Pop quiz. Where is the next generation of Android users going to come from?
We don't know, either.
How about the next generation of iPhone users?
See that tweener clutching the iPod touch he got for Christmas? The one that's all glassy-eyed playing Zombie Pizza?
Yeah, that's the kid. His name is "Your Customer of Tomorrow".
In the palm of their hand
Appy Entertainment's motto is "Games as personal as your iPhone." There's nothing more personal than a photo! Our first game largely overlooked the iPod touch as we locked in on the iPhone's camera. FaceFighter is built around the idea of turning photographs into kung fu fighters so you can beat the crap out them. It has a lot of appeal to younger gamers.
Unfortunately, many gamers don't have iPhones at all. They're on iPod touches. And touches don't have cameras (D'oh!).
We took note of that mounting wave of new touch users - and even posted a blog about it - then redirected our development toward apps that don't require cameras, aiming at both core gamers and this new touch generation.
Touch the touch generation
Now that big wave has hit the beach. Apple doesn't break out specific iPod touch numbers, but with an estimated 15-18 million combined iPod touch and iPhone units moved over the holiday, it is a safe bet that at least 8 million of them are the iPod touch, and many (most?) of those units went to kids experiencing Apple's amazing multi touch motherbox for the first time.
These young new touch owners are tech-savvy and upwardly mobile. As much as they love their touches, they're going to want cell phones of their own as soon as they can convince their parents to tumble for a calling plan.
What phone do you think they're going to want? The one that's compatible with all the games and media they've already bought, or that other one that's... not?
Where's the baby robot?
Look. Appy Entertainment thinks competition lifts everyone's game. We'd welcome the luxury of being platform agnostic. We're pulling for Android - really, we are! But even from this remove we can see that Apple is not only years ahead with the current generation of smart phone users, it's also stolen a march on locking up the hearts and minds of the next generation of users.
With the best buying experience thanks to iTunes, the biggest app library, the fastest-growing install base, and buzz that is off the charts, it's not like Apple needs another competitive advantage. But that's what they've got in the iPod touch: an utterly unchallenged feeder platform for the next generation of Apple customers.
Android, baby, you're killing us here. While you're planning the next stealth fighter airstrike for your phone, think about giving kids something they'll like. A yo-yo with an MP3 player, a pack of bubblegum cards with a touch screen inside. Anything.
In the meantime, here's your homework assignment. Ask any twelve-year old what they want for their birthday. And for extra credit, after they're done spinning out about the iPod touch, tell them about FaceFighter and Zombie Pizza.
Thanks to Paul for his column.
You can keep up-to-date with Appy Entertainment via its website, blog, Twitter, and its app store.
