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iPhone Developer Made $250K From Apple Store In Two Months

alleyinsider.com — Steve Demeter developed the iPhone puzzle game Trism as a side project, but now he's quitting his day job. Why? Because he says he's generated $250,000 in profits since he started selling the $4.99 game on iTunes this summer. That's after Apple (AAPL) has taken its 30% cut of total sales, and after subtracting his initial investment of about $5,000

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  • fuzzmeister, on 09/23/2008, -2/+69Wow, time to break out that SDK.
    • chkdg8, on 09/23/2008, -2/+5You and me both.
    • WildTang3nt, on 09/23/2008, -17/+16Yes, I'm clearly in the wrong line of work. Too bad I hate Apple with a passion matched in magnitude only by its fans.
    • addiktion, on 09/24/2008, -0/+2I wonder where Aurora Feint would be if it would of charged the same price. Probably the same amount or higher. That game is graphically pleasing.
  • Junior612, on 09/23/2008, -9/+29It's good to know people don't have anything better to do with their iPhones.
    • Selkies, on 09/23/2008, -5/+8Whatever man, I'd like 250k
      • Coffeedemon, on 09/23/2008, -1/+10Well you won't earn it by ***** around playing games. The poster's point was directed at the consumer.
      • theonlybradever, on 09/23/2008, -6/+4yes, 250k was what he made being the ONLY app that sold on the iPhone, no one else is doing ANYTHING at all with their phones but playing Trism, please. go back to your crashberry.
    • nepidae, on 09/23/2008, -1/+1Its true, once you put a video game on your iphone it can no longer be used for anything else.
  • smellytim, on 09/23/2008, -17/+6holy *****! thats insane. it is a great game, if anyone hasnt played it go download it.
  • chuck667, on 09/23/2008, -16/+7Jism.
  • Wuss, on 09/23/2008, -7/+47“Do I want to be spending 6 months to write the game, and another 6 months making it compatible? If I had Trism available for Android, and there are 50 Android devices and every time one of them crashes (the users) contact me, do I want that?”

    Pardon my ignorance, but if you write software for Android, at what point do you have to spend 6 months "making it compatible" with "50 Android devices".

    Don't get me wrong, I'm by no means a developer, but with my feeble understanding of software dev, is there that much of an issue? Even if the hardware is different, the software (Android) is translating the applications, not the hardware. Is that way off mark?
    • Laminarcissus, on 09/23/2008, -5/+8Nope, that's correct.
    • satanguy, on 09/23/2008, -0/+22in theory at least, we'll have to see whether it actually work that way
    • benologist, on 09/23/2008, -0/+12You'd think so but look at any desktop operating system.... support costs a lot of money to provide and people are inevitably capable of ***** things up.
    • loganisamonkey, on 09/23/2008, -0/+20You also have to take into account the hardware being used to support Android. If the phone/device doesn't have say, enough RAM, then the application would crash. Or, perhaps video recording is needed, but the phone/device doesn't support video. Then that app won't work.

      Android is just the software. Manufacturers control what runs it, and what they make may not be sufficient enough for some apps, thus creating problems.
      • ell0bo, on 09/23/2008, -0/+2I thought that google had a bare minimums requirement for a phone running Android? I could have sworn I saw that somewhere before. Once you couple that with the VM which Android is, it gives you a stable platform you can count on always being there. If Google didn't do that bare minimum requirement, then the VM will be like a sherrif in the wild west. Things will be nuts, and it's going to be tough getting programs to run across ALL phones. I can't believe Google would do something that stupid. Remember, Android is sorta based to Java, so it's not just an OS, but a VM as well.
    • ilgaz, on 09/23/2008, -3/+4It is exactly same on Symbian land too. If one develops really professionally, same core can run on all Symbian devices (that is a huge list) and just minimal UI recoding is needed for S60/IUQ/FOMA.
      Opera Mini also proves Sun was right all along. How? Opera Mini is a SINGLE executable jar, "advanced" and "simple". Same jar can even work on strangest UIQ3 devices.
      I am running "Lemmings" on my SE P1i, it is originally written for UIQ2 or something and my device is UIQ 3, it is way more advanced game than his game and it works perfectly.
      It seems Developer tried to be nice to Apple but he has lost it along the way. ;)
      • MarkBroadhurst, on 09/24/2008, -0/+1And surely thos who cant be bothered to recode for S60/IUQ/FOMA just say that its not supported.
    • cheapotheclown, on 09/23/2008, -0/+12Because Android devices will be coming from a multitude of hardware vendors, with different hardware specs and UI. Some Android phones will be touch screen -- some aren't. The buttons and controls will be different for every phone. That in itself will require constant app updates to make your programs compatible/optimized to every new phone out there.
    • rrc7cz, on 09/23/2008, -0/+3He's probably refering to J2ME... Java on mobile has historically been a disaster.. You have different hardware that the JVM is supposed to abstract out, but in reality you end up having to write custom cost for all the differences. It's gotten a bit better over time, but.. You'll be writing J2ME on Android, so he was probably thinking of the past.
    • GothAlice, on 09/23/2008, -0/+2The same is true of WinMo devices, though it was far worse in the CE past. How many different complete CPU architectures were there to compile your application against? Let alone the number of radically different devices running those completely incompatible chipsets? My god.
    • MattjDrake, on 09/23/2008, -0/+8I agree with him - but the bigger problem is that programming to all those phones will make the apps be required to appeal to the lowest common denominator. The great thing about the iPhone is that you can actually make cool things that you know will run great on the phone.
    • iofthestorm, on 09/23/2008, -0/+1It's correct besides relying on certain hardware features, because Android apps are Java running through their specialized VM.
    • nepidae, on 09/23/2008, -0/+1Having written palm os games, even dealing with a few platforms became a pain when an issue occured on a version I didn't own.
      • GothAlice, on 09/25/2008, -0/+1Sony vs. Palm DIA for example? :P Yeah, I had to deal with stupid, stupid compatibility issues on Palm OS, too.
  • Laminarcissus, on 09/23/2008, -11/+15In a related story:

    "iPhone PR Agency Make $250K Distracting Digg from Yet Another App Store Ban"

    http://arstechnica.com/journals/apple.ars/2008/09/ ...
  • , on 09/23/2008, -0/+0Duplicate: http://digg.com/apple/IPhone_Developers_Go_From_Ra ...
  • , on 09/23/2008, -0/+0Duplicate: http://digg.com/apple/IPhone_Developers_Go_From_Ra ...
  • , on 09/23/2008, -0/+0Duplicate of a story that has been on the front page for a few days now:
    http://digg.com/apple/IPhone_Developers_Go_From_Ra ...
  • , on 09/23/2008, -0/+0Duplicate of a story that has been on the front page for a few days now:
    http://digg.com/apple/IPhone_Developers_Go_From_Ra ...
  • tazB, on 09/23/2008, -10/+2Solitaire > Trism
  • paulishuku, on 09/23/2008, -8/+16How did this pass up a 385 digg story and beat it to the front page with only 71 diggs?

    Can anyone please explain this to me?

    Im not trying to be an ass, I really want to know. Thanks.
    • doctordbx, on 09/23/2008, -4/+22Of course.

      Digg is rigged to promote Apple stories so Kevin Rose can make even more money.
    • ralphthemagi, on 09/23/2008, -0/+22Many factors are taken into account before something makes it to the front page. It's not just the raw Digg count. It's how quickly it's being dugg, the ratio of diggs to buries, the absolute number of each, how long ago it was submitted, and maybe even how many comments it has—I don't know. But what I do know is that there are many variables in the algorithm that ultimately decides when something makes it to the front page.
    • bhowell, on 09/23/2008, -0/+9I think it also has to do with who submitted the story and who's digging it. If a person has recently dugg a bunch of the submitter's stories, then their diggs will count less towards getting it to the front page. Or something like that. It's meant to make it harder to "game" digg, and to encourage people to submit articles of interest to a wider variety of people.

      There's also a bunch of other black magic going on. If you submit a story supporting Obama from an iMac running Ubuntu, it's guaranteed to hit the front page.
      • paulishuku, on 09/23/2008, -0/+1Damn! You're definitely in the know. Thanks for the advice!
      • mrfunktastic, on 09/23/2008, -0/+5The Ubama "Pwning President" release drops this November
  • AnAfricanOnline, on 09/23/2008, -8/+2They dugg him!!
  • sgtcaboose, on 09/23/2008, -0/+47*Breaking*, iPhone App market flooded after developer makes $250k
    • benologist, on 09/23/2008, -1/+13With a follow up 3 months later... 250k developers fail to make 250k between them!!

      This guy was in the right place at the right time and lucky as *****.
      • RobotLeAwesome, on 09/23/2008, -1/+8Well, he made a good app and sold it at a reasonable price.

        Right place right time is more like the dozens of .99 flashlight apps that may have made a few hundred bucks for the creator.
    • ilgaz, on 09/23/2008, -1/+4I am sure Symbian and J2ME developers , at least some of them makes much more money but it is not "news" for them.
      To give a clue, Nokia paid billions to a company which only does Satellite/GPS navigation software to Symbian devices. The "Nokia Maps" is actually their product.
      Even simpler way is checking the Opera ASA financial reports.
  • damian7, on 09/23/2008, -13/+4***** stole my game
  • ShuttleXpC, on 09/23/2008, -6/+6Why is this being Digg'd again? This story was up about 1 week ago. I mean its cool, but its dumb bringing back old news.
    • BrokenCircle, on 09/23/2008, -3/+2Ronald Reagan to Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev "Tear down this wall".
    • haydesigner, on 09/23/2008, -0/+4Digg'd?

      Try Dugg.
    • dimplemonkey, on 09/25/2008, -0/+1So then you should have buried it as a dupe while encouraging others to do the same.
  • Samsauce, on 09/23/2008, -9/+1BAY AREAAAAA! Represent. ** jovially raises both hands in a pumping motion**
  • bmw021, on 09/23/2008, -0/+55*Results not typical
  • reformation, on 09/23/2008, -1/+10Totally deserved - Trism is a great game and selling at a very reasonable price.
    Regarding the Android comments - it totally makes sense - every iphone has the same touch screen, the same resolution, the same accelerometer. Developers know that if it works on one it works exactly the same on another. None of this is true on Android.



    • ErikHK, on 09/23/2008, -1/+0Yeah, why isn't it like that in the vehicle world too? We could all be driving the same car, and we could buy spare parts without worrying if it will fit! How awesome wouldn't that be?

      /sarcasm (not needed hopefully)
    • Nightfall, on 09/23/2008, -0/+1I agree with you reformation. Trism is a great game and I enjoy it. The $5 app cost is very reasonable. Which means he sold about 100,000 copies of his game. Thats great news for him and for the people who bought the game. I don't see any reason why people should be pissed off at this guy. If anything, it shows that a quality product can produce a good profit. Thats the way it should be.
  • mikk1est, on 09/23/2008, -3/+5Hitting the front page will double the $250K
  • ilgaz, on 09/23/2008, -6/+1Putting all eggs into one basket, especially if the basket is Orwelian app store doesn't sound good to me.
    I would start checking Symbian SDK, it is C++ too. Would Apple be mad if Symbian or Win Mo mobile version ships? Now that question is exactly why you shouldn't rely on Apple iPhone store only.
    iPhone developers should really look to market.
    • santaliqueur, on 09/23/2008, -0/+6Orwellian? Seriously? It's a ***** app store.
      • MattjDrake, on 09/23/2008, -0/+1Yeah, its a risk its true. But, they are not going back and changing all the old newspapers.... Or are they? Did Apple invent the iPod or not?
  • Ultra99, on 09/23/2008, -7/+1You sir, are full of WIN.
  • DamnMan, on 09/23/2008, -9/+4No one commenting on the 30% cut Apples taking? I could get a better percentages from a bookie.
    • 1town, on 09/23/2008, -1/+15How much money do you think he would've made without Apple?
    • Goblin, on 09/23/2008, -1/+13You think you could set up a store, promote an app, handle the storage and bandwidth for tens of thousands of people to download it, create a secure credit card processing system and pay the credit card percentage for 30% (including the time to support all of the above)?
    • MacParrot, on 09/23/2008, -1/+4How about we comment on the 100% of WAH you're doing?
    • Zippo, on 09/23/2008, -0/+230% is a bargin considering Apple's covering all the distribution.
    • DamnMan, on 09/25/2008, -0/+12 days ago I know. Better late than never, Especially with such gaping arguments.

      We are talking 40 thousand dollars a month give or take. Does $40,000 a month for hosting one 8.3 meg product sound in any way reasonable to you?

      At 8.3 Megs a download that's roughly 250 Gbytes a month, not a particularly excessive amount of bandwidth either.

      I need to go in to business with you people if you think that's a fair deal.
  • Jger, on 09/23/2008, -5/+0Sheesh it took them long enough to come out with a Hexic-style game...
    • EmperorPsiblade, on 09/23/2008, -0/+2This has been out FOREVER. Where have you been?
  • fokov, on 09/23/2008, -5/+230% of the gross goes to Apple. That's almost government numbers. And what service do they provide for this, a store? wow.
    • MattjDrake, on 09/23/2008, -0/+11A store is actually worth 30% to me as a developer. Bigger than a store is the market share of eye balls that iTunes gives you.
    • MtheoryX, on 09/23/2008, -0/+7If you can provide a better alternative, and take a smaller cut, go right ahead.
    • srg13, on 09/23/2008, -0/+9"And what service do they provide for this, a store? wow. "

      Yeah, it's really not much - I mean, it's not like they provide the bandwidth for millions of people to download his application, provide credit card facilities, and let him feature his application on a store that is on every iPod Touch and iPhone, and available to everyone who has iTunes installed...


      Wait...
    • nepidae, on 09/23/2008, -0/+1They provide the audience. Having done mobile development before, it is worth it.
  • xxnightopsxx, on 09/23/2008, -7/+1Once again proving that human stupidity is the most common element in the universe, this guy just found another way to profit off it.
    • MacParrot, on 09/23/2008, -0/+9Too bad you can't seem to profit off your stupidity
      • xxnightopsxx, on 09/23/2008, -3/+0No, I prefer to profit off your.
      • MacParrot, on 09/23/2008, -0/+1Good luck with that since I've never been able to do a damn thing with it
  • honesttussey, on 09/23/2008, -9/+4Unfortunately after the US economic crash, the only two things Steve was able to buy with his $250k were a gallon of milk and a carton of eggs. Steve is also still looking for a job.
  • AlphaGeekJay, on 09/23/2008, -0/+3Good for him, hopefully he's not a "one hit" wonder.
  • icndvl, on 09/23/2008, -0/+3Its simple genius that drives the economy. Hopefully the developer sees big after this!
  • icndvl, on 09/23/2008, -2/+2Its simple genius that drives the economy. Hopefully the developer sees big after this!
  • theutopian, on 09/23/2008, -0/+3Wish I knew how to program... I don't have the constitution for programming, unfortunately. I write books, not code. And that's hard enough.
    • ConvergeUA, on 09/23/2008, -0/+3It's never too late to learn :) Also, it is not that hard as many people think
      • SyzygyMan, on 09/23/2008, -0/+1I don't know that I'd say it's not hard - it really depends on the person.

        But, I have noticed that those that are genuinely capable of programming well are generally able to learn how to do so pretty quickly. Some people have the brain for it, some don't (it's not an IQ thing, IMHO).

        I recommend attempting to learn a "free" language on your own (PHP, Ruby, Python, etc). If it "makes sense" after a few weeks, you're golden. If not, you may not have a programmer's brain. If you do have a programmer's brain, you'll be able to master any language and programming environment in relatively short order. And the more languages you learn, the faster you will learn new ones.

        I just got bored with it after 10 years or so...

        After seeing how much money this guy has made, it may be time to jump back into the programming game (pardon the pun).
  • badman1683, on 09/23/2008, -0/+2thts just amazing think this is time to develop some apple apps and make money
  • banderwocky, on 09/23/2008, -0/+1That is awesome. Very inspiring.
  • bffoley, on 09/23/2008, -0/+3Dumb question about iPhone app dev: Would I be able to develop on Windows XP? I've read that I'd have to use GNUstep and jump through a bunch of hoops to get it working.....
    • Balanced, on 09/23/2008, -0/+3Your best bet, really, would be to get a cheap Mac Mini unless you like frustration.
  • Zippo, on 09/23/2008, -0/+2I want to know how much the guys who created Koi Pond have reeled in. Even at 99¢, that thing is a hot seller... and a great little fun app at that.
  • YodaJones, on 09/23/2008, -0/+2Totally makes sense. I am interested to see how apps for Android have to be worked out for compatibility among all the handsets that may come on the market.
  • OszoInfinity, on 09/23/2008, -0/+0It is not that simple to make money on the App Store, in a sustained way. Check this out: http://latenitesoft.blogspot.com/2008/09/cruel-eco ...
  • ICasualty, on 09/23/2008, -0/+1This article was posted like 3 weeks ago.
  • vagarach, on 09/23/2008, -0/+1Hopefully his next game will take off when Trism's sales die down!
  • browe07, on 09/23/2008, -0/+3Must be nice to have $5k for a side project.
    • TheNeptune, on 09/23/2008, -1/+1Actually, if people just learned to live by their means, we should all have a ton of money saved up. Low income? Quit buying drinks like soda / cola / coke whatever you want to call it and just drink some ***** water. Get a rear projection TV instead of a plasma / LCD quit being such a lazy ass and use a drying rack for most garments and quit using that expensive dryer. When you need convenience items grab them on your way to / from work and save on gas by not making a special trip.

      I did a lot of this stuff over the summer and went from living pay check to pay check to having a considerable amount of cash saved up. Small lifestyle changes!
  • Sparky9292, on 09/23/2008, -0/+2Now I don't feel guilty pirating iPhone apps on my Jailbroken 3G iPhone. Learn how to do it here:

    http://beta.macnbits.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=841 ...
  • Ebacherville, on 09/24/2008, -0/+1dang i knew i should have went into programming instead of tech support and video editing :(
  •  

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