I know that a seemingly large demographic of iPhone users aren't "hardcore gamers", but I just feel like a huge disproportion of the games on the app store are just thrown together minigames for a quick profit. Why does it feel like 90% of the games are targeted towards casual gamers? I will say that there is a decent selection of challenging, fun and longer titles- but they're more like a needle in a hay stack. I wish that there were more companies willing to push for well-made games targeted towards the actual "gamer" crowd. Sometimes I feel like going out and buying another DS after I play a game like hybrid or dungeon hunter, knowing that I won't have another quality title like these to come around for what seems like ages.
maybe waite for command and conquer before you buy and ds game but you are right there arent many long titles
That's really the only thing you CAN make in order to turn a profit when you're forced to sell your games at 99¢. If you go out and buy a DS, you'll be in an entirely different league of gaming because those games can be developed on more than a shoestring budget since they sell for 30x the price.
What did you expect? The casual market is about 90% of the overall gaming market. The 'hardcore' market has a very narrow demographic, mostly 14-36 yr old males. The casual market appeals to everyone. The money is in the casual market, the Wii has proven that.
I think the problem with the iDevice platform is that is became a mini game platform very quickly in its life cycle because the pricing model sweet spot seems to $0.99 and $2.99.. which is truly mini game territory, quick game development... low dev cost. I also own a DS and PSP and whilst the games cost considerably more, I am happy to pay £25 for games like Gran Turismo, Scribblenauts, Professor Layton, etc. Would anyone pay the same price for those games on the iPhone... hell no... So developers have to find the fastest way to develop on the iPhone, which tends to be mobile phone ports. There are some amazing games on the iDevices, but the fact that anyone will a semblance of programming skill can make a game so sadly quality is not always high on everyone's list. Keep buying the quality complete games and hopefully this quick buck trend will start to fade away due to poor sales.
i mean some apps like real racing could be a full ds game if it had a few more championsships the ds game would be 25$ but you wouldnt have the same fun playing it with the ds controls than with the tilt control
but devs can sell more than 10 bucks on a game. its not customary but they can do it. I think more devs should start doing this provided it is good enough quality
the iphone will never have full fledged games. maybe in the near future, if ever, but that would takes years. the only way to play full fledged games is to have emulators
but making apps is cheaper and easier , or? as far as i am know the software costs 200$ and you can make beta´s
but here's the thing. most game companies aren't paying attention to the iphone, so a full fledged game isnt likely. and even if there was, i would imagine the controls would be absolutely horrible
Casual games are better for phones, because you don't have to sit and play forever on-the-go. Say you were playing a game like metroid, where there are save spots in certain places. "Hey! I just beat a boss! Theirs the save point!" Beep. "Crap, I got a text. :/"
Most devs have to pay the rent, car, eat, and support a family. If they have a dayjob, then that means they're not spending as much time with their friends and family to work on this. If you're an adult, then you know how much these things cost.
