Gaming dominates iPhone sales while apps are most popular on Android

The majority of sales undertaken via the App Store are for games, while Android users are buying more tools and applications, according to research carried out by app store analytics company Distimo.

Studying the top 15 applications purchased for the iPhone, the report found nine of them were games, while not one game made the Android top 15. On the flipside, not one productivity or utilities app appeared in Apple's top 15.

This pattern continued when comparing the most popular free applications for the two hardware types, where games made up a third of the iPhone's most popular downloads and none of Android's.

Despite an obvious bias towards gaming on the App Store however, Apple's strict vetting process and policy of not allowing emulators on the device could be seen to be harming its sales.

"Classic games on Android Market are more popular than in the Apple App Store, with even three out of the 15 most popular games for Android being emulators," the report said. "These types of emulators are not allowed in the Apple App Store."

A recent example of this ban saw a C64 emulator being banned from the App Store but allowed for release on Android, despite it being legally licensed, according to a TouchArcade report.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...lar-on-android