Record sales in the Apple App Store as demand for Pokémon Go and Mario Run drives revenues to $30bn

Apple App Store records record single-day of sales on New Year's Day

Apple's App Store generated record revenues during 2016 with the sharp spike in demand for games such as Pokémon Go and Mario Run driving sales close to $30bn.

And sales in 2017 got off to a flying start with the most successful single day of sales of all-time for the Apple App Store on New Year's Day, which generated revenues of $240m.

Overall Apple said that the App Store made developed $20bn in 2016, a huge 40 per cent increase on 2015. The figure also suggests Apple made around $8.55bn in revenues from app sales as it takes 30 per cent of all revenues made.

Apple also revealed that during December a huge $3bn in revenue was generated, a record for the month, helped by the release of Mario Run on 15 December.

This huge demand continued into January with $240m in sales on New Year's Day, the biggest ever single days sale on the App Store.

Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing, was understandably upbeat on the numbers.

"We want to thank our entire developer community for the many innovative apps they have created — which together with our products — help to truly enrich people's lives," he said.

Apple also confirmed that Super Mario Run broke into the top 10 most downloaded apps of the year, despite being released two weeks before the end of the year. Pokémon Go took the top spot.

The success of Pokemon Go was one of the major stories of 2016 with interest spreading like wildfire after its release, even catching its creators unaware, as demand rocketed past even its most ambitious expectations.