Hey guys, clear one thing up for me please. When you develop the game, does it makes sense NOT TO port it to Android market (google play)? Especially if the game is developed on UDK or Unity, which means it is pretty easy to build an android version of your game. The reason I'm asking this is I see a lot of decent IOS games that never make it to android and I'm wondering if there is any catch. Are there complications with Apple if the game already exist on android? Does it lower the chance to be featured in new¬eworthy or something? On the other hand, do you feel cheated if you buy a game on AppStore for 1-2$ and find a free-to-play version on Android, only with ads? I hope it's the right forum, if not, I kindly ask to move the thread to proper one :>
For me it would have to be the fragmentation among Android. Different manufacturers and the OS version of Droid create a very unpredictable place to create anything. If you begin ignoring certain brands or versions, then the quality of your game just looks bad. http://opensignalmaps.com/reports/fragmentation.php So I'd say, developing for Droid is a matter of team size or resources available. If you can create a really tight game that can handle the MANY screen dimensions and hardware manufacturers throw at you, then that would be awesome. Unity, Hax NME, and the various other languages that can do multi-platform aren't always 100% bug free. A lot of the Unity made games I play on the iPhone seem to crash more often then the ones that aren't. You could certainly use Unity to get it into as many hands as possible, but if you are worried about fixing bugs or community concern, then I don't know.
Mika Mobile (Zombieville, Battleheart) used Unity as well, but I believe they abandoned the Android platform, because the cost of customer support was just too high. With Android Market (Google Play) getting bigger, it makes sense to consider, but just beware of the issues people are having with their ports. Mika does paid games, so you might see more success if you go the Free route, especially for Android. http://www.zdnet.com/blog/mobile-news/popular-game-developer-halts-work-on-android/7117
@Peon: Kudos for sharing this! If a successful company like Mika Mobile is finding that the Android Market is not worthwhile, that raises some serious concerns for anyone that doesn't have their level of exposure, manpower, etc.
Tnx for the link, lazypeon. Not encouraging news tho. Definitely won't go down the paid route, looks like it's impossible to vouch for the game to work on all the different devices. Unless youre Rovio or something ofcourse :> Any other experiences or opinions?
The main problem dev's have (the ones I've spoken with) is they try to port an app to work on every Android device. That's simply not feasible, nor do you have to do it. you can simply make a cut off of say no earlier version of Android that 2.3.7 (the last gingerbread release), with a minimum spec of (insert whatever you like here). The problem with ports, isn't the market itself, as much as it is the sloppiness of a lot of the ports. They're done half assed without giving thought to the platform (the main problem with lazypeon was the poor quality of the port not the market). If I were to make a game or port for Android, it would be for a 4.0 device and up. That would also take care of lower end hardware. I would also put a disclaimer, not responsible if it doesn't work on rooted devices. Far more Android devices get rooted than idevices get jailbroken and that leads to compatibility issues. Just my two cents.
With Pro Zombie Soccer things have gone a bit different, actually. Our sales have been low compared to the iOS version (around 25%), but that´s something we knew would happen and we were even pleasantly surprised by the much higher than expected numbers there. We didn´t support older than 1,5 years devices and, although we´ve had some problems with a few users, I would say the port was worthwhile. BUT, the port was handled by an external company who were/are super-professional and did a great job.
We release for both and with our engine too, so that's MAJOR pain. Still worthwhile though. iOS is definitely the daddy for maximum potential earnings, but you'll get noticed easier on Android because there's just not as many good apps to compete with for eyeballs. If you have an engine that "just works" then it's definitely worth a go. Prepare to buy a bunch of phones off eBay if you get compatibility complaints, but I guess at a pinch you can leave that decision until you see enough profit to continue working out the kinks.
If you're targeting Android you pretty much need full time accounting staff (or use a publisher): http://retrodreamer.com/blog/2012/03/why-dont-we-have-paid-versions-on-the-android-market/ That's one reason many Android ports are adware.
App store phones and android phone market is going on high level day by day and the demand of this phones are very high and expensive and no in under of any body....
Users on Google Play mostly expect to get stuff for free so if thats what you're intending then releasing there will get you more eyeballs. But if you're intending on charging then be aware that there is a lot of piracy on Google Play. Just refer to Dead Trigger who were recently forced to make their game free.
It is easier to get reviews and press on Android, but it doesn't seem to lead to sales. We're just hoping it all adds to the buzz. And there's a good reason not to go Android - not much point if you don't think you'll recoup the cost of the licenses. disparitygames.com