As Microsoft tries to encourage developers to build universal Windows apps, it’s suffered from what some observers have correctly called a chicken-or-the-egg problem: Developers don’t want to build until they know there’s user demand, but users may be shunning the platform until better apps are available.
Now, a new website aims to open up communication between Windows 10 users and developers, crowdsourcing information about which apps users would most like to see. WishAppList is simple: You create an account, then click to vote for apps you’d like to see on Windows 10. Users can select from both a list of popular apps and new apps in development. When apps reach a certain number of votes, WishAppList staff will pass that news on to publishers.
Vote counts appear publicly on the website, which also could make it a good place for developers to research which types of apps appeal most to Windows users.
On that tip, Microsoft itself offered some intel this past week in a report on Windows Store. Visitors to the Store are downloading Games more than any other app category, followed by Utilities & Tools, Photo & Video apps, Music and Social apps. The report also identified app categories and subcategories with the most opportunity for developers, based on a high ratio of downloads to available apps. Those included Navigation & Maps and Multimedia Design. Among Games, Racing & Flying and Simulation games earned the highest opportunity ratings. Among Windows Store languages, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, Russian, Hindi, and Italian all saw increases in downloads last quarter.
Windows Store has now received over 3 billion visits since launch, according to the report. Check out the full Windows Store Trends update here.