iPhone app development studio turns over $US1 million per month

An iPhone app development studio in the US is now turning over $US1 million per month from the sales of its programs, which have become some of the most popular apps available on the device.

But the company’s size shows how participants in the App Store’s economy are finding it increasingly difficult to make their apps known and earn money, one industry expert says.

Tapulous, based in San Francisco, has announced its “Tap Tap Revenge” series of games now turn over a total over $US1 million per month, with its games installed more than 20 million times.

The games are based on rhythm and are similar to popular games of its type such as Rock Band or Guitar Hero, and sees users tap the screen of an iPhone or iPod Touch to the beat of a popular song. Various versions have been produced, including games with music from specific bands or artists.

The studio is small, with only 20 employees, but recent figures from analytics firm ComScore suggest any version of Tap Tap Revenge has been downloaded and installed by one-third of App Store customers.

The company has said it is profitable, but no financial results have yet been released. Chief executive Bert Decrem told Reuters he hopes the company will continue to grow based on the size of mobile app commerce.

“It’s going to be big and all of a sudden people are going to say, ‘holy cow, where did those guys come from?'” he said. The company generates revenue through game sales, advertising and the sale of songs through the apps.

The app economy has surged over the past 18 months since the introduction of the Apple App Store. It now has over 100,000 apps available with billions of downloads recorded, while other app stores such as the Nokia Ovi marketplace, the Windows Mobile marketplace and the Android market have all opened their own stores.

But Marc Edwards, chief executive of Melbourne-based iPhone app studio Bjango, says the gap between “hits” and poorer-performing apps will widen.

“I think as the App Store matures, apps that are doing well will keep doing well. The hits aren’t going away, and all of the successful apps will keep earning money for a long time. They will keep succeeding, and Tapulous is one of those examples.”

Edwards says success on the App Store now depends on some external activity, such as some simple marketing and advertising programs.

“We’ve always had a strong following. I think we’re not as successful as some of the larger offers, such as Tapulous obviously, but we’ve certainly had a good following on Twitter and have a really good relationship with some of the review sites.”

“The other thing we’re seeing is that a lot of the players in different genres are now being established, making it harder for others to break in. So take Tapulous, they’ve had the ground in music rhythm games, so for someone else to get in there and do that sort of app would be very difficult because Tap Tap Revenge is so well known. We’ve also been able to maintain that lead as well in our own apps.”