Is the App Store heading for a developer bust?

If you're one of the developers concerned about making your games cut through the masses of cheap rubbish on the App Store, you should read this article.

It's by Andy Finnell from US developer Order N Development, and it crystallizes many of the concerns and frustrations being made in private by iPhone developers and publishers, large and small.

Finnell warns that the rash of $0.99 price points on the App Store may lead to an unsustainable ecosystem, and he uses a fictional developer example of 'Little Timmy' to make his point, pointing out that if he needs $50,000 a year to live on, he'd have to sell 71,428 copies of a $0.99 app (196 copies a day).

Instead, Finnell says prices on the App Store need to rise again, and says most $0.99 apps should actually be selling for $9.99 pointing out that Little Timmy could sell just 16 copies a day at that price and still make $40,000 a year.

"The sooner the righting of the ship happens, the better. Customers need to know that most applications can't be built and supported for such a small amount of money," he writes.

"There will be an iPhone app bust. The current prices simply aren't sustainable. Either developers will crash out of the market when they discover they can't make a living off their current prices, or the gold rush developers will lose interest and leave when they realize they can't make a quick buck off the store."

You might not agree with all his points, but it's a fascinating piece, and a welcome one in the light of the debate over the App Store's direction.