Edible Apple

According to a new industry survey, approximately 40.1 million users are playing games on iOS devices.

TUAW puts the figure into context:

That’s a huge market share, especially considering this platform has only existed for a few years.

By comparison, Sony’s PSP system only has an audience of around 18 million, and Nintendo’s DS audience in the States sits at 41 million.

While the data indicates that iOS users are less prone to paying for games than their PSP and DS playing counterparts, this is ultimately irrelevant – at least from Apple’s perspective. Apple wants to establish as big of an iOS userbase as possible, and if free games on iTunes is the bait needed to lure people over to the dark side, then so be it. Granted, developers may not be happy about relatively cheap pricepoints on iTunes, but history has shown that people are more than willing to pay for quality, even on the iPhone. Indeed, a quick perusal of the top grossing apps on iTunes suggests that the developers making the most money with the iOS are those with higher than average price points.