The tiny iPhone/iPod Touch developer Tapulous has noted that they are approaching $1 million in revenue per month, an extremely high number for the company which has 20 employees and only makes one type of game, the popular Tap Tap Revenge 3 and its variants.
Tapulous says its series of games have been installed on 20 million iPods and iPhones, and 600 million songs have been played. ComScore says the game is installed on a full 35 percent of all Apple app user’s phones or devices.
Even more importantly, the company is now profitable, joining a select few of app developers such as Zynga and PlayFish to make it big and remain profitable.
“It’s going to be big and all of a sudden people are going to say, ‘holy cow, where did those guys come from?’” adds CEO Bart Decrem.
Tapulous, which can be compared to a Guitar Hero-esque music rhythm game, makes money by charging for special Tap Tap games (such as a Lady Gaga or Dave Mathews Band version), through ad sales, and by selling individual tracks for the game.
Result for: math
It appears that Adam Ries, a German mathematician deceased as of 1559, has received a bill from the GEZ broadcast fee collection office demanding that the man pay his “long-overdue” TV licensing fees.
The bill was sent to the man’s former address, which is now a club set up in honor of the algebra expert.
“We received a letter saying ‘To Mr Adam Ries’ on it, with the request to pay his television and radio fees,” said Annegret Muench, who is now president of the club.
Muench, after seeing the letter, returned the letter with a note attached explaining that Ries had died 450 years earlier, while especially noting that TV had not been invented at that time. Despite her letter, the collection office sent another reminder two weeks later.
The GEZ was in the news last year for a similar incident in which Friedrich Schiller, a poet who died in 1805, was sent a bill asking him to declare “all radios and televisions in his home and pay the corresponding fees.”
Result for: math
Thanks to a new cryptic splash screen posted on the Konami website, the Internet is abuzz with rumors that the blockbuster smash hit game Metal Gear Solid is headed to the Xbox 360 or possibly even the Wii.
The splash screen shows off green symbols and a seemingly cryptic math equation. (A screenshot is posted after the article)
Although it is clear that a new project is in the works, it remains a curiosity as to whether the new project will be headed to a new console or whether MGS 4 will get its much hoped-for Xbox 360 debut. The game is a PlayStation 3 exclusive currently.
Another promising argument is that the game could be headed to the iPod Touch or the Nintendo DSi.
It would be inappropriate at this time to make any guarantees as to what the message means but it is very interesting to say the least. We will keep you updated.
