Luc Vandal:

It is now much harder to make it into the market and it requires more planning, financial investment and time. The App Store market is now mature and near 7 years old.

I have spoken with other successful developers and many told me the same: sales are generally down. They are still doing great but there are more and more competitors are also taking a slice of the same pie.

Media attention is also harder to get as they get overwhelmed with review requests and press releases.

Interesting look at the challenges faced by independent developers.