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Storm8 and Disney share big app download figures from the holiday season
Here are two more companies that had a big holiday season on the App Store. First up, mobile developer Storm8 has posted some information about how its holiday went, and as you can see above, December 25 was a pretty big day for them. They saw more than 2 million downloads of their apps in just one day, and a huge increase in daily active users as well: More than 4.5 times what they usually see on a standard Tuesday. That means people everywhere were unwrapping new iOS devices, and then using them to both download apps and check out their new downloads, which means big bonuses for devs with popular apps in the store. Like, for example, Disney, which also sent along some download numbers from this past holiday season. The House of Mouse reports that holiday downloads went up 98 percent in 2012, and the company picked up 15 million downloads in the five days from December 22-28. Daily active users for the company also spiked to 7.5 million, which is an increase of 400 percent compared to the year before. Disney pushed hard with its holiday lineup this year, and it looks like all that pushing paid off. This is a pretty common story around this time of year, and it's also the reason why we saw so many crazy sales leading up to the holiday season, all designed to push apps higher up on the charts, where they're more likely to be seen by new customers. Congrats to all of the devs out there who had a great holiday, and here's to seeing many more great app successes on the store in 2013.
iPhone dev accused of harvesting player phone numbers
As if, in this world of economic hardship and international strife, you need another thing to worry about. iPhone developer Storm8 has been accused of stealing the phone numbers of players that downloaded its apps like Vampires Live and Zombies Live in a suit filed in San Francisco on behalf of Lynnwood, WA resident Michael Turner. The company acknowledged the number harvesting in August, calling it a "bug," though the suit claims only specific code could have recorded and transmitted the numbers. So ... apparently that's a thing that happens. Have a great Saturday!
