Small and simple, apps help us in a multitude of ways in our everyday lives. From making a cake to checking the weather, to searching for a date, identifying a piece of music, and playing interactive games on the go, there is, as they say, an app for just about everything. However, despite the many practical ways in which apps can serve us, our favourite ones are in fact those that entertain: gaming apps. This article takes a look at some of the most popular gaming apps and discusses their success.
Top of the Apps
If you ever take a look at the Top Charts in the Apple App Centre, you’ll notice that the landscape is entirely dominated by one type of app. Whether it’s the Top Paid, the Top Free or Top Grossing section, games are top of the apps.Some of the most popular gaming apps include the inimitable Angry Birds, the ubiquitous Clash of Clans and of course the Candy Crush Saga, holder of the title of Most Successful App of All Time.
Candy Crush was created by King, the developer behind a number of other well known apps such as Pet Rescue, Farm Heroes and Pap Pear. The company is said to rake in some $700,000 a day from its legion of apps. So what is it that makes gaming apps so popular?
Secret behind the Success
There is a definite recipe for creating a popular gaming app. First, and perhaps most important of all, is that an app must be challenging without being too difficult. The most popular gaming apps get this balance just right, allowing for an app to be easy to pick up and play. This is important because unlike with a game for a game console, users tend to play gaming apps to fill time, rather than making time to play the game itself. This accounts for the great popularity of puzzle apps.
Another key ingredient of a popular app is that the game must have stages. Introducing a new level of difficulty just when the user thinks they’ve mastered the game helps to make the game more interesting, it also makes the user feel like they are progressing. Even just adding a new element, such as a new character, can help to vastly increase the longevity of a game.
Also vital to the success of a gaming app is the integration with social media platforms, such as Facebook and Game Centre. This allows people to sharetheir top scores and even play against friends.The importance of cost shouldn’t be underestimated either. Many gaming apps are relatively inexpensive to buy, usually costing less than $1. In many cases the games are even free, with a developer generating revenue through the extensive presence of in game advertisement.
Getting the recipe right takes expertise, however, the good news for developers is that if they do succeed they will invariably they have a hit on their hands; after all, there is always demand for something that helps people to simply fill time.
