Digital media has hit some important milestones in the past few weeks. Modern Warfare 3 shattered all entertainment industry sales records recently by generating over $1 billion in revenue in just over two weeks. On the opposite end of the spectrum, last Wednesday, the millionth mobile app was released to users. The New York Times reports on the massive increase in apps in recent months:

The pace of new app development dwarfs the release of other kinds of media. “Every week about 100 movies get released worldwide, along with about 250 books,” said Anindya Datta, the founder and chairman of Mobilewalla, which helps users navigate the mobile app market. “That compares to the release of around 15,000 apps per week.”

According to Mobilewalla, in a fairly quiet 14 days before the release of app No. 1,000,000, an average of 543 apps were released each day for Android-based devices, and an average of 745 apps hit the market daily for the iPhone, iPad and iTouch. The total for the two weeks across the Apple, Android, BlackBerry and Windows platforms was 20,738.

One app developer cited in the report attributes the explosion in content to the “’convergence of the app ecosystem,’ a world with more powerful devices, higher quality networks and high-resolution cameras.”

It is unclear what, exactly, this will mean for gaming. But Thomas Chung, vice president and general manager of Zombie Farm developer Playforge, was optimistic. He told The New York Times that lower barriers of entry are the main factor that have made it easier for mobile game developers to enter this expanding marketplace, making it “an exciting time to be a developer for mobile.”

–Yannick LeJacq

[via The New York Times] [Image source: Doug Belshaw]