Pocket God has provided one of the most significant case studies when it comes to original content that's been a huge success on the App Store.
For one thing, it's not really a game, but rather a collection of items that have been updated - twenty one times to date - that you can interact with an interesting manner.
Equally, the ability to throw your pygmy tribesmen into a volcano, feed them to passing sharks or drop coconuts on their heads etc appealed to a demographic - 8-15 year old boys - that conventional wisdom suggested wouldn't have access to an iPhone or iPod touch.
So much for conventional wisdom.
Anyhow, the news from the guys behind the game - Dave Castelnuovo (pictured) and Allan Dye (aka Bolt Creative) - is that Pocket God will be coming to other platforms. There's no mention of what yet but we'd expect the usual array of digital gaming channels - PSN, XBLA, WiiWare etc to feature, although it would make sense for Sony to snap it up as an exclusive.
There will be a version of the game that supports the 3.0 OS features of iPhone too, which will include push notification and social networking features such as buddy challenges.
Also announced have been some sales figures.
Total sales to date are 1.2 million.
When Pocket God first hit the #1 App Store spot in March 2009, it sold on average 13,600 apps a day.
Peak sales were 18,900 copies on 2 March 2009.
On its last day at #1 (27 March), it sold 11,478 copies.
"The iPhone's low barrier to entry is great for small teams and small budgets, but its explosive popularity also translates into a daunting level of competition that can be hard to confront," commented Dave Castelnuovo. "We've found success by creating an engaged and enthusiastic community, and releasing an onslaught of free updates. We thought it was important to share what we've learned."
Pocket God is available at the same price it launched at: 99c or 59p.
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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.
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