This is a great editorial. My problem with Gameloft has always been the degree to which they take the copycatting game. I love most of their games, and I just wish I could have more respect for them as original takes on an established formula; instead, they're as close to copyright infringement as legally possible. I wish they didn't go so far in that direction, because they have really solid games underneath all the derivativeness.
my qualms have never been with the copying i cant stand how damn shallow of experiences there games are, and the only reason i complain about them, other than sheer ego, is that places like IGN insist that Gameloft is one of the biggest stars of the App Store. When they still haven't even reviewed Super Quick Hook or Edge or the countless other indie gems that are the real stars of the iOS scene. I get that they make money... so does Dan Brown but no one would call him a premier American author without sounding like middle school aged twat. I expect better of IGN because I generally agree with there console game reviews, but where iphone games are concerned TA is the only acceptable source imo iphone gaming will never be more than a watered down console experience as long people clamor over every Gameloft release... so i guess my question is really to Gameloft fans... WTF mates get a console and just play COD and to the above post i will never tire of this argument
I read it, and still think Gameloft is an awful company. Their games are uninspired, linear and onlyprovide fun for people willing to settle down for mediocre crap, that is similar to good games on other platform, instead of looking at the other choices, the many indie developers, who actually care about their games.
I can hardly call Spiderman and MC2 mediocre crap, and I find it laughable to find you in almost every gameloft thread in the general forums. If you enjoy your five minute-mini game-indie stuff that even a 13 yr old can code then more power to you but for the rest of us who wanted a more console like experience we actually tend to like Gameloft games.
Does everyone need to choose a side? Are people really that polarized between indie/commercial? I mean a good game is a good game. Gameloft games do lift A LOT from popular games... and I do poke fun at that fact. But the games that interest me, I will buy... regardless of if its dancing dangerously on copyright infringement. They do have good games, they do have stinkers. Would it be nice to see some more innovative games from gameloft? Yes. But bottomline is, Gameloft makes money, they make games people want to play, and they are going to keep doing it while people keep buying their games.
I think Gameloft is a good company for what they've brought to the platform. You may not think their games are very deep or original, but you can't say that Gameloft hasn't helped advance the iOS platform. Visually, Gameloft produces some great games that appeal to the mass audience. Clones or not, they've brought games to this audience that otherwise would still be sitting on a shelf waiting to be reborn. If you don't enjoy Gameloft's games, then don't buy them. Otherwise, I don't understand the negativity. If you're looking for a deep experience, go to a self-help seminar. But, if you're looking for entertaining gaming, then Gameloft has contributed much to the mobile space.
Very well said. I don't understand the negativity either as well as people that always insisted to turn threads into an indie versus gameloft flame wars.
If you say Gameloft is a scam then, All army games are copies of Call of Duty All alien fps games are copies of Halo All racing games are copies of Need for Speed or Gran Turismo All sport games are copies of Madden, NBA Live, or Fifa Playstation Move is a copy of Wii (Of course!) All free roam do whatever you want smoke crack games are copies of GTA All cave exploring games are copies of Tomb Raider. Steve Jobs is a copy of Bill Gates.
Let's be fair, Gameloft makes blatant copies of console games. Just look at Modern Combat 2 Black Pegasus - it takes ranking, weapon, perk, XP system, and even part of its name straight from MW2. That said, I will continue to support Gameloft solely because, as IGN said, they make good games that otherwise might never have made their way to the iPhone.
... but Gameloft is undoubtedly one of the biggest if not the premiere star of the Appstore, whether you like it or not. I'm all for indie game recognition, but IGN does give those games their dues. Gameloft however continuously puts out games that have public appeal and have mostly satisfied a level or quality that isn't matched by anyone else (Chillingo doesn't do big budget games as well as indie stuff, and EA isn't half as successful as Gameloft). I dare say if it wasn't for Gameloft's efforts, Appstore gaming on the whole wouldn't be evolved past the glop of January 2009.
Well that the problem, a lot of indie devs does not want the AppStore to evolve. They blame gameloft for claiming their market share and introducing consumers to graphics other than what they like to call pixel art or stick or retro graphics. Before gameloft indie devs can code a simplistic game and sell it to consumers, one of the early indie game Ishoot is a clone too and no one seems to complain about it. The sequel didn't sell as well because the bar has been raised, and games that could have done well in the early days of the AppStore just won't cut it anymore. Don't get me wrong there a lot of good indie devs right now but they minorities since the AppStore offers almost no barrier of entry even the your neighborhood kid can be an indie dev right now. And what do almost all them have in common? Hatred for gameloft for raising the bar, take banned indie dev Michael Scott whose hatred for everything gameloft is witness by members of this forum.
As ive probably stated before: If a clone makes alot of cash, everyone hates it. If it doesnt, its game of the year for the iphone.
We see this same hatred in every entertainment medium. There are people who hate every movie put out by a big studio or has a big budget. There are people who hate every artist who has a song on a Top 40 station or is put out by a major record label. Obviously the same is the case with gaming. At the end of the day, I'm going to support whatever games I have fun playing. I could care less if it's an indie developer or big company. I support the game, not how big or small the developer is. At the end of the day, speak with your wallet. If you hate Gameloft, then don't purchase their games. There is no sense in flooding forums with Gameloft hate wherever you can get away with it. I can't stand Angry Birds, but I just simply don't buy the game. I don't flood any threads about the game about it. It just makes you look like a spoiled child when you do that.
This topic is about an editorial piece, so anyone asking why we have to take sides can leave. This is a topic where 2 sides are gonna have it out... here i go I dont see how anyone can think gameloft make polished games, I've played them they are glitchy as hell and with almost no attention to detail. Their primary selling point is that they are similar to "big budget FPS X". Once again i guess the idea of a Gameloft fanboy completely bemuses me, so I ask them, if they exist, why don't you just play Call of Duty, Halo, Soul Caliber, Uncharted,or Starcraft. Furthermore why do they get spoken about around here at all? I mean compared to whats actually being done on console the games are utter crap, to me it seems like being a giant Coldplay fan but hating Radiohead and U2; I've met that person and it turns out that they just don't like music that much. I cant get Spider the secret of Bryce manor on any other console, and The Sword and Sorcery EP is one of my most anticipated games because noting like it is coming out on any other console. I get wanting a hardcore, but watered down version of a familiar hardcore experience is a poor substitute for that craving. Whenever it ways that the creator of super meat boy said that iphone games will be the tiger hand held games of our generation, he was dead on in describing Gameloft... I could go on for days
