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Analysis: EA, Kabam, Supercell, Backflip and Playtika the top grossing developers on iOS during 2012

While Ubisoft and Fireproof Games win GotY

Analysis: EA, Kabam, Supercell, Backflip and Playtika the top grossing developers on iOS during 2012
It's the time for end of year lists, something Apple is fulfilling with its Best of 2012 features on the App Store.

Kicking off the highlights, the company seems to have taken a universal approach in terms of its games of the year, with the US, UK, Canadian, German and French stores all running with Ubisoft's Rayman Jungle Run as the iPhone game of the year, and UK studio Fireproof Games The Room gaining the iPad award.

However, looking at which games did best in various countries, it's a different story.

Big winners

Headline winners include EA's The Simpsons: Tapped Out and Kabam's Kingdom of Camelot: Battle for the North, each of which feature in seven of the top 5 lists in terms of the iPhone and iPad top grossing charts in the five countries researched by PocketGamer.biz (US, UK, Canada, Germany and France)

Supercell's Clash of Clans, Backflip's DragonVale (released in 2011), and Playtika's Slotomania (also released in 2011) feature in five of the top grossing charts.

Smaller winners

When it comes to top paid games, Rovio clearly rules with the various examples of the Angry Birds featuring 21 times - that's out of a possible 50 slots (10 per country).

Zynga/OMGPOP's Draw Something features six times, as does Halfbrick's Fruit Ninja (released in 2010). Disney's Where's My Water? (released in 2011) features eight times.

It's notable that none of the games appearing in any of top 5 paid charts appear in any top 5 top grossing charts, demonstrating the power of the free-to-play business model.

As for other surprises, Lima Sky's Doodle Jump (released in 2009) was a top 5 paid game for iPhone in Germany, while German developer XYRALITY saw its Lords & Knights - Medieval Strategy MMO also appear in its domestic top grossing charts for both iPhone and iPad.

You can see the full breakdown below.

Top Grossing, US, iPhone, games

1. Kingdom of Camelot: Battle for the North

2. Slotomania

3. Poker by Zynga

4. DragonVale

5. Rage of Bahamut

Top Grossing, US, iPad, games

1. DragonVale

2. Slotomania HD

3. Slotomania

4. Kingdom of Camelot: Battle for the North

5. Modern War

Top Sellers, paid, US, iPhone, games

1. Angry Birds Space

2. Draw Something

3. Where's My Water?

4. Angry Birds Star Wars

5. Fruit Ninja

Top Sellers, paid, US, iPad, games

1. Angry Birds Space HD

2. Where's My Water?

3. Draw Something

4. Angry Birds Star Wars HD

5. Minecraft - Pocket Edition




Top Grossing, UK, iPhone, games

1. Poker by Zynga

2. Kingdom of Camelot: Battle for the North

3. The Simpsons: Tapped Out

4. Bejeweled Blitz

5. Clash of Clans

Top Grossing, UK, iPad, games

1. Clash of Clans

2. Kingdom of Camelot: Battle for the North

3. The Simpsons: Tapped Out

4. DragonVale

5. The Sims FreePlay

Top Sellers, paid, UK, iPhone, games

1. Draw Something

2. Angry Birds Space

3. Angry Birds Star Wars

4. Angry Birds

5. Fruit Ninja

Top Sellers, paid, UK, iPad, games

1. Angry Birds Space HD

2. Draw Something

3. Angry Birds Star Wars HD

4. Where's My Water

5. Scrabble for iPad




Top Grossing, Germany, iPhone, games

1. The Simpsons: Tapped Out

2. Lords & Knights - Medieval Strategy MMO

3. Poker by Zynga

4. Clash of Clans

5. Hay Day

Top Grossing, Germany, iPad, games

1. Clash of Clans

2. Lords & Knights - Medieval Strategy MMO

3. Hay Day

4. The Simpsons: Tapped Out

5. Ice Age Village

Top Sellers, paid, Germany, iPhone, games

1. Angry Birds Space

2. Where's My Water?

3. Fruit Ninja

4. Doodle Jump

5. Angry Birds

Top Sellers, paid, Germany, iPad, games

1. Where's My Water?

2. Angry Birds Space HD

3. Real Racing 2 HD

4. Asphalt 7: Heat

5. FIFA 13




Top Grossing, French, iPhone, games

1. The Simpsons: Tapped Out

2. Kingdom of Camelot: Battle for the North

3. Texas Poker

4. Clash of Clans

5. Poker by Zynga

Top Grossing, French, iPad, games

1. Clash of Clans

2. Ice Age Village

3. Kingdom of Camelot: Battle for the North

4. The Simpsons: Tapped Out

5. The Sims FreePlay

Top Sellers, paid, France, iPhone, games

1. Angry Birds Space

2. Fruit Ninja

3. Where's My Water?

4. Angry Birds

5. Angry Birds Star Wars

Top Sellers, paid, France, iPad, games

1. Angry Birds Space HD

2. Scrabble for iPad

3. Where's My Water?

4. Fruit Ninja HD

5. Angry Birds Star Wars HD




Top Grossing, Canada, iPhone, games

1. Slotomania

2. The Simpsons: Tapped Out

3. Kingdom of Camelot: Battle for the North

4. DragonVale

5. Clash of Clans

Top Grossing, Canada, iPad, games

1. Slotomania HD

2. DragonVale

3. Kingdom of Camelot: Battle for the North

4. Clash of Clans

5. Smurfs' Village

Top Sellers, paid, Canada, iPhone, games

1. Angry Birds Space

2. Draw Something

3. Tetris

4. Angry Birds

5. Fruit Ninja

Top Sellers, paid, Canada, iPad, games

1. Angry Birds Space HD

2. Where's My Water?

3. Angry Birds Star Wars HD

4. Draw Something

5. Minecraft - Pocket Edition

Contributing Editor

A Pocket Gamer co-founder, Jon is Contributing Editor at PG.biz which means he acts like a slightly confused uncle who's forgotten where he's left his glasses. As well as letters and cameras, he likes imaginary numbers and legumes.