The relatively young and still democratic app market creates an opportunity for independent companies to not only compete with, but to out-sell their peers. When EA released The Simpsons Arcade in January, they had a seemingly perfect combination of expensive development, good reviews, and a massive built-in fan base. Still, the game has failed to chart following its initial release in the App Store. On the other hand, Unblock Me -- the only app so far from Kiragames, an independent company in Thailand -- has been in the top 100 for months since its September 2009 release.

For the most part, the tools are already there, if they can figure out how to tap into them. Once an app is released, the work is far from over. An entirely new phase of app development opens up, where it becomes necessary to create a community around a game using frequent updates, social networking, and creative promotion.

"The ability to experiment and quickly adjust to the changes in the App Store marketplace is what gives the indies an advantage over some of the bigger companies," said Igor Pusenjak, president and founder of Lima Sky, two weeks ago at the Game Developers Conference's iPhone summit.

If you've never heard the names Pusenjak or Lima Sky, you've almost certainly heard of Doodle Jump, the company's flagship game and all-around App Store dominator. As of this minute, Doodle Jump holds the number three spot on the top 100 paid apps in the iTunes store. Lima Sky released a statement on March 10 touting the sale of 3 million unique copies of Doodle Jump, making it one of the most successful iPhone apps of all time. Since going from an unknown indie developer to a power player overnight, when Pusenjak speaks, people now listen.