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Sims 3 Becomes Top Selling iPhone Game of '09 as EA Mobile Dominates App Store

Posted December 9, 2009 by James Brightman

With more than 100,000 apps on the App Store and over 20,000 games, the iPhone has truly become a force to be reckoned with in the games industry. Apple has now released its list of the top selling games on the App Store for 2009 in a new "Rewind 2009" feature. EA Mobile was the clear winner with four games in the top 10 overall, including The Sims 3 taking the top spot. Gameloft was also well represented with two top selling titles.

Here's the top 10 according to revenue:

1. The Sims 3 (EA Games)
2. The Oregon Trail (Gameloft)
3. Need for Speed Undercover (EA Games)
4. Madden NFL 10 (EA Games)
5. Tiger Woods PGA Tour (EA Games)
6. Assassin's Creed: Altair's Chronicles (Gameloft)
7. Flight Control (Firemint)
8. Cooking Mama (Taito)
9. Civilization Revolution (2K Games)
10. Wheel of Fortune (Sony Pictures)

Aside from looking at top sellers, Apple also unveiled a "Best of 2009" chart, which showcases some of the games with the highest average score. Tiger Style's arachnid sim Spider: The Secret of Bryce Manor was the top game. INterestingly, there appears to be no overlap/correlation between the highest average score and the top selling games.  

Here's the "Best of 2009" chart:

1. Spider: The Secret of Bryce Manor (Tiger Style)
2. Real Racing (Firemint)
3. Zenonia (Gamevil)
4. Ravensword: The Fallen King (Gameloft)
5. Earth vs. Moon Ep. 2: Enter the Perk Shop (Low Five Games)
6. Sally's Spa (Games Cafe)
7. Ragdoll Blaster (Backflip Studios)
8. Canabalt (Semi Secret Software)
9. Blades of Fury (Gameloft)
10. Doom Classic (id Software)

[Thanks to Gamasutra for the tip]

James Brightman has been covering the games industry since 2003 and has been an avid gamer ever since the days of Atari and Intellivision. He was previously the EIC of GameDaily Biz.