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World of Goo for iPad outsells the Mac, PC, Linux, Wii, Xbox versions

Developer 2D Boy makes the popular World of Goo game, which they recently released on the iPad, and the official blog has a long writeup about the iPad version from creation to release. 2D Boy originally planned to release the game on the iPhone, but couldn't get it to work right, so when the iPad came around, they decided to tackle the port again. The writeup outlines not only development of the game, but also marketing (after an early choice to release at US$10, they eventually lowered the price to pick up some sales boosts) and even the timing of their release -- they landed right in that "loophole" around Christmas that allowed them to pick up some extra sales by being on the charts during the App Store freeze.

And perhaps most interesting is 2D Boy's comparison of the iPad market to their past console and PC experience. The iPad version was the fastest-selling of all of the versions of the game so far, both in copies sold and revenue generated. That's pretty wild, and it shows that not only does iOS offer a lot to developers in terms of when and how they can release their games, but that Apple's platforms stack up favorably to more established marketplaces like WiiWare and Xbox Live Arcade.

Of course, this was the latest version of the game, so it benefited from all of the good reviews and good will from the previous releases. Not all of that credit can go to the iPad itself. As 2D Boy says, in this case, there was a two-year-old game being sold on a platform less than a year old, so there's lots and lots of potential here for indie developers to discover.

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Gaming Developer iPad

Developer 2D Boy makes the popular World of Goo game, which they recently released on the iPad, and the official blog has a long writeup...
 

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Taylor

This is the most poorly written/edited TUAW article I've seen in a while guys. Bit of a letdown. "outsells than" and mentions of a non-existent version for the Xbox?

February 09 2011 at 6:45 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to Taylor's comment
redcard

Mistakes happen, but I'm embarrassed they have left the mistakes there for almost a day.

Does no one at TUAW have a spare 30 seconds to log in and make an edit? Do they even care?

February 10 2011 at 2:03 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
david0296

The iPad version is really impressive. I just can’t get past the long-bridge level (pictured above). I don’t have an Xbox, but I could have sworn that the game first appeared there. I guess I must be thinking of Braid.

February 09 2011 at 5:41 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Twist

Kind of easy to outsell the game on a platform it was never released for. World of Goo was never released for Xbox Live Arcade or Xbox 360.

February 09 2011 at 5:02 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
RazorD

This isn't too surprising.. World of Goo isn't available for Xbox.

February 09 2011 at 4:56 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to RazorD's comment
Nick (xbl: andsoitgoes42)

haha - You beat me to it. Crap.

And yes, agreed. Although there has been talk about it going to the 360, it never has.

Too funny. May want to edit that title :)

February 09 2011 at 5:07 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
punkassjim

Victor, you wanna revisit that email conversation we had a few weeks ago?

February 09 2011 at 4:51 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Shunnabunich

"Outsells than"?

February 09 2011 at 4:49 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Dan

Might want to reread that title, man.

February 09 2011 at 4:44 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
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