Funny thing, at first I wanted to post FF 1 game screen so others can see just how much difference there is between java and iOS version ( java version looked like NES one , was released in 2009 and was cooperation between Namco and Square enix ). Point is, there is enough quality ports ,popular old games remakes and retro indie games of all genres avaliable on iOS to satisfy(putting aside some touch control quirks ) all your nostalgic game memories.
Even though we know got a bunch of great, solid and full experience games (XCOM, KOTOR, FF series, IB, Chaos Rings, etc.) it's just that, a bunch of games that every year came out and are focus on the costumers who want that full experience games and the main problem of iOS gaming it's the costumers the platform it's pulling: people who aren't looking for such a great game experience and they just need a game for waste time in the toilet and the bus stop and it's completely okay for them, but what about us? the non-casual costumers. Another problem it's the fact of many developers are just doing an excuse game for putting them a f2p and freemium model that makes them earn easy money without doing a quality game because they doesn't care about that. This platform has potential, but it's been almost five years and the thing remains the same, just a bunch of several titles are good enough for the non-casual costumer. If this continues, I'll be getting a 3DS soon and I'll stop updating my iPhone, because the games are one of the things that makes me upgrade my phone, and if I'm not buying anything attractive to me, I'll keep with a device as long as it works for elemental apps.
Yeah but iOS version is costy.. So what are Symbian game file types again? XD i wanna play again Lol (pirate) Edit: I mange to download FF1 and FF2 $18 savings
My favorite java games were developed by fishlabs, such as Deep, Blades & Magic, Gladiator, Planet riders... Frankly, none of those can be played on iOS devices. More important, you can't play The Elder scrolls travels: shadowkey on iOS.
I agree that mobile gaming has turned into crap and this is why I turned into a mobile game developer. At the current moment I'm working on a couple of games that brings back the fun. I'm tired of the runners and IAP. I'm going to try to change the industry with the games I make and hope they become successful. I've been reading a lot of posts here and been listening to what mobile gamers want. No ads, no IAP, no junk apps that are endless.
Reading this has risen my hopes in restoring my full faith once again with developers and iOS gaming. Nice posting.
No blog or anything yet. Just games in progress. A lot of developers are about money and I'm more into bringing a change. The only thing I look for in success is if I can change the industry in a good way.
I'm getting very very disheartened with the App Store in general. I bought this ipad just before Xmas (I'll be paying for it until Oct) but I pretty much regret it now, not because of the machine itself but the current state of iOS gaming. Freemium is ruining everything and even old classics that once you could rely on, are being remade purely as scamming machines to bleed the dim and uneducated people of their money. Even the editors choices on the App Store are a joke.. Dungeon keeper?? Seriously.. What!!! Sure there's some gems out here worth buying and playing but it seems at times like 99% of the App Store is utter tripe. Although from what I see, android is really no better. Once this ipad dies I'll simply stick to PC gaming and let iOS die under a torrent of 'flavour of the month' clones and iap-fests. I do not blame apple for this, I don't even blame EA or other vile, greedy and morally bankrupt companies. I blame YOU.. Yes, Joe Schmuck, who whines about buying a game over 69p and blatantly refuses to buy a game for £2-3-5 ...BUT.. Will happily download some free crap game and then proceed to spend £10-20-30 on consumable iaps. THE MIND BOGGLES. /rant over
The grass is always greener on the other side. Trust me, I felt the same way, so I got an android phone and all the games were crap. The iOS platform is the most lucrative place for developers due to sale rates, iOS is said to garner more than double revenue than android, let alone the even smaller markets like Ericsson. I've never seen a single game on android that I bothered buying a google play card for.. Yes iOS may be packed with Freemies, but it's better than the crap that's on android. Android games seem to be like..if you go on appzap and look at the most recent lists on a Monday night and see a bunch of junk, that junk would pretty much be featured on the google play store.. So yeah.
Its not great with the amount of freemium around, and its depressing reading people basically rushing to get promo codes, begging for more promo codes etc, JUST buy the games ! Plus comments on freemium, some people do seem to spend a lot on it. But then look at Flappy Bird, i'm embarassed to see the way some people seem to like it, theres a thousand+ games better than that available iOS is still amazing though, i've got 300 apps on my iphone, 600 on my ipod touch, i could play for years finding something to play. Saying that the last couple of release wednesdays i've bought 2 games, i've got tons of itunes credit from Xmas, but nothing to buy ! Hopefully it'll pick up But as always when you get some great indie title dont panic if its 2 dollars or more ! If we're not moaning about game centre we're moaning about something else (granted i'll hold my hands up and mention i always ask for touch controls !), freemium done right isnt bad at all, but thats becoming less and less. Now i see a game, looks good, go to buy it, oh its free ! Somethings up, pass. To stop these types of game basically buy games on release, dont worry that in a weeks time it may be a dollar less (a dollar !), think of the hard work gone into these indie games, indie devs gambling that all these weeks of unpaid work might be worth it, then they release it and see comments like 'the games $1, could i have 40 impressions before i commit to buying ?' or 'i'll wait for a price drop' You want less freemium, start buying and not waiting !
Mene, I read your post as being disappointed with the ratio of crap to good games. That has always been the case, no matter the platform. Atari 2600, tonnes of crap. NES even more crap. Gameboy so miuch crap. PC lotsa crap. Don't be overwhelmed by crap like Biff Tannen. Just play those games you find fun and leave it at that. iPadSoldOffTheMajorityOfHis360GamesAndWhat'sLeftIsStillMostlyCrap... There can only be so many cool and fun games like Counterstrike and Oblivion. Those need talented developers but too bad in the 90s many became coders with $$$ in their eyes and were uninterested in computers at all.
Actually the AppStore makes 6 to 7 times as much as the Android/Google Play store, just FYI... Meanwhile Apple barely owns a third of the market hardware-wise... So, yeah, the AppStore is an enticing place for developers to be lured to...
I agree, often with nostalgia you remember the great games but dont always remember the tons of crap. Again back then it was harder to wade through the rubbish as you had screenshots to go on in mags, no trial versions (until the 90's with PC demos) etc, just risk your 8 weeks pocket money on a game ! Now with so many video sites/review sites its much easier to spot a turkey. But to me theres way way enough good games than bad And yeah the app store is way way better than Android, devs make more money on the app store so we'll always get the better releases. I have an android device and they are very good, i'm glad theres a 'challenge' for Apple but iOS is still number 1 by far
I can't tell if the OP's intent was to discuss his feelings toward trends in mobile gaming or his dream for a nostalgic trip, but I'd love to hit on both points. I can relate to the feeling of - wow Ravensword trailer omg . . . wait wtf is this it? I'm jumping over pixelated logs to swipe at rats forever and just spent 7 bucks?! (sorry my thoughts when I had bought the first one) After exhausting what I could find on the AppStore, I did the same thing - removed my card from my iTunes account, powered by nostalgia and a hunger for buttons bought a GBA and went hunting for old carts. I think that was the best decision I had made as it forced me to revisit why I loved gaming in the first place. My love was the tangible, aesthetic aspects far removed from what equals mobile gaming: artistic box art, printed game manuals, buttons, hardware ergonomics solely built for gaming, cart logos, pop in/out gaming (no social media menus, cloud account loadings), and community such as actually talking in person to sellers/collectors as passionate as yourself about a game/system. Now, I do tend to pick up the occasional iOS game, but sadly not with the same interest as I had a couple of years ago. Also my final jump to the 3DS killed my mobile gaming, which has been delegated to either the restroom or that 20m before class. I seriously have been sitting on $25 credit that I got from a cousin at Christmas and so far I've only bought Deep Dungeons of Doom, Only One, Rayman Fiesta Run, and Sky Guide, and I can't seem to find anything else I'm excited about, and I can't even gift anything or I would have by now. The only two titles I see on the horizon that fit my tastes are Battleheart Legacy and TBA Solomon Title if it ever gets out of the legal issues its tied up with. On another note, I have never known anyone ever nostalgic for an N-Gage, however to each its own, I won't judge. One question though, why didn't you go for something like a PSP 2000? I would think the game library, graphics, and hardware would be way better for about the same amount of money - craiglists is filled with $50 PSP sets with 5+ games included.
We're definitely in a phase where developers are trying to balance out making the game enticing in the short term but enjoyable in the long run and at the same time financially viable to them. I do believe freemium or some form of it is here to stay though mainly because it has a much greater pull than premium ever had.
I wanted to discuss the future (and present) of mobile gaming. I mentioned the nostalgia as only viable escape option from it; escape to the past. I won't judge your opinion on Ravensword 1, but in my eyes it is a real breakthrough and a milestone in mobile gaming. I spent at least 50 hours in that game (and another 20 when I discovered the cheat button hehe...). As said, realtime, western, 3d, open-world RPGs are my favorite genre and we have like... 5 of those now? I totally did not expect the mobile gaming market to go that casual in such a short period of time, and even if it would, I hoped we'd get more non-casual games, and not just a handful per year. Why I didn't go with the PSP? It doesn't have any good games, except GTA and AC: Bloodlines... I dislike the so called action - adventure "god of war" style games and unfortunately those are the most common ones on this console system. The handful of third person and first person shooters that PSP has are terrible anyway. *on a side note: I would've bought the PSP if TES: Oblivion would've been released on it, as they originally planed.
