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Apple activates Top Charts section for Apple TV, games dominate paid downloads

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Three days after launching an all new tvOS App Store alongside the fourth-generation Apple TV, Apple on Monday added a Top Charts section to aggregate the online shop's most popular and highest grossing titles, revealing games to be high on users' download lists.

Tacked on to the tvOS App Store as a browsing alternative to Featured, Purchased and Search, the new Top Charts category highlights top paid apps, top free apps and top grossing apps, as calculated since last week's launch. The system is identical to app rankings applied to the iOS or Mac App Stores.

It appears early Apple TV adopters are willing to pay a premium to test out the set-top box's ability to run games, as the category is currently dominating both Top Paid Apps and Top Grossing Apps. Gaming titles like Beat Sports and Galaxy on Fire account for eight of the top ten apps on both charts. At $9.99, Beat Sports, which was demoed at Apple's iPhone event in September, sits in the number one spot.

Rayman Adventures and Crossy Road sit atop Apple TV's free apps chart, though users are showing an initial interest in streaming content services from established broadcasters like Fox and CBS. App services from cable channels including HBO and Showtime are counted among the top free apps despite requiring paid subscriptions. It is unclear how many users end up activating paying accounts, or signing up for trial sessions, but these streaming titles are currently among the most downloaded on tvOS.

Owners of the fourth-generation Apple TV can find the Top Charts section in the App Store's top navigation bar next to Featured, Purchased and Search. If the category is not showing up, force quit App Store in the tvOS app switcher and reopen.



13 Comments

cali 10 Years · 3494 comments

Sorry to bother again but I just see so many Nintendo rip offs. Beat Sports is a freaking Nintendo game re-skinned. Too bad Nintendo's marketing is garbage.

slurpy 15 Years · 5390 comments

Awesome. I'm excited to see Apple TV grow and evolve, with software updates and better apps. Just downloaded Plex today, and loving it. 

dhawkins541 11 Years · 107 comments

Can't wait for more offerings as they come I think the system has a lot of potential if you're tied the ? ecosystem and future hardware could do even more if they package it right and take it serious as more than a hobbie machine

bdkennedy1 20 Years · 1458 comments

The app store is the equivalent of Microsoft's when it launched. Tons of garbage. If you like two dozen different variations of fireplaces and aquariums, amateur versions of Space Invaders and Asteroids, a dozen variations of Flappy Bird, boring weather apps and games that look like they were imported from the Nintendo Wii, have fun. The Apple TV app store launched with no killer app. At this point, you are a 1st generation app store user. Return it and wait for version 2.0. As usual. 20 year Apple user. Never buy into version 1.0