With the iTunes App Store quickly approaching the 50 billion downloads mark — that's about six or seven apps for every person on the planet — Apple is showcasing a list of the top 100 free and paid iPhone and iPad apps of all-time, or as I like to call it, 47 gaming apps and friends.
I was actually expecting the number to be a bit higher, though perhaps my experiences on the app store don't mirror those of people actually trying to get a little work done. Still 47 out of 100 isn't too shabby. The paid iPhone charts feature 19 games; the free iPhone charts a mere four. Over on the more professional iPad charts we've got 15 games, with another seven in the free column.
Let's explore further!
How many Angry Birds games are on the top charts? All of them, with the exception of Angry Birds Friends, which only came out just this week. That includes all of the traditional bird variants, as well as Bad Piggies. All-in-all, 11 percent of the top 100 is Rovio.
Then we've got the usual suspects — Cut the Rope, Words with Friends, Draw Something. We've got massive success stories from indie devs, like Imangi's Temple Run and Andreas Illiger's tiny Wings. There are families playing Scrabble and Monopoly. There people harnessing the massive power of Apple's hardware to play Solitaire.
And for the hardcore, traditional gamer there's — nothing. No racing. No shooting. Just endless-runners, physics puzzles, board games and fruit-slashers as far as the eye can see. It's not that Apple devices aren't the place for hardcore games. It's just an environment where hardcore gamers are in the minority.
It's actually a little scary when you stop and think about it. I'm going to go hide and play Skype and The Weather Channel.
If you've got iTunes you can check out the full list here.
How Many Games Made It Into Apple's Top 100 Apps of All-Time?