iPhone apps - the game's the thing

Stephen Withers
Friday, 11 July 2008 02:38

Your IT - Mobility

Once again, the top app is the same in both countries: Super Monkey Ball ($A12.99). Since this was one of the games demonstrated at the iPhone SDK media briefing and again at the WWDC keynote, it was bound to get plenty of attention. And it's already got a fan base from other platforms.

Reflecting seasonal and cultural differences, the number two paid app in the US is MLB.com At Bat ($US4.99). The only app in the paid top three that isn't a game, At Bat delivers real-time scores and near real-time video clips to the iPhone.

Australians are going for Cro-Mag Rally ($US9.99/$A12.99), a port of the Pangea game for the Mac. It's a fairly typical cartoon-style driving game set in a Flintstones-like world.

Third place in the US goes to Enigmo ($US9.99), a 3D puzzle game, and Texas Hold'em ($A5.99), which puts a poker table in your pocket with the option of playing against virtual opponents or up to eight other people over a Wi-Fi network.

Those two games also featured at the WWDC keynote.

There is some interest in serious software. with the OmniFocus task manager ($US19.99) and MPG ($US0.99) for tracking your car's fuel consumption. Australians are also buying OmniFocus ($A23.99), but Frommer's San Francisco ($A12.99) travel guide is more popular, and the Things ($A12.99) task manager just makes the top ten.

Notice anything odd about those prices? As usual, Australians are getting slugged. Convert $US9.99 to Australian dollars, add GST, and rounding to a sensible price gives $A11.49, not $A12.99. Normally there's just one price for software distributed online, set by the vendor in US Dollars, Euros or whatever, and it's the same for everyone.

So what's the excuse, Apple?