FingerGaming

In this weekly feature, FingerGaming rounds up the top-grossing iPhone and iPod Touch applications, as current that day on the iTunes App Store. This week’s top titles are:

1. Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars ($9.99)
2. Call of Duty: World at War Zombies ($9.99)
3. The Sims 3 ($6.99)
4. Bejeweled 2 ($2.99)
5. Doodle Jump ($0.99)
6. Madden NFL 10 ($6.99)
7. The Game of Life: Classic Edition ($2.99)
8. Tetris ($2.99)
9. Trenches ($1.99)
10. Skee-Ball ($0.99)

Rockstar Games’ recently released iPhone port of Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars takes the top chart spot in today’s App Store sales results by revenue, pushing Activision’s longtime sales leader Call of Duty: World at War Zombies to second place.

EA’s The Sims 3 continues to outperform PopCap’s Bejeweled 2 as anticipation builds for The Sims 3 World Adventures. Lima Sky’s 99-cent Doodle Jump manages to take fifth place, meanwhile, thanks to a week-long reign at the top of the paid app charts by volume.

EA’s Madden NFL 10 and The Game of Life both move up several spots in today’s rankings, as the company’s iPhone version of Tetris falls to eighth place after finishing fourth last week. Thunder Game Works’ Trenches also sees a drop in popularity after previously debuting at fifth place, as Freeverse’s Skee-Ball finishes up the week’s results at tenth.

Tags: call of duty, charts, grand theft auto: chinatown wars, the sims 3, top grossing apps

In this weekly feature, FingerGaming rounds up the top-grossing iPhone and iPod Touch applications, as current that day on the iTunes App Store. This week’s top titles are:

1. Call of Duty: World at War Zombies ($9.99)
2. The Sims 3 ($6.99)
3. Bejeweled 2 ($2.99)
4. Tetris ($2.99)
5. Trenches ($1.99)
6. Skee-Ball ($0.99)
7. N.O.V.A. – Near Orbit Vanguard Alliance ($6.99)
8. Madden NFL 10 ($6.99)
9. The Game of Life: Classic Edition ($2.99)
10. Scrabble ($2.99)

Activision’s Call of Duty: World at War Zombies stays on top for the second week in a row, but faces renewed competition from The Sims 3. EA’s life simulation title has seen a steady rise up the charts since the company recently revealed the upcoming expansion pack World Adventures, which will allow players to transfer a majority of created and purchased content from The Sims 3.

Thunder Game Works’ Trenches and Freeverse’s Skee-Ball also see a big sales week, despite being priced significantly lower than other competing titles. Both games outperform Gameloft’s former chart champion FPS N.O.V.A., which drops to seventh place in today’s results.

EA otherwise accounts for the majority of this week’s chart winners, with Tetris, The Game of Life, Madden NFL 10, and Scrabble all taking spots in today’s top ten.

Tags: bejeweled 2, call of duty, charts, the sims 3, top grossing apps

With The Sims 3 still ranking as one of the App Store’s top sellers more than six months after its initial release, EA announced that it will soon bring another entry in its popular life simulation franchise to the iPhone and iPod Touch.

The Sims 3: World Adventures allows players to import their created Sims from The Sims 3 and take them to three exotic locations, each loosely based on real-world countries. Players will have the opportunity to explore “Shang SimLa” (China), find love in “Champ Les Sims” (France), and meet a mummy or two in “Al Simhara” (Egypt).

Each location features a unique set of careers and challenges, with the game offering a total of 52 new goals and four minigames. World Adventures also includes a variety of new furniture, clothes, and accessories, and is fully compatible with all downloadable content purchased from The Sims 3.

Tags: electronic arts, simulation, the sims 3, the sims 3: world adventures, Upcoming

In this weekly feature, FingerGaming rounds up the top-grossing iPhone and iPod Touch applications, as current that day on the iTunes App Store. This week’s top titles are:

1. Call of Duty: World at War Zombies ($9.99)
2. Tetris ($2.99)
3. The Sims 3 ($6.99)
4. N.O.V.A. – Near Orbit Vanguard Alliance ($6.99)
5. Bejeweled 2 ($2.99)
6. Need for Speed: Shift ($6.99)
7. The Simpsons Arcade ($4.99)
8. Scrabble ($2.99)
9. Skee-Ball ($0.99)
10. Rock Band ($6.99)

Activision’s Call of Duty: World at War Zombies remains the App Store’s highest-grossing game after retaking the top chart spot last week. EA’s Tetris rises up from fifth place to finish second in today’s results, while The Sims 3 beats out Gameloft’s FPS N.O.V.A. for third place.

PopCap’s Bejeweled 2 moves up to fifth following a seventh-place finish last week. EA’s The Simpsons Arcade makes its chart debut at seventh place, meanwhile, landing between the publisher’s other popular titles Scrabble and Need for Speed: Shift.

EA’s Rock Band falls to tenth place this week, shortly after returning to its original price of $6.99. Freeverse’s Skee-Ball moves up a spot to take ninth, and finishes as this week’s top App Store seller by volume.

Tags: call of duty, charts, tetris, the sims 3, top grossing apps

In this new weekly feature, FingerGaming rounds up the top-grossing iPhone and iPod Touch applications, as current that day on the iTunes App Store. This week’s top titles are:

1. Madden NFL 10 ($9.99)
2. Bejeweled 2 ($2.99)
3. The Sims 3 ($6.99)
4. Real Soccer 2010 ($6.99)
5. Uno ($4.99)
6. Modern Combat: Sandstorm ($6.99)
7. Need for Speed Undercover ($4.99)
8. Tetris ($4.99)
9. Dungeon Hunter ($6.99)
10. Scrabble ($4.99)

Madden NFL 10 takes the top spot in the App Store’s top-grossing games chart for the third week in a row. Modern Combat: Sandstorm drops to sixth place after an impressive second-place showing last week, as Bejeweled 2 rises up to take its spot.

The Sims 3 also makes a sales comeback this week, taking third place in today’s rankings after finishing seventh last week. Gameloft’s Real Soccer 2010 manages to overtake Uno in its first week of release, while Need for Speed: Undercover beats out Scrabble, Tetris, and Dungeon Hunter.

Tags: bejeweled 2, charts, madden nfl 10, real soccer 2010, the sims 3, top grossing apps

Every Tuesday, FingerGaming rounds up the most popular paid iPhone and iPod Touch applications, as current that day on the iTunes App Store. This week’s top titles are:

1. Sally’s Spa ($0.99)
2. Peggle ($4.99)
3. The Sims 3 ($9.99)
4. Flight Control ($0.99)
5. StickWars ($0.99)
6. Parachute Panic ($0.99)
7. StoneLoops! of Jurassica ($0.99)
8. Crazy Machines ($2.99)
9. Bloons ($0.99)
10. Bejeweled 2 ($2.99)

PopCap’s Peggle finishes at second place in App Store sales numbers this week, thanks to a weekend-long sale that dropped the title’s price to 99 cents. Though Peggle has since returned to its full price of $4.99, the added exposure provided by the weekend sale ensures that the game will remain a top seller for days to come, regardless of its price.

Last week’s sales champion The Sims 3 drops to third place in today’s rankings, meanwhile, as the popular time management sim Sally’s Spa takes the top chart position. Flight Control stays at fourth place, while Parachute Panic finishes behind Stick Wars at sixth.

Tags: charts, peggle, sally's spa, the sims 3, top paid apps

Every Tuesday, FingerGaming rounds up the most popular paid iPhone and iPod Touch applications, as current that day on the iTunes App Store. This week’s top titles are:

1. The Sims 3 ($9.99)
2. Sally’s Spa ($0.99)
3. StickWars ($0.99)
4. Flight Control ($0.99)
5. Shift ($0.99)
6. Parachute Panic ($0.99)
7. Bloons ($0.99)
8. StoneLoops! of Jurassica ($0.99)
9. World Cup Ping Pong ($0.99)
10. Sonic the Hedgehog ($5.99)

The Sims 3 finishes at the top of the App Store sales charts for the second week in a row, fending off competition from Sally’s Spa, which recent dropped in price to 99 cents. StickWars falls to third place, as Firemint’s Flight Control sees a resurgence in popularity following the release of Real Racing.

Newcomer Parachute Panic joins the top ten this week at sixth place, landing between chart veterans Shift and Bloons. StoneLoops! falls to eighth, while World Cup Ping Pong climbs up past Sonic the Hedgehog to take ninth place.

Tags: charts, sally's spa, stickwars, the sims 3, top paid apps

Every week, FingerGaming rounds up the most popular paid iPhone and iPod Touch applications, as current that day on the iTunes App Store. This week’s top titles are:

1. The Sims 3 ($9.99)
2. StickWars ($0.99)
3. Bloons ($0.99)
4. StoneLoops! of Jurassica ($0.99)
5. Sonic the Hedgehog ($5.99)
6. Shift ($0.99)
7. Flight Control ($0.99)
8. iFighter ($0.99)
9. Amateur Surgeon ($2.99)
10. World Cup Ping Pong ($0.99)

The Sims 3 emerges as the App Store’s top seller in its first week of release, outpacing the daily sales numbers of all competing titles in every category. Last week’s winner StickWars falls to second place, as Bloons drops a spot to take third.

The Sims 3’s victory this week is significant, considering its relatively high price point of $9.99. Even big-name releases like Peggle often fail to take the top chart spot at any point in their sales lifespan — 99-cent titles traditionally outperform their higher-priced competition in terms of daily download numbers, if not actual revenue. The Sims 3 is one of the rare titles to break this trend.

Further down the chart, StoneLoops! moves up several places to take fourth in today’s results, while Sega’s port of Sonic the Hedgehog holds steady at fifth place. Armor Games’ puzzle platformer Shift enters the top ten this week after recently being featured in the App Store’s “What We’re Playing” section, while the remainder of this week’s results feature familiar faces like Flight Control, iFighter, and World Cup Ping Pong.

Tags: bloons, charts, ea, stickwars, the sims 3, top paid apps

Electronic Arts’ wildly popular life sim franchise makes the jump to the iPhone and iPod Touch with the release of The Sims 3 ($9.99), a modified port of the game released earlier this week for PC platforms.

The Sims 3 includes many of the same features enjoyed by PC users — players can still build and customize a Sim character from scratch, and gameplay involves similar character development goals and milestones.

Throughout its lifespan, you can make your Sim fall in love, make the world a better place, or just be a complete jerk to everyone he or she encounters (see figure 1, above). Whatever you do, just make sure that your character always has easy access to a bathroom. This is the most important part of any Sims game.

It’s important to note that the iPhone version of The Sims 3 lacks a few key features of its PC counterpart. For example, players can no longer build houses for their Sims — the game instead offers a selection of pre-made buildings that can be customized with the addition of furniture.

Limitations aside, though, The Sims 3 features an iPhone-optimized interface and a new platform-specific control scheme that should make the transition from PC to iPhone a smooth one.

Tags: ea, simulation, the sims 3

At a press conference today (covered by Gizmodo), Apple revealed many of the features that will be found in the upcoming 3.0 update to the iPhone operating system. In addition to adding long-awaited features like landscape message viewing and a text copy-and-paste function, the 3.0 upgrade will bring improvements to game applications.

Most significantly, the iPhone 3.0 update will include support for paid downloadable content across all application categories. While this has obvious benefits for book publishers subscription-based magazines, the update means that game creators will be able to charge users for expanded in-game content, such as new levels, features, and items. Users will access downloadable content with their existing iTunes accounts, and developers will receive 70 percent of revenue from all DLC sales.

At the conference, Apple revealed one of the first games that will support DLC functionality — Electronic Arts’ The Sims 3. The title will employ an in-game commerce system that sells optional clothing and furniture items for 99 cents each. Also worth noting is that players will be able to access their iPhone music library through in-game music players — a feature new to the 3.0 SDK.

ngmoco demonstrated a pair of its upcoming titles at the event as well. Touch Pets Dogs will allow players to connect with other users for “play dates,” and will include paid downloadable content in the form of dog clothing and headgear.

ngmoco’s second title, the previously unannounced LiveFire, is a multiplayer first-person shooter that will take advantage of the iPhone 3.0’s enhanced multiplayer capabilities. New to 3.0 on the multiplayer front is peer-to-peer connectivity, along with a feature that allows players to find matches over a Bluetooth connection.

The iPhone 3.0 update will be available for free to current iPhone 3G owners, while iPod Touch users will need to pay a fee of $9.95 to upgrade. The iPhone 3.0 OS will be available for download this summer.

Tags: dlc, Industry News, iphone os, livefire, the sims 3, touch pets dogs, Updates