As far as we saw, charts were not frozen over the break. Talked to a few other devs who said the same thing. I know for a fact our games were fluctuating quite normally all week long (iTunes Connect was also fully functional). We actually saw something like a 350% increase on Christmas day for our total profits, which was nice. Also, from the looks of our games individually, the ones that were doing better before Christmas got a bigger % boost, so it was almost like a double whammy (higher percentage on a better performing game). But its also interesting to note that the jump didn't seem as big this year as it did last.
Charts were not frozen this year - much better IMO I agree - Plague Inc. was ~18th on the US chart and its sales increased by ~500%. Imagine what the guys higher up in the charts got!
Those guys deserve it!!! All their hard work for some great games deserve a special bonus. Congrats devs!
I think that only TOP50 apps and games had such remarkable profit increase. Imagine how people use their new iPhones and iPads: surf Top Apps charts and click here and there. Unless you are among first two pages in the App Store you won't be discovered. The gap in revenue between leading developers and "middle class devs" is getting during Christmas even bigger. Anyway it is definitely much better charts were not frozen over the break.
Its Hard nowadays Hey guys As an indie developer i find its really difficult to make the mega buck from a iOs game nowadays. I think games like angry birds were at the right place at the right time. The App stores are littered with clones and clones of clones and great games get lots in the fog. A game may be in the charts but by time taxes and apple take their cut, the developer has to shift thousands of units to recover the development costs. I have been making games for 35 years and its getting harder and harder to make a profit.