I think the whole Game Applications are great for starting independent studios to make a step in the industry without having to invest millions of dollars into a big-budget, current-gen console game. For every Call of Duty and Halo, there's a Minecraft and Angry Birds out there that's just as popular and fun for a fraction of the cost. It also helps out casual gamers who can't fork over hundreds of dollars to enjoy a hour or two of gaming on their spare time.
Though the problem with the casual market is that hardcore, for lack of a better term, gamers will have their differences with this market because they feel it's not about gaming and more about the social aspect of said games. Think of it in a sense of when Microsoft added XBox 360 Achievements: you have your base players who will play the games they enjoy, but there are also the gamers who horde Achievements to have a high score, that gamers will not enjoy since they're playing games for the more social aspect than just gaming to game, calling such suspects "Achievement Whores".
It's a weird medium that has its own dedicated sides. But in the end, both sides win for the fact that when the social/casual community gets a game like: Minecraft, bit.trip, or Angry Birds to a level of success that it has had, this will provide the stepping stones for that developing team to possibly get published by a first-party publisher to provide funds to make a Current-Gen title that the normal/hardcore gamers can flourish and enjoy themselves.
Apps are the future, and it can hopefully help out the Gamer future as well, providing a needed breath of fresh ideas into the melting pot.
