Paid games flourish on Windows Phone 7

According to research from analyst Distimo, games make up the entirety of WP7 Marketplace’s top ten best-sellers.

The list currently looks like this:

1. Bejeweled Live (PopCap Games)
2. Need for Speed Undercover (EA)
3. Flight Control (Namco Bandai)
4. The Harvest (Microsoft)
5. Earthworm Jim HD (Gameloft)
6. de Blob (THQ)
7. Star Wars: Battle for Hoth (THQ)
8. Frogger (Konami)
9. Tetris (EA)
10. Max & The Magic Marker (Microsoft)

It’s intruiging to see these games are all priced between $2.99 and $6.99, as this means games can make a big impact on WP7 without having to lower prices to the 99c mark that’s widespread on the App Store.

That said, Distimo’s research does show a trend for cheap apps in general on WP7, with the average price among the 2,600 titles available being a lowly $1.95.

It’s interesting, then, that games still make up 40 per cent of the Top 100 while holding onto higher price points.

It’s a sure start to gaming on WP7, and one that will no doubt be of interest to developers as support for the platform grows.