We usually hear that the most popular apps in Apple’s iTunes App Store are games. But an exception to that rule is Talking Tom Cat, an app from Outfit7 that has racked up 100 million downloads on iOS and Google’s Android.
Talking Tom Cat is an app that puts something of a personality on your iPhone or iPad. Talking Tom (also on Android) puts a 3-D cat on your device’s screen and responds to speech. Tom repeats what you say to him in a goofy voice, and can also be interacted with using touch controls; you can pet Tom, pull his tail and poke him to get different reactions out of him.
Lots of people have found Tom and his ilk pretty funny since its release in 2010, it seems. Outfit7 has rolled out 14 different apps in the vein of Talking Tom Cat, each with a different personality, and across Apple’s iOS platform and Android, the apps have accounted for more than 300 million downloads. The developer said in a press release that its Talking Friends line has been released in more than 120 countries, and that has made Outfit7 “the world’s fastest growing mobile entertainment network.” Talking Friends see more than 90 million active users and 25 million downloads per month.
With such huge outreach, Outfit7 is expanding its Talking Tom app to integrate with popular soccer clubs from around the world. The developer is working with Iconicfuture and Digital Artists to put branded merchandise on Tom “from six of the world’s most popular soccer clubs in Spain, Italy, England, France and Portugal.” Basically, users will have the ability to dress Tom up in branded clothes from each of the soccer teams, which he can then wear on users’ screens or in YouTube videos that can be recorded with Tom from within the app.
The Talking Friends line sees a lot of users and has a lot of outreach, so it’ll be interesting to see if Outfit7 pursues other possible partnerships that change how its popular apps work. With so many countries represented and users logging in, it seems Outfit7 has an opportunity to make some serius advertising partnerships, or to expand its Talking Friends line in new ways.
