News

The Heist hits 500,000 downloads on App Store in first week

Pulls in $300,000 in revenue in the process

The Heist hits 500,000 downloads on App Store in first week
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| The Heist

Every now and again a game comes along on iPhone that fixates the press.

Not necessarily because of the quality of the play at hand, but rather just how many copies it manages to sell in a short space of time.

Plenty of sites had already had a crack at guessing The Heist's download rate – right down to the minute – and now developer Tap Tap Tap has come forward to put an official figure on it: it's been downloaded more than 500,000 times in a week.

Flying out of the blocks

"In just a little over 6.5 days, The Heist has racked up a staggering 501,813 sales at 99c, totalling well over $300,000 in revenue," reveals Tap Tap Tap's Phill Ryu.

"We definitely think we made a cool game, but even Angry Birds took a couple weeks to get noticed. So what the heck happened here?"

Ryu goes on to speculate that much of The Heist's success lies with the fact the studio began teasing the game back in January.

Price, promotion, and...no birds

He also claims that the game's low price – retailing at 99c/59p – also has a part to play, as well as direct contact with its fanbase and word of mouth.

"A lot of people are sick of Angry Birds, and while we have no expectations on knocking it out for more than an aberration of a week, we are definitely proud to have dispelled the ridiculous notion that your app and app icon has to have a bird in it to take #1,” he concludes.

"We're going to ride it out. Then, start gliding down the charts, waving Angry Birds on the way down – hopefully dropping slowly, gently, even with dignity. Falling…with style."

[source: Tap Tap Tap]

Keith Andrew
Keith Andrew
With a fine eye for detail, Keith Andrew is fuelled by strong coffee, Kylie Minogue and the shapely curve of a san serif font. He's also Pocket Gamer's resident football gaming expert and, thanks to his work on PG.biz, monitors the market share of all mobile OSes on a daily basis.