WorldOfGoo
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iOS, Android and Mac stats for World of Goo
World of Goo is a physics based game that's popular among kids and adults. It started off as a PC desktop game and transitioned to the Mac, iPhone and iPad. The company recently sold its one millionth copy on iOS and released some sales stats for its different platforms. Not surprisingly, the universal version for iOS is its top seller followed by the iPhone version, which together account for 96% of the game's Apple-based revenue. The Mac version comes in last with only 4% of the revenue. The app also launched on Android about a month ago, and sales are strong. The paid version has been downloaded 70,000 times, and the free version has topped 450,000 downloads. During its first month of sales, the iPhone version reached 180,000 downloads. 2D Boy claims it's not fair to compare the sales of the two platforms because iOS customers had to pay for the app, while Android customers could choose a free version. The company says these figures show that the "Android Market is no longer the tiny upstart it was a year or two ago" and notes that "there is an opportunity for high visibility paid games to do very well on Android."
World of Goo makes Android debut, Angry Birds consider slaying ink blobs
Anyone else feel like that pig-slaying pack of temperamental birdies has finally jumped the shark? Yeah, us too. Which makes World of Goo's official bow on Android especially timely. Gaming addicts have long had the option to build with blobs of these living globs on Mac, PC, Wii, and iOS, but now the architecturally-focused fun is ready to make nice with Google's legion of mobile mitts. You can snag the puzzler on the Android market now, so long as your handset's sporting FroYo and up. Unfortunately, this good time pastime doesn't come gratis, so you'll have to fork over three dolla dolla bills, y'all. Of course, you can always get your digits dirty (and prime that budding addiction) with a demo and live in the über-frugal land of forever level one.
World of Goo for iPad outsells the Mac, PC, Linux, Wii, Xbox versions
Developer 2D Boy makes the popular World of Goo game, which they recently released on the iPad, and the official blog has a long writeup about the iPad version from creation to release. 2D Boy originally planned to release the game on the iPhone, but couldn't get it to work right, so when the iPad came around, they decided to tackle the port again. The writeup outlines not only development of the game, but also marketing (after an early choice to release at US$10, they eventually lowered the price to pick up some sales boosts) and even the timing of their release -- they landed right in that "loophole" around Christmas that allowed them to pick up some extra sales by being on the charts during the App Store freeze. And perhaps most interesting is 2D Boy's comparison of the iPad market to their past console and PC experience. The iPad version was the fastest-selling of all of the versions of the game so far, both in copies sold and revenue generated. That's pretty wild, and it shows that not only does iOS offer a lot to developers in terms of when and how they can release their games, but that Apple's platforms stack up favorably to more established marketplaces like WiiWare and Xbox Live Arcade. Of course, this was the latest version of the game, so it benefited from all of the good reviews and good will from the previous releases. Not all of that credit can go to the iPad itself. As 2D Boy says, in this case, there was a two-year-old game being sold on a platform less than a year old, so there's lots and lots of potential here for indie developers to discover.
World of Goo coming to iPad, Gunstar Heroes out now
Here are two good pieces of news for iOS gamers. First up, World of Goo, the practically classic indie game that has you building little structures out of blobs of goo, is headed to the App Store just as soon as Apple approves the app for iPad. The app will feature one-screen multiplayer, with up to 11 fingers building up and drawing goo paths out on the screen. There's no iPhone version yet, but it's not outside the range of reason, as long as 2D Boy can make it run "buttery smooth." And Sega's classic side-scroller Gunstar Heroes is now out on the iPhone as a US$2.99 app. Early word on the game is that it's an excellent port of the much-loved Genesis title. As with most ports, the controls simply consist of on-screen buttons, which can sometimes get in the way of the action. But if you're a Gunstar Heroes fan, you've probably headed over to the App Store to download the game anyway -- it's got quite a rabid following. And finally, if you are an iOS gamer, stay tuned later on this week. I'm expecting to see some gigantic sales on the App Store for Black Friday, and we'll be covering and collecting as many of them as possible. Be sure to follow us over on Twitter as well -- sometimes we'll fit in even more quick sales over there.
