The mobile gaming market continues to shake the foundations of the video game industry’s largely niche audience-focused roots. They frequently dominate the best seller lists in iOS’s and Android’s online marketplaces, and the 10 billionth Apple App Store download was, unsurprisingly, a game.
The latest milestone in the mobile gaming space belongs to the popular iOS game Doodle Jump (also available on Android Market and coming soon to Windows Phone 7) and its developer Lima Sky. The dev reported in a press release that its app recently hit 10 million downloads on the iOS App Store. The release also confirmed that the iPhone version of the game is getting a free multiplayer update, and that additional versions for iPad and Xbox Live Arcade — with Kinect support — are coming as well. Lima Sky touts the growing mass appeal of its cute, little platforming game, pointing to the recent release of branded stationery sets and upcoming toys and comic books as proof.
“After such incredible first two years, it is safe to say Doodle Jump has exceeded even our wildest imaginations,” Lima Sky founder Igor Pusenjak said. “We are looking forward to bringing even more amazing content to millions of Doodle Jump fans around the world.”
In the game, players must guide the four-legged Doodler up along a never-ending series of platforms while avoiding or shooting down monsters and other obstacles. The game is played using the iPhone’s accelerometer, tilting the device left and right at varying angles to change the Doodler’s direction and speed. Like Angry Birds and so many others, it is exactly the sort of simple gameplay and undeniable charm that sells well in the mobile space, evidenced in this case by the 10 million App Store downloads.
