Mac gaming gets a boost, but off to modest start

Market research group Distimo has compiled a report on the Mac App Store showing that it is off to a relatively slow start compared with the number of iOS apps available through the iTunes App Store at the same stage. The Distimo report shows that the Mac App Store had 2,225 apps available at the two-month mark, which amounts to around a quarter of the number of apps that had become available for the iPad over the same timeframe. App developers on the Mac App Store in the top 300 rankings also pulled in half the revenue, on average, of iPad app developers in the top 300.

One reason cited for the relative slow uptake of the Mac App Store apps is that there a significantly fewer free apps (12 percent) with the rest paid. Moreover, the average selling price of Mac apps in the store is also seven times higher than iOS apps for the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. As with the iTunes App Store, there is a clear trend towards gaming apps being the most popular category. It is a notable development for the Mac platform, as traditionally, gaming on the Mac has been relatively limited.

"In the Mac App Store, gaming is still less popular than on the iPhone and iPad, with iPad having over 50 percent more games listed among the most popular applications than the Mac App Store," according to the Distimo report says. "However, the popularity of games in the Mac App Store combined with the fact that there are already 646 games in the store, signals the Mac App Store could boost Mac gaming."

The Distimo report also tracked the app data from the other major app stores including the Android Market, the Window’s Phone 7 Marketplace, the Blackberry App World, Nokia’s Ovi and Palm’s App catalog for the month of February. [via CNET]

By Electronista Staff

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computers, peripherals, Apple, Mac App Store, Distimo