June App Annie Index for Games and non-Games
As the summer slowly but surely comes to an end, App Annie has shared the latest 'App Index' for both games and non-games. We'll dive into non-games first and see how Instagram Video fared against Vine. More so, we'll look briefly at how each of them compared to YouTube last month.
Before we jump into the charts though, it's worth noting just how popular these apps have become. Vine for instance, managed to climb to the #1 spot for downloads (as a non-game app) in the iOS App Store. YouTube followed in 2nd, Snapchat in 3rd, and Instagram at the #5 spot. Together, this gives photo & video apps 4/5 of the top spots by downloads on iOS for its second consecutive month.
When looking at the east-Asian (Chinese) market..
Tencent and Baidu (both internet behemoths and locals to China) joined Google and Apple among the top 4 publishers by non-game downloads in the iOS App Store. Tencent was also able to break into Google Play's top 5 publishers by downloads back in May. It wasn't long before Baidu joined them in June.
Let's take a look at some charts shall we? The last of which shows a comparison of how Vine and Instagram did against YouTube for the month of June.
Taking a moment to look at the last chart provided by Flash Networks, it's nothing to get too excited about (if you're an Instagram Fan). Obviously it peeked just barely above YouTube's dip.
Some quick facts..
- YouTube has over 1 billion MAU (Monthly Active Users) across all platforms. Mobile currently accounts for over 1 billion views a day.
- Instagram has 130 million users
- Vine has around 13 million.
Despite the fact that Instagram was born as a simple photo-editing app, since it introduced video last month it puts itself in direct competition with Vine. Merav Bahat, VP of marketing and business development at Flash Networks had this to say on the findings:
"It appears that subscribers are moving over to video as the preferred format for capturing holiday memories with family and friends.
"With all the growing bandwidth requirements, mobile operators are continuing to invest in network upgrades and optimisation to meet subscribers’ insatiable desire for rich mobile content."
When it Comes to Games..
As a case and point to how technology is changing things in the film/entertainment industry, Despicable Me: Minion Rush surpassed even the almighty Candry Crush Saga to take the #1 game app for downloads on iOS. Fast & Furious 6 also broke into the top 10 sitting at #8. One thing I noticed about F&F however is that it's a close to a blatant rip-off of CSR Racing as you can get when it comes to mechanics, design, and 'feel'.
Looking at the Top 10 for Google Play, Despicable Me also managed to climb to the #5 spot while Fast and Furious sits at #10.
So what has the success of these apps meant for its publishers?
Good question. For Gameloft (who also published the Iron Man 3 game, in addition to Despicable Me) it has been able to bump itsel from the #2 spot in May to the #1 spot in June. In an interview on the matter, Gameloft's VP of Publishing Americas Baudouin Corman told App Annie:
“Our production team is always invested in delivering the best gaming experience to our fans every time,”
“Despicable Me: Minion Rush was the number one most downloaded game in the iOS App Store and number five in Google Play in June, which is quite the distinction. The work of our creative teams on the gameplay, graphics and animations, combined with our close collaboration with Universal and Illumination, allowed us to capture the essence of the film and its unique humor.”
As for Chinese Publishers, they're not doing so bad either.
Chinese local Tiny Piece was able to claim the #1 publisher spot for downloads on the Google Play Store. This made it the first publisher based in China to lead either the iOS App Store or Google Play by downloads for the first time in 2013. What really did it for them? Crazy Dentist (no - not your crazy dentist), the App rose more than 1,000 spots in both the iOS and Google Play Store download rankings in June and claimed the #5 and #3 spots, respectively. While it goes without saying that Tiny Piece claimed the thunder in June, it wasn't the ONLY published based in China that was able to break into the rankings. Hortor (publisher of Crazy Picture Guessing) also rose over 1,000 spots to come in at #7 on the iOS store for downloads.
Lastly, Supercell and Gungho Online joined forces to cross-promote eachother's hit titles Clash of Clans and Puzzle & Dragons, respectively. Evidently, they both worked on releasing exclusive content on June 24th that lasted for about 2 weeks. Needless to say, the benefits of these two behemoths collaborating are a many.
Let's take a look at some charts now.
If you so so inclined to read either of App Annie's reports on the Index's you may do so here for non-games and here for games.