Game Developers Scaling Back Android Efforts as iPhone Continues to Dominate

[MacRumors]

Reuters reports that prominent iPhone game developer Gameloft is scaling back its efforts to produce content for the Android platform in the face of weaknesses of its application store. Gameloft also notes that it is not the only one making the move, with other game developers reportedly experiencing similar frustrations.

"We have significantly cut our investment in Android platform, just like ... many others," Gameloft finance director Alexandre de Rochefort said at an investor conference.

The company's frustration comes from a lack of success on the Android platform, contrasted with Apple's App Store ecosystem and its ability to drive sales for developers.

"It is not as neatly done as on the iPhone. Google has not been very good to entice customers to actually buy products. On Android nobody is making significant revenue," Rochefort said.

Games for iPhone generated 13 percent of Gameloft's revenue in the last quarter. "We are selling 400 times more games on iPhone than on Android," Rochefort said.

Several months ago, mobile app developer Larva Labs offered an analysis of the massive sales gap between the iPhone and Android platforms, noting a number of major deficiencies in Android's application store implementation. While Android developers have since moved to address some of those issues, the platform has yet to generate the buzz and critical mass to drive application sales to levels that make financial sense for software developers.

Article Link: Game Developers Scaling Back Android Efforts as iPhone Continues to Dominate

[sbrhwkp3]

Muahahahahahahahaha!!

And Apple continues to steam roll on.

[Shasterball]

Get your act together, Google. We need competition...

[*LTD*]

The Android revolution is taking a while . . .

Originally Posted by Shasterball

Get your act together, Google. We need competition...

Alright. But in Apple's case, why specifically? Is there something wrong?

Apple *is* the competition. Without any real competition to drive them Apple released the iPhone, and kept improving it . . . and is still doing it, in the absence of any real competition.

[polaris20]

That's disappointing, because the Droid is an excellent phone, and the screen puts the 3Gs to shame.

[cleric]

But the droid is going to change it all!

[heisetax]

I'm not a game user but in order to have the needed apps for a Droid on Verizon there needs to be more apps. I don't like AT&T or the way the Apple app store is run so the iPhone is not a viable option.

[Ted13]

Apple's customers are trained to pay for their software.
Android/Linux/Windows customers are trained to get stuff for free or "free".

It is something that few people seem to get but has a huge impact in software sales.

When a developer hears about a "free, open" platform they think, great, no one will interfere with me selling my app. When the Android users hear "free, open", they think "great, I don't have to pay for my apps".

[heisetax]

Originally Posted by *LTD*

The Android revolution is taking a while . . .




Alright. But in Apple's case, why specifically? Is there something wrong?

Apple *is* the competition. Without any real competition to drive them Apple released the iPhone, and kept improving it . . . and is still doing it, in the absence of any real competition.

But how much better do you think the iPhone would be if they had some "real" competition?

[happydude]

hmmm, give it time. since android isn't confined to one company's hardware, it'll catch up to an installed base fairly soon. people will want apps. iphone users may by a demographic install and pay for more apps than android users, but i'd guess sometime soon, the android app store will take off.

[theheadguy]

Originally Posted by *LTD*

...Without any real competition to drive them Apple released the iPhone...

What are you talking about? If you have 0% of a market you want a part of, all there is is competition. It's obvious you'll take your love for apple to the grave, but come on, you have to occasionally be somewhat realistic.

[TheOrioles33]

It is unfortunate but you have to target the massess. If I were a developer I would target the iPhone and then Android. Its only logical.

[MorphingDragon]

Originally Posted by heisetax

But how much better do you think the iPhone would be if they had some "real" competition?

Not much really, what more features can you put in it that isn't unnecessary bloat?

[Shasterball]

Originally Posted by *LTD*

Alright. But in Apple's case, why specifically? Is there something wrong?

I think their app submission system is pretty bad. But, that aside, it's not that there needs to be something wrong. Competition prevents Apple from resting on their laurels and it forces them to innovate. That's a good thing for consumers like us.

[Rot'nApple]

Give it time...

I'm sure Google will iron out it's kinks.

But I could care less about whether the Droid's screen screams compared to iPhone or anyone else. Or who has the most games in their app store. I'm not a gamer! Never have been. Never looked at my computer as a means to play games, and not looking for it on a smart phone!

It may be the end all, be all for others and that's okay, "He's just not that into you"... er I'm just not that into it!

[darthraige]

I love how Apple is years ahead of everyone else with their technology. I mean come on, where's the competition these days? Apple even developed a Time Machine already.

[mdriftmeyer]

Originally Posted by heisetax

But how much better do you think the iPhone would be if they had some "real" competition?

You missed his point. Apple continues to push the envelope without anyone around knowing leads in technology are tenuous, at best.

Apple knows the more it advances it's iPhone/iPod Touch platforms the more rapidly the general Mac platform grows.

[dwhittington]

Just goes to show it's all about having a well thought out framework for developer support, application delivery to get the product into the hands of the consumer.

[str1f3]

Originally Posted by Rot'nApple

Give it time...

I'm sure Google will iron out it's kinks.

But I could care less about whether the Droid's screen screams compared to iPhone or anyone else. Or who has the most games in their app store. I'm not a gamer! Never have been. Never looked at my computer as a means to play games, and not looking for it on a smart phone!

It may be the end all, be all for others and that's okay, "He's just not that into you"... er I'm just not that into it!

This isn't just about games. Devs from other kinds of apps have echoed the same sentiment.

Google has great engineers but they suck at everything else.

[BRLawyer]

Originally Posted by sbrhwkp3

Muahahahahahahahaha!!

And Apple continues to steam roll on.

The only ones NOT knowing how superior the iPhone is are the "pundits" that infest this Mac-centric forum with their MS-fanboyism...so this is not news, it's just restating the obvious.

Thank you, Apple, for providing us with a superb user experience!

[BornAgainMac]

Typical Linux environment.

[Xian Zhu Xuande]

Originally Posted by Shasterball

I think their app submission system is pretty bad. But, that aside, it's not that there needs to be something wrong. Competition prevents Apple from resting on their laurels and it forces them to innovate. That's a good thing for consumers like us.

One thing people overlook about Apple--at least the Apple we know today--is that in absence of competition, they compete with themselves. Even if nobody else in the mobile market was close to competing with them, they'd continue to innovate and compete with their own previous products. If they didn't do this people wouldn't upgrade. Because they do this, they have many customers who upgrade their consumer electronics long before they've become obsolete.

Competition is always a good thing, but Apple does not need it to drive their products to new heights.

[Eidorian]

Phone gaming, yay...

[macshill]

Originally Posted by BRLawyer

The only ones NOT knowing how superior the iPhone is are the "pundits" that infest this Mac-centric forum with their MS-fanboyism...so this is not news, it's just restating the obvious.

Thank you, Apple, for providing us with a superb user experience!

Fanboy statement enough? Motorola Droid/Milestone has higher resolution among other attributes that puts it ahead of the iPhone, but because it's made by Apple.... (your above statement).

[Chupa Chupa]

Originally Posted by *LTD*

The Android revolution is taking a while . . .




Alright. But in Apple's case, why specifically? Is there something wrong?

Apple *is* the competition. Without any real competition to drive them Apple released the iPhone, and kept improving it . . . and is still doing it, in the absence of any real competition.

Really? Can you say this with a straight face? Apple hasn't done anything innovative with the iPhone since the App Store -- which wasn't even Apple's original idea; it was forced to open up the phone a bit. Everything Apple has added to the phone since the original has been on other phones before, although maybe not implemented as well. C'mon the big exclusive thrill of this years 3GS was... a compass? They kiboshed the Google Voice app, and other really cool stuff.

I love the iPhone as much as the next around here, but I'd love it if Android started eating some of its market share to get Apple's attention. I think right now Android is only popular with ATT and/or Apple haters.