Is There Something Rotten In The State Of App Store's Top Paid Apps?

I was surprised earlier today while checking iTunes Top Paid apps section. Waveboard which we told you a lot about was in 4th position only 2 days after its launch.

Did such a simple app that basically just duplicates Google Wave’s iPhone website and that only a few can use because of the invite based system got so popular?

Well it seems like something got messed up because basically overnight the entire ranking got jumbled up. Unfamiliar apps are taking over the spots of long-standing App Store successes and big developers are freaking out as this has a big impact on their sales and nobody wants to believe it represents the reality.

It seems like Apple is now slowly restoring the rankings but we’re still in the dark here.

Did Apple just change the rules ? Is this some way of fighting off the “long tail effect” ?

We’re unable to tell at the moment but we’ll be paying a close attention to this evolution as it could be game changing indeed.