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Nicholas Lovell
Home   >   Self-Publishing   >   Sales   >   The app Store shows the race to free

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The app Store shows the race to free

By on July 30, 2012

In June 2010, 71% of the worldwide 100 top grossing apps on the App Store were paid only. Just two years later, that figure is 16%.

If we include apps that are paid but also enable in-app purchases (IAP), the figure falls from 93% to 32%.

When you go digital, and a de facto cartel doesn’t block a zero price (as is happening in the book industry), the price trends to free.

It’s a good job we in the games industry have worked out how to monetise free.

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About Nicholas Lovell

Nicholas is the founder of Gamesbrief, a blog dedicated to the business of games. It aims to be informative, authoritative and above all helpful to developers grappling with business strategy. He is the author of a growing list of books about making money in the games industry and other digital media, including How to Publish a Game and Design Rules for Free-to-Play Games, and Penguin-published title The Curve: thecurveonline.com