Tapulous‘s latest update to its massively successful Tap Tap Revenge franchise will soon be live on the App Store. It looks as though the app was supposed to be live by now according to an article on TUAW, though it doesn’t appear to be available quite yet (we’ll update with a link as soon as it is). The new app brings with it plenty of gameplay enhancements, but the biggest change here is support for in-app song purchases. This means you’ll be able to choose from a roster of premium songs created by well known artists and buy the ones you like — giving users more choice than ever, and giving Tapulous a lucrative new source of revenue. Update: The app is now live. You can download it here.
Gamers would have loved to be able to purchase songs in-game before now, but for the first year of the App Store’s existence Apple didn’t allow for that functionality at all, so Tapulous was forced to release standalone premium packs (as they did with Weezer, Nine Inch Nails, and others). These apps have done well, but Tapulous was always faced with the challenge of getting users to download an entirely new application with each release. Update: CEO Bart Decrem says that the company has sold over 500,000 premium apps at $5 each, so obviously they weren’t exactly struggling. Now they’re be able to sell track packs through a single application.
Up until now TTR’s flagship games have been free, which helped them get great distribution (the original Tap Tap Revenge was the most downloaded game of 2008), but has turned into something of a thorn in Tapulous’s side. With the release of the iPhone 3.0 software update this summer Apple finally allowed applications to offer in-app purchases, but they offered this option only for premium apps — that’s why TTR3 costs 99 cents. Tapulous will have to find a way to get its users on other apps to switch over to TTR3, but it should be able to facilitate the switch by cross-promoting in TTR1, 2 and the aforementioned premium apps.
The TUAW article includes a full listing of songs that will able available through the app, which are available as 6-track bundles for $2.99 and 2-song bundles for 99 cents.
Here’s a sampling of the tracks available:
BLINK 182 – “Adam’s Song” / “All the Small Things” / “Dammit” / “First Date” / “The Rock Show” / “What’s My Age Again”
FALL OUT BOY – “Thanks for the Memories” / “Sugar, We’re Goin Down” / “Dance, Dance” / “This Ain’t a Scene, It’s an Arms Race” / “I Don’t Care” / “American Suitehearts”
FOO FIGHTERS – “The Pretender” / “Wheel” / “My Hero” / “Best of You” / “Monkey Wrench” / “All My Life”
THE KILLERS – “Mr. Brightside” / “Sweet Talk” / “Human” / “When We Were Young” / “All These Things That I’ve Done” / “Read My Mind”
We’ve been tracking the new version for some time now (the company had planned to have it out by the end of August but it was delayed). Among the features in the new version are over 100 free songs, custom themes and avatars, integrated chat, and a multiplayer online gaming arena.
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