148Apps Looks Back: App Store Turns 5, A Special Report

On Wednesday, July 10th, 2013 the App Store will celebrate it's fifth anniversary. Five years of apps. 50 Billion downloads of well over 900,000 apps and games. To say that the App Store was a sea change would be a bit of an understatement. The impact it has made on the software market is immense.

So, all this week we want to look back on the App Store's five year history, talk to the movers and shakers, get the insight of the veterans, and maybe even look ahead a bit to see what's next.

App Store Insiders

We've got a full week talking to the biggest App Store insiders, some of the people that have been around since the beginning and have helped shape the App Store into what it is today.

Friday, July 12th:

As our week long look at the App Store turns 5 comes to a close, we have a full list of great interviews and posts to go up.

First up we talk with Keith Shepherd of Imangi, developers of the smash hit Temple Run. It wasn't always top of the charts for Imangi.

Jamie Gotch is the CEO and co-founder of Subatomic Studios, developers of the great Fieldrunners. We talk with Jamie Gotch about their history in the App Store.

With a 30+ year career in video games, William Volk, COO of Playscreen has more experience in the industry and perspective on the App Store than most.

John Casasanta has never been one to hold back a strong opinion. We find that out in our talk with him, John Casasanta of tap tap tap, maker of Camera+ tells us what he really thinks.

David Frampton, the creator of Chopper and The Blockheads talks about his life on the cutting edge, as one of the first developers to not only be on the App Store, but to later experiment with TV gaming.

Being featured as a Staff Favorite on launch day is a pretty good way to start your mobile app company. Jiva DeVoe tells us about advice that he luckily ignored.

Thursday, July 11th:

Sega was first on the App Store at launch with Super Monkey Ball, a tilt enabled game that still holds up pretty well five years later. We talk with Ethan Einhorn about the App Store launch and how Sega approached the $9.99 launch price.

Jason Citron, co-founder of OpenFeint is one of my favorite people to talk to in the industry. He's done and seen it all and is always ahead of the curve. Hint: he's now working on games for core gamers on the iPad.

Gedeon Maheux from Iconfactory shares some interesting thoughts on how a traditional company transitioned onto the App Store.

Rovio launched a little game called Angry Birds onto the App Store in 2009. That little bird flinging game would turn into a multi-billion dollar company with over 1.7 billion downloads, more than any other game in history. We spend a few minutes with Saara Bergström, VP, Marketing & Communications for Rovio to find out their secrets.

EA could be considered the old guard in video games. It's been around since 1982 yet has successfully transitioned from home console to digital downloads almost completely in the past couple years. Not without issues of course. We talk with Nick Rish, VP of Mobile Publishing for EA about the transition from console to digital.

Doodle Jump is one of the most known games in the world. We talk to Igor Pusenjak about Lima Sky and the App Store.

Wednesday, July 10th:

First up today we have Jani Kahrama of Secret Exit. Secret Exit makes some of the most original games on the App Store, we talk to Jani about adapting to the changes that have taken place in the past five years.

Namco's Alex Adjadj is one of the few old guard at Namco Bandai Games still around from the launch of the App Store. Alex gives us a very open look at Namcos experience with the App Store.

Kepa Auwae, Rocketcat Games, the long-time developer of pixel art games with their own unique style discusses why their games are so original, and what their future on the App Store will be.

One of the App Store's most creative minds, Adam Saltsman of Semi Secret Software discusses the impact of his games, his thoughts on current business models, and the future of the App Store.

Tapulous co-founder Mike Lee talks history and responsibility on the App Store 5th anniversary.

Tuesday, July 9th:

Our first interview today is with Dave Castelnuovo of Bolt Creative, creators of Pocket God. We talk with Dave about the serial update model and that not every app needs to be freemium/free to play to make a profit.

Next up we have Ian Marsh of NimbleBit. NimbleBit created the game of the year in 2011 with the massively successful Tiny Tower and they know how to do IAP with the highest percentage of sustained IAP conversion I've ever heard of.

Colin Smith, co-founder of Freeverse has a lot to say about the frightening transition Freeverse made from premium to free to play. One that, in the end, didn't work out too well for Freeverse.

ngmoco:) purchased Freeverse in 2010, just as the free to play ecosystem on iOS was kicking off. Clive Downie, CEO of ngmoco/DeNA West recounts the transition to free to play as one that was the right one for ngmoco.

Monday, July 8th:

We speak with Brian Greenstone of Pangea, possibly the person responsible for driving game prices down to $0.99. Read the article for the full details on that and his inside story of how app prices started out at $9.99 even though Steve Jobs told him they should be lower.

We also speak with Ed Rumley of Chillingo about how Chillingo has approached the App Store and adapted over time.

We'll have many more interviews throughout the week.

Even More

How much have things on the App Store *really* changed over the past five years? A lot, actually. Here's a quick history.

If you were looking for a needle in a haystack. And that needle is an underrated app in the 900,000 apps in the App Store, Rob has you covered in 10 Unfortunately Underrated Apps on the iOS App Store.

"The App Store was the beginning of a long process that changed who I was and made me the person I am today." Carter Dotson looks back at five years with the App Store.

There's a theme here - the App Store allowed Rob Rich to start living the dream and become a freelance writer.

The App Store is a great marketplace, but it has its share of quirks. Here's what a number of long-time, new, and potential developers think about Apple's digital venue in Ups and Downs of iOS Publishing.

Rob digs out his Ten Biggest iOS Surprises in a look at some of the apps that have surprised us.

Our writer Jordan Minor talks about how video game journalism means business and how the App Store gave direction to his journalism plans.

Jennifer Allen rounds of a few thoughts from the new kids on the block (no, not the New Kids on the Block), the new developers, the first timers, and the future stars in The New Generation Of iOS Developers Spout Off.

Rob LeFebvre talks about how the App Store gave him the opportunity to do what he wanted to be, a full time writer in Five Years Of The App Store: Rob L’s Career Change, Soul-Search, And More.

Jennifer Allen gives us a heart felt look back at here favorite apps and games from the past five years in Five Years of App Store Favorites.

Rob LeFebvre takes a look at some the Top 20 Landmark Games on iOS. All of these games extended and improved the true state of the art in mobile gaming.

Rob Rich recaps the Best App Ever winners from the past five years in 5 Years Worth of Winners.

Rob LeFebvre takes a look at 10 Landmark Apps released in the past 5 years.

Apple is celebrating the five years of the App Store by giving away five apps and five games, both small screen and iPad versions.

Our friends over at Pocket Gamer are running down their favorite (or favourite) 50 games of the past five years. Here's part 1: games 50-31, part 2: games 30-11. Pocket Gamer's top 10 all the way down to number 1 is up now with an interesting pick for number 1. And our friends over at AppSpy have their Top 5 Games from the past 5 years list up now.

Share Your Favorites!

Some of our writers share their favorite apps. Starting out Amy Solomon shares her favorite kids apps. Also favorite apps and games from Carter Dotson, Jen Allen, Rob Rich, and Jeff Scott.

We'd love to know your favorite apps and games. We're posting some of ours over on the Best App Ever Facebook wall. Please post yours there as well.