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iphone has awesome games - why doesn't android?
- Thread starter OM2
- Start date
I can see it now. "Why is the icon for Enraged Avians XIV for iOS yellow and we're stuck with this unsightly shade of orange on Android? This insult must not stand! CHARGE!"
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There are many games that are on both the iPhone and Android like Angry Birds, Asphalt 5, Baseball Superstars, Homerun baseball, Hungry Shark, Kamikaze Race (love this one), Paper Toss, Raging Thunder 1 and 2, Super KO Boxing, Xgalaxy 2, Assassins Creed, Dungeon Hunter, Uno, Hero of Sparta, Lets Golf, Nova, and many more.
The thing Android is missing are major sports titles but the iPhone, without hacking, lacks Doom, the 100's of NES, SNES, Genesis roms and adult stuff like the Sex Tube app and other adultish apps if your into that.
I think why some hold off is like others have already said, there are really only 1-2 iPhones (3GS and 4) that can run "everything" so its easy to develop for. There are so many different Android devices with so many different processors, screens and OS's that its probably a lot harder to develop for unless they concentrate only on OS 2.2 and high end devices like EVO, EPIC and such.
The thing Android is missing are major sports titles but the iPhone, without hacking, lacks Doom, the 100's of NES, SNES, Genesis roms and adult stuff like the Sex Tube app and other adultish apps if your into that.
I think why some hold off is like others have already said, there are really only 1-2 iPhones (3GS and 4) that can run "everything" so its easy to develop for. There are so many different Android devices with so many different processors, screens and OS's that its probably a lot harder to develop for unless they concentrate only on OS 2.2 and high end devices like EVO, EPIC and such.
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My apologies, it was a long day and I couldn't think of a better term at the time.
Thank you for the correction.
Honestly, the issue with most people is they won't even try a game due to the name of it.
This is supposed to be a good MMO:
http://www.appbrain.com/app/pocket-legends-beta-%283d-mmo%29/sts.pl
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For a phone MMO, it's decent if simplistic (don't expect WoW in your pocket whatever the marketing speak says). The graphics are about on par with the original EverQuest which again, on a phone, it's fairly good.
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wow! so many replies. i posted and didn't click on get automated notifcation when someone replies
lots of really good points
it's a shame that we're missing out on all the fun the the apple crowd has
i've got 2.1 on my x10 mini pro now!
i'll try some of the games suggested above
lots of really good points
it's a shame that we're missing out on all the fun the the apple crowd has
i've got 2.1 on my x10 mini pro now!
i'll try some of the games suggested above
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Some people in this thread are missing the point when they post their favorite android games. Yes, android has SOME games.... but the number of quality games on iOS is probably higher by a factor of 10. This isn't likely to change anytime soon...
Quote sales numbers all you want.... the reason android is doing so well is because it offers phones for EVERYONE.... including the budget minded folks who cant afford an iPhone. I see people out and about with android phones all the time that look like they wouldn't give a shit about games. This doesn't exaclty attract game developers... as they want to make games in hopes that people will buy them. This will be iOS for the foreseeable future. Possibly even Windows Phone 7 if that ever takes off (that platform has hardware requirements... which will likely keep the prices from dipping too low).
Quote sales numbers all you want.... the reason android is doing so well is because it offers phones for EVERYONE.... including the budget minded folks who cant afford an iPhone. I see people out and about with android phones all the time that look like they wouldn't give a shit about games. This doesn't exaclty attract game developers... as they want to make games in hopes that people will buy them. This will be iOS for the foreseeable future. Possibly even Windows Phone 7 if that ever takes off (that platform has hardware requirements... which will likely keep the prices from dipping too low).
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Annnnnd again, that's the situation with Windows boxes. Which is why, of course, on the PC Windows has always been the gaming-deprived platform where developers just can't bother making games for seeing as Windows comes on low-end PCs used by offices and people who don't give a shit about games, and Mac is the dominant gaming plat...
Oh wait. Whoops, that's bizarro universe. Looks like we're on Earth here.
The real problem is that mobile OSes are not mature and mobile gaming is, well, kind of shit. Yes, even on an iDevice. You still won't get real, hardcore gaming. It's still not considered a "real" gaming platform the way PC and consoles are. Hardware's not there yet. Form factor's not suitable. There's no good solution for touch controls; game on an iDevice for extended period of times and you'll long for mouse/keyboard or gamepads, or at least some kind of physical buttons.
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Need for Speed Shift and Sims 3D are not just limited to high end devices, but to service providers as well, if I'm not mistaken. I'd love both these games on my Evo, but can't seem to find the apk file anymore doing a search on Google. Even though there are versions supported for the Snapdragon processors, you still can't pay for the full version, but only get the demo...
I'd really love some more sports games (Madden 11, for example) too... =/
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I know this is a little off-topic, but I am secretly excited for the PSP phone. I think that device will "turn the tide" for Android. I love my EVO, but as grainysand says, touchscreen gaming leaves a lot to be desired. Perhaps having a more traditional control input setup will attract more developers to develop games for the PSP phone...
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LOL. Did a X10 knock your girlfriend up or something? Too funny.
You are absolutely correct that PC graphics make console graphics pale in comparison. However, that apparently is not enough. PC gaming is on a serious decline. There is literally volumes about this out there about how PC gaming sales have fallen off dramatically. Read any magazine from PC World, Maximum PC or PC Magazine and even in their own magazines, they admit the sad state of PC gaming and naturally are trying to bolster the industry. Piracy, and fragmentation, where some PCs can play a game and some can not or not as well, are a few of the major factors. Is this the same situation we're seeing in Android vs iphone? I'm not sure. I suppose time will tell but it is inaccurate to say that PC gaming has not been hindered by fragmentation. PC gaming is in a dire state.
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"PC GAMING IS DYING!1!!" has been cried god knows how many times. The same bell's been rung when the PS1 came out, then the Xbox, then the PS2, etc. There're always alarmists running around like headless chickens. Yeah, PC gaming is in so terrible a state that Starcraft 2--a PC exclusive, no less!--just keeled over and died at launch. Oh wait. And... PC magazines? What are you, a dinosaur? A Neanderthal? People still read magazines that are outdated weeks before they're printed? Too funny. And piracy? As if pirating on a console wasn't piss-easy. The only people who believe piracy, rather than terrible DRM, is harming the gaming industry are marketing/PR drones. Are you a marketing/PR drone or just a sucker who laps up PR-speak?
You can get the full game on Snapdragon devices, just FYI. Not very, uh, legally but there you go.
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Rubbish.
It is not particularly difficult to develop for Android devices. Sure, the plethora of devices can be a pain if you want to do advanced stuff, but any competent developer will be able to deal with fragmentation.
The problem with the Android market is that there is no money in it if you are a developer who is interested in going full-time. Simply put, the same app with the same amount of effort will likely earn you 10x the revenue on iPhone than you will get on Android. The gap has been closing in the past few months (it used to be more like 50x better revenue on iPhone), but the gap still remains.
Why there is little money in the Android market is a separate discussion. Android being a platform where piracy is trivial is part of the problem, but many other factors such as market issues (poor search functions, lack of a web interface, openness to spam apps, technical problems with the market that inevitably get blamed on the developers) and the tendency of a segment of the Android user base to be offended at the idea of paying for stuff (or be frugal, to use the PC version above) definitely also contribute to the problem.
Given that you can make a lot more money on iPhone vs Android with less effort (fewer devices to test against), it is not surprising that developers interested in earning a living concentrate their efforts on the iPhone first, and Android only second. It's the only decision that makes sense, unless you were one of the early movers (most of the top apps) or you can surf a truly amazing wave of PR and expectation (Rovio).
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yes, android does have the free version of angry birds, apple has the paid version which supports the devs. that's why apple has all the angry birds updates, like the halloween update.
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I haven't ever played a game on my phone, and don't care to. much rather use google reader or something... (to be fair, I really like wordfeud, but I'm not sure if that counts since its not a crazy graphical game like everyone wants now)
one time my friend showed me a game on his iphone4...then I showed him MW3 my PC and laughed. true story.
strategy has the gist of it above, though. to be fair I don't really get why iOS makes so much more money. Do more iOS apps have time-limited (as opposed to unlimited or non ad supported) versions or are they just looser with their cash? I've spent exactly 10$ on apps that I use constantly (TiB, launcher pro, etc) and would never *ever* spend it on a game.
There was a guy on here a while back crying because no one bought his game on android and my first thought was "people pay 5$ for games with no trial on their phones?". I guess I'm out of touch.
one time my friend showed me a game on his iphone4...then I showed him MW3 my PC and laughed. true story.
strategy has the gist of it above, though. to be fair I don't really get why iOS makes so much more money. Do more iOS apps have time-limited (as opposed to unlimited or non ad supported) versions or are they just looser with their cash? I've spent exactly 10$ on apps that I use constantly (TiB, launcher pro, etc) and would never *ever* spend it on a game.
There was a guy on here a while back crying because no one bought his game on android and my first thought was "people pay 5$ for games with no trial on their phones?". I guess I'm out of touch.
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Precisely. That Rovio apparently decided that releasing a paid version of Angry Birds on Android would be less profitable than a free version with ads is not exactly a ringing endorsement of faith in the platform. Hopefully the ad revenue is strong enough to make up for the lost sales (they are on a "special" program at Google - the video ads they serve are not available to "regular" developers - so presumably they are making better than average revenue).
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The ads are pushed in your face. You will click them at least once and that total is just as much as it'll sell on iOS
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Considering Android's market share is now %25.5 worldwide (it was %3.5 this time last year) I'm sure this will change, just need to give it time.
Gartner: Android Share Jumps To 25.5 Percent, Now Second Most Popular OS Worldwide
Gartner: Android Share Jumps To 25.5 Percent, Now Second Most Popular OS Worldwide
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Normal (the small discrete ads) are usually on pay-per-click basis. Big video ads are more normally on a pay-per-impression basis. So it matters less whether people click on them and more that people play the game (and are thus exposed to the ads).
This is also why they are so much "in the face". Given that they earn more money the more ads they show, the incentive is naturally to show as many ads as possible.
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Good point. But what does this mean for gamers like me who would rather pay for a game up-front rather than be bombarded with ads for "free?" I may be reading too deeply into your comments, but you seem to be implying that it may be more profitable for developers to make second-rate, ad-supported ports of their iOS titles rather than create a paid title for Android. This is quite depressing...
I think the next 6-12 months are crucial for Android gaming. Either Android will grow into a viable gaming platform or it will remain stagnant. I'll be watching closely.
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