Games took 12 of the 25 spots on analyst group comScore’s list of the top applications on Apple’s App Store, with music game Tap Tap Revenge ruling the roost with the largest installed base.
Facebook. AIM. Google. These are the gargantuan brands that you’d think would be the most installed applications for Apple’s iPhone and iPod Touch. But no, Tap Tap Revenge, a music game of the DDR/Guitar Hero/Rock Band variety with few big-name songs attached, is the top dog, according to a report by internet information analysts comScore. Yes, it even beat the fart apps.
“It’s impressive that a game like Tapulous’s Tap Tap Revenge can attract a higher penetration among Apple app users than apps for larger and more established brands,” said Brian Jurutka, vice president of comScore. “Tap Tap‘s success demonstrates that there is ample opportunity in the app space for any publisher to obtain significant distribution with a product that engages users.”
According to comScore’s numbers, Tap Tap Revenge has been downloaded by 32 percent of iPhone/iTouch users (at least those who use applications) as of February this year. Meanwhile, 12 of the other top 25 apps are games, with Touch Hockey, Pac-Man and iBowl also ranking high. The big name brands, like Facebook and Google, are also up there, but a quick glance at the ranking shows that games really are the winning ticket here.
So why don’t you see Tap Tap on Apple’s Top 25 list in the store itself? Well, Apple compiles that list based on popularity within a certain time frame (the most recent), to keep the list fresh. comScore, however, compiled its numbers from cumulative installed base for each application.
I’ve never been a big fan of Tap Tap Revenge – I find it to be just a no frills Guitar Hero clone except instead of tilting your guitar you shake your phone. But it’s not hard to see why people like it so much, and why games in general are so popular either. People like easy, temporary distractions for commutes or just to kill time. On top of that, games often come in an abundance of free trial editions, and we all know people love the word free. Of course that means that when some fraction of users (and evidently there are a whole lot of them) upgrade to premium content, it’s seriously big bucks.
