Payback generates $400,000 in two months

App Store success stories aren’t exactly few and far between, but Apex Designs has just released figures for its GTA-style driving game Payback, which has brought in an impressive $400,000 in its two months on the iPhone.

“As you can see, the App Store has certainly been kind to us, and we'd really like to thank Apple for making it possible and all of those who have bought the game to date,” says James Daniels. “The really amazing thing is even the sales we've had so far represent just 0.2 per cent of the total iPhone OS user base - it really is a huge market.”

The figure amounts to 65,000 units sold, and a sales graph published by Apex Designs demonstrates a couple of significant peaks in the user uptake. The game took off initially with a large sales spike, with a second surge noticeable after a price drop.

Despite having successfully marketed through the App Store, Daniels was careful to offer an opinion on how it can be improved to help developers achieve better promotion of their iPhone software.

“It's vitally important to get visibility on the device, so getting into the Top 50 can really boost sales,” Daniels continues. “Unfortunately, the paid app charts are sorted by sales, which is inevitably going to skew things towards the cheaper apps and so will make it harder for relatively expensive apps like ours to break through.”

You can take a look at the Payback review over on Pocket Gamer, along with an interview with Daniels on converting Payback to the iPhone.