Doodle Jump for the iPhone is something like a developer’s fairy tale: two brothers set out to make a game using only the talents they’ve got at hand, and end up striking gold. They keep pushing out minor updates, and the game just keeps selling.
Tomorrow morning, Lima Sky will be announcing that Doodle Jump has just surpassed 3 million sales — a feat, they claim, is a first for any Indie development house. If it seems like we were just writing about Doodle Jump surpassing the 1 million download mark, it’s because we were; that last landmark only just came in mid-December of last year. Less than 3 months later, Lima Sky has managed to triple an already impressive haul.
At 99 cents a pop, this game has pulled in at least $2.97 million in revenue since it launched in March of 2009. Given that Apple takes 30% of all sales revenue, that works out to about $891,000 for the folks in Cupertino, and $2.08 million for the two brothers behind Lima Sky. A million bucks per year (per person) from a single iPhone game? Not too bad, guys.
Wow, that’s incredible. It keeps me motivated to keep updating my app.
And that’s why App developers are always motivated to create an App.. Thanks to you. Now that’s a good thing, isn’t?
Too bad some apps are always disapproved by the apple kingdom.
i’m definitely in the wrong business. congrats doodle
buy a lottery ticket-your odds are about the same …LOL :-)
Your odds are not about the same. Any joe can buy a lottery ticket. Not anyone can build an iPhone app. As of January 15, 2010 Apple reported 133,979 apps in their app store. If I recall correctly, your odds of winning a lotto can be as great as 18MM to 1. Of course, the amount of monkey grease you’re willing to supply is up to you…
I Agree…
I think if being on the top gets you only couple million then good luck to rest of the developers. I agree, buying mega millions is better because odds are better and gains are better..
That truly can be an inspiration for many. A million bucks per year is certainly not bad money. :)
Fuel the pipe dream TC. For every success, there are *tens of thousands* of failures.
You’re a half-empty kinda guy, eh?
I think you’ll find that with most things in life.
Agreed – except that in an app store where discoverability is extremely poor, this is amplified.
I am not surprised by their success. Its a good product and has got an excellent marketing strategy – Word of mouth (via FB and Twitter). It was also priced right – at 99 cents or 59 pence a pop, it was worth the gamble.
Despite the huge app store, I think its hard to keep a good app down.
Congratulations to the guys at Lima Sky.
agreed, we should all just give in and do nothing, why bother….
pessimists
Oh come on, it’s a valid point. The app store isn’t an El Dorado for everyone.
Do we have a split for downloads and revenues per app so we can get a feel for what the hit rate looks like?
Over 24% of the nearly 160,000 apps in the app store are free and 42% of them were priced at $0.99. However 75% of all downloads are for free apps. I did some analysis and the entire app store ecosystem could reach a market size of $3 billion in 2010.
More in my blog entry here,
http://appstruck.com/2010/03/iPhone-App-Review-the-apple-app-store-ecosystem-and-glu-mobile-part-1/
really?
just like there aren’t 10,000 Elvises, 10,000 Googles, or 10,000 Tom Bradys?
go figure.
Dear TC: Stop writing about success stories when there are so many fucking failure stories out there!
If we all listened to you, we’d have exactly: 0 apps on iPhone. So shaddap. Those two didn’t sit around and wait for a break and neither should anyone else.
Guess what? Nobody gives a shit about the failures, except to a degree to understand what *doesn’t* work.
If you worship failures, go read about the Detroit school system management. The rest of us would far rather read about the success stories, preferably with details on what they did right.
Are you suggesting that instead of writing success stories, they should write failure stories ?
Wow, do you comment the same way when Forbes comes out with a list of 100 richest/powerful/influential people of the world saying there are billions of poor/oppressed/cloutless people in the world???
or when you read an article about Usain Bolt breaking records, would you comment saying that there are a billion people who cant run half as fast as he does?
great for them, and fine to report on it – it’s the wording that fuels the bs…”goldrush”, “fairy tale”?? how much did they spend on the app (time & $$) http://www.newsweek.com/id/216788
Fairy Tales may be distinguished from other folk narratives such as legends and traditions (which generally involve belief in the veracity of the events described)
Not many people expect a “goldrush” when they create an app, although they may hope to make a profit – hence it’s a “fairy tale” ending for these two guys… :-)
like when s. jobs started apple with only what he had between his ears…and like when he came back to the company that booted him…pipe dreams too…its this kind of mind set that our entrepreneur prof uses as an example of no-risk..fear of failing or just never went for it…
…or tens of thousands of things you learned didn’t work.
We all know there are thousands of failures out there. This post is important because it shows that there are simple games that _can_ make it big. Up to now, I just thought there were thousands of failures and a bunch that barely makes a living for the designer.
Cool! Doodle Jump is an awesome game. They deserve it. :-)
Agreed.
i remember when i played it for the first time….i was soooo hooked….
Its embarassing to see how many hours you play it for!
The comments above seem to forget that it is a REALLY good game!
Wow, this is fantastic. I am so pleased for the guys. As a fund manager looking to invest in great app ideas from developers in the MENA region, I’ll be sharing stories like this to motivate others and stimulate ideas. Congratulations to Lima Sky.
I just read about how they had 80,000 downloads on xmas day…pretty awesome for a 1-day take!
my app went live just a few days ago, it’s called ‘Balance Balls’ and I’m already working on my 2nd and 3rd. This story certainly keeps my hopes up.
Congrats Doodle. It’s definitely one of the best apps out there and the team keeps making it better. Well deserved.
Congrats to Apple as well… 30% take isn’t bad either.
WOW, they also have had 8 other games in the top 25…. Congrats on them, they are doing something right!
They totally deserve it.
Hope they make the most of it before Apple ban fun, well developed, totally inoffensive apps.
Same guys from Tiki Towers, cool.
Here is movie app I am trying to launch. Give it a wirl and let me know if it has a chance.
http://www.1stspin.com/Games/GameFixaFlixBList.aspx
Maybe they could make an Android port?
It is available in the android market! Not as smooth as the Apple version, yet!
Funny you should request this…Doodle Jump was recently released in the Android Market.
It is available in the android market! Not as smooth as the Apple version, yet
Congrats to Lima Sky. As many of the commenters stated, not all apps are million dollar ideas. The key to success in the app store is to actually publish an app. I’m sure most of the negative people on here have no apps in the store. Publish your app, refine it and listen to feedback. You probably won’t make a million off of one app but eventually you will get it right.
+100
well said!
My sentiments exactly. Congratulations to them both and may they have many more successes in the future!
To all the nay-sayers: you’re just jealous it wasn’t you.
1MM/person before taxes. Plus, a lot of this money will be burnt trying to come up with another game. Not as glamorous as it sounds, folks.
Are you nuts? 2 brothers, $1m each. They didn’t spend $1m each on the first 9 successes they put out; why would they burn through $2m for the next one?
Wow-may have to revisit the app store to see what all the fuss is about. I’m still trying to conquer ‘angry birds’. : )
I bought this in March 2009 when it first came out. After many other purchases from the App Store, it is still my most played game on my iPhone. Congrats Lima Sky!
I, too, bought Doodle Jump when it first came out (about 30 seconds after I finished playing my first game on my girlfriend’s iPhone).
It’s my default go-to game when I’m sitting around doing nothing and need to kill time.
It’s an excellent game, and the developers have been fantastic about listening to customer requests and implementing new features every month or so since release.
Congratulations to them, they deserve it.
Congrats to Lima Sky! It is a fun game!
Although I’m embarrassed to admit that on a good game I barely reach 20,000 points (only a couple minutes of play) and have NO IDEA how people get 1M+ scores. Oh well, it’s probably for the best that I’m not very good at it. :)
not totally right since truckloads of sales are being made abroad, in tge € zone for ex
give the current change, that’s MUCH more for Apple & Limasky !
Doodle Jump is so simple — that is its power. I have loved this game since the day I bought the app and my kids love it too. It is great to read stories like this of indies “striking gold.” The bottom line is they created a product that touched a lot of nerves in a positive way and continues to delight with variations of Doodle characters and backgrounds.
Now if I could just get beyond that 20,000 point level like @Steve Iverson talks about… :)
Do you get amused by shiny objects?
Most boring game ever. I downloaded it and have played it exactly 3 times. Bounce up up up. Yea… real exciting.
You get excited over simple things? Duh. No wonder the app store sells. Oh well, i understand. You just got your FIRST SMARTphone 3 years ago. Enjoy.
While I’m happy for them, you’re essentially looking at the results of a closed and highly regulated platform.
How could this game compete if Flash was enabled on iphones?
May they enjoy continued success in any market.
Actually the success of these NewYork brothers really motivated me to code a simple fun game for the iPhone as well. So I made “Money Reactor” and Tap Run” (See http://www.bhuio.com)
But I am getting only 1-2 downloads a day. What am I doing wrong? What did they do soo much better?
To start, link to your site correctly
Haha, good point ;-)
Here the correct Link:
http://www.bhuio.com
What needs to be done next?
With the large number of apps in the Apps Store, a developer must create and maintain a marketing outreach program leveraging social media and iPhone centric web sites.
Create a brand, build awareness through the marketing channels, engage with the customers, listen and apply feedback to new releases, etc. are all fundamental to increasing the probability of success.
Marketing and selling an app has become just like any other consumer product. There are many choices and the brand and product must be differentiated through the marketing communications, whether that be through Facebook or the Wall Street Journal.
As a marketing consultant, I am working with developers to engage with their potential customers. Of course, like any consumer product, sometimes success is elusive. A walk through any retailer will remind us how some products just go-away, while others develop into big sellers.
Ahhhhhh!!! I can’t stand that game…. I was one of the 3 MM fools who bought it. Wish apps had a 5 minute money back guarantee or something.
Congrats on your success guys. Brilliant game, you guys have earned every penny!
why cant I find doodle jump in app store ?
I think you’ll find that with most things in life.