.

Source: I run a mobile apps company with popular apps on Android.

8 comments

I also would deeply contest those number claims.

To speak specifically to the Android claims, this author does what so many others have done: Long after the hype has worn down (hype that including mainstream media attention) they eventually get around to an Android port and then report miserable Android sales.

Well, no kidding. I mean if it doesn't have the word of mouth pitch, does this look compelling-

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.yourcompan...

It looks like a hello world app. And the com.yourcompany bit is telling.

We've seen this with a number of much more polished games as well: Release on iOS, get tonnes of press and attention, and then long after the hype has died down release something on Android. Do these people really think those users just sat waiting?

> does this look compelling

It actually does. It looked intriguing enough that I bought it without hearing of it beforehand when it came out.

I have to agree with you on this. I've built and sold several "successful" indie apps (iOS, macOS, Android) and almost all had sales well into the many hundreds of thousands $ per annum.

Where is he getting this $4,000 number from?

If you’d only get $4000 for a reasonably succesful app the store would probably have a lot less apps. You can’t run a business on that kind of money.
Can you elaborate? 1/7th sounds like a stretch because App Store revenue is only double the Play Store revenue, but game revenue could only be equal if Android sells effectively no business software.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/techcrunch.com/2018/07/16/apple...

Do the two stores have the same number of apps?
Play Store has about twice as many as the App Store. However, I’d estimate the number of apps anyone downloads is closer since Apple does better quality control. And App Store almost certainly has more developer hours behind its apps.

https://www.statista.com/statistics/276623/number-of-apps-av...

So how do they really compare?
There's quite a few monetization models for games other than just charging for a download (arguably the worst way to get potential customers engaging with your app).
Then what are the actual numbers for iOS vs Android?
This isn’t about a random outlier it’s about statistics.
Every app makes the exact same amount of money! No android app ever outearns iOS!!!