Developers hoping to cash in with app sales as millions unwrap new tablets and smartphones

Gameloft last year launched an app sale on December 29. This year, however, mindful that tablets are set to be unwrapped by the boatload – along with a not unimpressive number of app-hungry smartphones – the video game developer is kicking off its sale a little earlier.

The company announced its cut-price Android goodies in a blog post on Christmas Eve. “Luckily, we’ve all survived the Mayan Apocalypse ;) and can look forward to our holiday festivities!” the post said. “And what is the best part about Christmas? All the sales of course & we’ve got some great ones for you this year!”

Gameloft’s iOS offerings were put on sale even earlier – last week – and remain on offer. For the Android bonanza, Gameloft says its cutting the price of “pretty much everything except Modern Combat 4.” Well, you can’t have it all.

But there’s plenty to be going on with – The Dark Night Rises, for example, can now be yours for 99 cents, along with The Amazing Spider-Man, Gangstar Rio: City of Saints, Wild Blood and The Adventures of Tintin. You might also want to take a look at Gameloft’s Daily Deals page (iOS and Android) where you can pick up some free, or deeply discounted, games.

Of course, Gameloft isn’t the only developer offering its games at discounted prices this holiday season. Electronic Arts, for example, also recently launched a sale, offering a whopping 85 percent off the likes of Fifa Soccer 13 (for iOS, now 99 cents) and Need For Speed (iOS and Android, now 99 cents).

With the recent release of Apple’s iPad Mini, Amazon boosting its Kindle Fire line-up and Google entering the tablet market with its Nexus offerings, it could prove to be a lucrative end to the year for app makers as excited owners of new devices waste no time in diving into the various app stores, credit cards at the ready.