The top 50 iPhone developers of 2009: 20 to 11

In the fourth part of our round up for the top iPhone developers of 2009, we're starting to hit the motherlode when it comes to companies who combine the creativity of making great games with the ability to consistently make a commercial return from their releases.

As explained in the first part of the series, this list is constructed by comparing sales performance, critical acclaim of releases, innovation in terms of business approach, and the number and range of titles each studios released during 2009.

You can read about the companies listed from 50 to 41 here, 40 to 31 here, 30 to 21 here and 10 to 1 here.

One of Europe's most experienced mobile developers, Finnish studio Sumea was bought by publisher Digital Chocolate in 2004, and since then has continued to build on its reputation. Adding iPhone to its stable of supported devices certainly hasn't been an issue with the additional processing power and touch control enabling new experiences.

Most obvious in the case of a game such as 3D Rollercoaster Rush, which gained another dimension and went top 20 in the US, the UK, Germany and France, the studio also demonstrated its expertise in addictive gameplay with the likes of Crazy Monkey Spin and Californian Gold Rush in 2009. And combined with games from Digital Chocolate's other studios in the US, Spain, India and Mexico, the company's total for iPhone downloads is now over 40 million.

You can read more about Digital Chocolate on PocketGamer.Biz, browse their games coverage on Pocket Gamer, or visit Digital Chocolate Helsinki on the web.

Baseball and role-playing games have been the focus on iPhone for Korean mobile publisher Gamevil during 2009. It's best known for Zenonia, which remains the top reviewed RPG of the year, thanks to its real-time combat and hours of gameplay. It's sold remarkably well worldwide considering its $5.99 launch price (since dropped to $2.99).

The more action-packed Hybrid: Eternal Whisper performed solidly, while the cutesy Baseball Superstars 2010 did the business in key baseball markets such as Japan and the US. The company ended the year demonstrating a more casual touch too with Boom It Up!

If you want an example of how the iPhone shook up the world of game development, you only need to consider Simon Oliver; the one-man band that is Hand Circus. Previously a Flash developer, his interest in the indie games scene was kickstarted in 2008, with the release of the iPhone SDK, and many months of work later, the result was Rolando; one of the defining games of 2008.

Making a sequel to that explosive debut was always going to be a tall order but Oliver, with help from his friends and publisher ngmoco, managed to pull it off, with Rolando 2 - generally reckoned to expand and enhance the original magical experience, thanks to additions such as water, vehicles and an overall more satisfying flow.

You can read more about Hand Circus on PocketGamer.Biz, browse Hand Circus games coverage on Pocket Gamer, or visit Hand Circus on the web.

Created when David Kalina and Randy Smith left their jobs at EA's Los Angeles studio to make their own way in the world of iPhone gaming, Tiger Style burst onto the App Store with its debut, Spider: The Secret of Bryce Manor. It combined their previous professional experience with gameplay and an art style that perfectly matched the platform. Equally important, they proved they understood the App Store business model by releasing the game at $2.99 - it peaked at #3 in the US chart - maintaining the price and supporting the game with a free promo in the shape of Spider: Hornet Smash.

You can read more about Tiger Style on PocketGamer.Biz, browse Tiger Style games coverage on Pocket Gamer, or visit Tiger Style on the web.

After a stellar 2008, in which Swedish developer Illusion Labs created two of the year's best selling games in the shape of Touchgrind and Labyrinth, 2009 proved to be a period of consolidation. The studio still managed to release two excellent titles however. Sway built on Illusion's expertise in physical simulation, while Labyrinth 2 did everything you'd expect from a sequel.

Of course, Illusion also received the benefits from its previous work, with Labyrinth clocking up over 10 million downloads, spread across the paid and free versions, while despite its $4.99 price tag Touchgrind continues to sell well; it's currently top 20 in the US Top Grossing chart over a year after launch.

You can read more about Illusion Labs on PocketGamer.Biz, browse Illusion's games coverage on Pocket Gamer, or visit Illusion Labs on the web.

UK publisher Chillingo is unique in this list lacking any internal game development teams. Instead it's built its reputation as a pure publishing operation: it's released the largest number of iPhone games of any company. But while this scattergun approach worked well in 2008, the changing ecosystem of the App Store during 2009, forced the company to act smarter.

It still releases a lot of 99c games, notably through its Clickgamer label, but the main Chillingo name is now reserved for high production, higher price experiences. Examples of this approach saw 99c games such as Parking Mania go top 5 in ten countries, while Ravensword and Ice Age 3, where launched respectively at $6.99 and $4.99; the highest prices for Chillingo released product. The next building block in this approach will see the release of Crystal, the company's own social gaming network technology.

You can read more about Chillingo on PocketGamer.Biz, browse Chillingo's games coverage on Pocket Gamer, or visit Chillingo on the web.

Despite relying almost exclusively on thirdparty developers in terms of the games it publishes - the exception is Eliminate - ngmoco remains one of the most influential iPhone game companies. It led the App Store charge in 2008, and has proved to be a bellwether company during 2009.

Following the relative commercial under performance of high quality titles such as Rolando 2 and Star Defense in the summer, it quickly changed direction, releasing online multiplayer titles Eliminate Pro and Touch Pet Dogs, both of which employed the new freemium business model. Rolando 2 was also quickly revised to employ the in-app purchase option, becoming the first free iPhone game to do so. The purchase of Miraphonic, a developer of free social online games such as Epic Pet Wars reinforced this change of direction.

You can read more about ngmoco on PocketGamer.Biz, browse ngmoco's games coverage on Pocket Gamer, or visit ngmoco on the web.

Korean mobile publisher Com2uS has quietly been one of the most innovative iPhone companies during 2009. Concentrating on mainly baseball and role-playing games - it's released two of each - it's been one of the first to support in-app transactions with players able to purchase virtual items for their characters in Homerun Battle 3D.

Equally significant is its implementation of online multiplayer. In the case of Homerun Battle 3D, you play head-to-head against another player, and can view their performance in real time in the top right of your screen. Its other networked game takes this sort of competitive gameplay to the next step. In Sniper Vs Sniper: Online, you have to shoot your opponent down the sight of a sniper's rifle, although there's also a co-op mode.

You can read more about Com2Us on PocketGamer.Biz, browse Com2Us's games coverage on Pocket Gamer, or visit Com2Us on the web.

Set up by ex-Yahoo executive Julian Farrior in April 2009, Backflip Studios hit the App Store running, releasing the free ad-funded Paper Toss (12 million downloads and counting), the 99c version, Paper Toss: World Tour, and Ragdoll Blaster, a simple yet addictive physics-based game ($1.99) that's sat in the charts ever since its May release. Indeed it went top 5 in seven countries and a sequel is on the way.

Meanwhile the company expanded its six-man development team with experienced console staff to make Harbor Havoc 3D, a well reviewed member of the line drawing genre. The result is Backflip to-date has reportedly cleared $1.75 million in ad revenue and sales.

You can read more about Backflip Studios on PocketGamer.Biz, browse Backflip Studios's games coverage on Pocket Gamer, or visit Backflip Studios on the web.

Before iPhone, Freeverse was a niche Mac game publisher. Now it's one of the few companies to have successfully ridden the waves of App Store development, from the initial anything goes to the current squeeze between thousands of cheap apps and the ever increasing production quality required for more expensive games.

It's managed to accomplish this by mixing up its approach: publishing for developers such as Strange Flavour and Graveck; self-publishing; and developing for other publishers. For example, its Top Gun game for Paramount has been in the charts since its May release, while the Graveck-developed Skee-Ball has been one of the 99c hits of the year. Freeverse has also experimented with new business models; the million-selling Flick Fishing was one of the first games to use in-app purchases, while it's released general apps such as Postman and Eye Glasses.

You can read more about Freeverse on PocketGamer.Biz, browse Freeverse games coverage on Pocket Gamer, or visit Freeverse on the web.