Whale Trail iOS game tops 38k first-weekend sales in pursuit of Angry Birds | Technology | guardian.co.uk

Here’s a sobering insight into App Store economics:

So, Whale Trail. The £0.69 game involves guiding a flying whale through clouds while collecting bubbles, using one-tap controls. It sold around 6,500 copies on Thursday – its day of release, and before Apple’s Game Of The Week promotion kicked in. It then sold approximately 9,500 downloads on Friday, 11,000 in Saturday and 11,500 on Sunday, although without the rounding, the total stands at 38,215 at the time of writing.

That means the studio has so far made just under £18,500 of net revenues after Apple’s 30% cut. “We need 300,000 downloads to break even, based on our £150k spend making the game,” says Mills.

I love Whale Trail, and I’ve said as much to whoever will listen. It has a great soundtrack, plays like a dream, and it never outstays its welcome.

But HOLY SHIT, 300,000 downloads before you can even start to make a profit?! That’s a pretty sucky business model.