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[wondermega]

Alright! My new game has launched! Check it out at the Android marketplace here

And of course a gameplay youtube video (this is an older iPhone capture) which you may have seen before.

So here's the skinny: Tetris Attack meets Bust-a-Move, inasmuch as the clearing and complex combos/chaining function. The gimmick here is that each piece is 2-sided, flippable. You have a lot of control over the gameboard, it gets quite intense once you get used to how it plays.

Here's the other skinny: People don't like to pay for stuff on Android. So we've made this game in two versions: $1.99, and Free. Both are identical, except the Free one has ads (and content unlocks as you play). The kicker? Play the Free version for 10 cumulative hours, and after that not only is all the content unlocked, but the ads will be removed permanently. It will be exactly the same as the $1.99 version. No one has tried this method before, so let's see if it works.

EDIT: here's a link to the iTunes original if you are curious --> LINK

 

[kurtrussell]

The kicker? Play the Free version for 10 cumulative hours, and after that not only is all the content unlocked, but the ads will be removed permanently. It will be exactly the same as the $1.99 version. No one has tried this method before, so let's see if it works.

Wow. Does the revenue for 10 hours of ad impressions = $1.99?

 

[wondermega]

Wow. Does the revenue for 10 hours of ad impressions = $1.99?

funny, I actually didn't try to calculate it. The amount generated by impressions is pretty tiny, so I would be shocked if it even came close to one dollar.

The thought being, if a few thousand people download the game, then I get next-to-nothing. But if I can get some serious numbers (hundreds of thousands of downloads) then it does start to mean something. Even if most of those people only play a portion of that time, it's still potentially way better than what I'd likely earn with a standard model of charging. Anyway, we got ~150,000 downloads on iOS with minimal publicity, so we'll see how this experiment goes..

 

[AndyD]

funny, I actually didn't try to calculate it. The amount generated by impressions is pretty tiny, so I would be shocked if it even came close to one dollar.

The thought being, if a few thousand people download the game, then I get next-to-nothing. But if I can get some serious numbers (hundreds of thousands of downloads) then it does start to mean something. Even if most of those people only play a portion of that time, it's still potentially way better than what I'd likely earn with a standard model of charging. Anyway, we got ~150,000 downloads on iOS with minimal publicity, so we'll see how this experiment goes..

I just got it. I hope you get a ton of downloads too.

 

[Mr Killemgood]

For what its worth, I'd love to see you follow up on this thread when you get a bunch of downloads under your belt, and tell us how the ad-monetized model on Android works.

 

[DarkPanda]

Zenonia 2 is free today on the amazon appstore. Just a heads up.

I was just coming here to post about that. I downloaded it, but I don't know if I'll ever get around to playing it, as I don't really do that kind of gaming on my phone. I downloaded the trial of the first game but never got far into it. Did anyone play it, and if so how was it? I did enjoy the little I played, though the on-screen controls felt a little slippery.

 

[Menelaus]

Let us know how the $1.99 price point works out.

For comparison, our game Cubes Free (ad supported) is at 300,000 downloads, and the Pro version (ad free, extra features) is only at 800 downloads priced at $.99.

It's true that Android folks hate paying.

 

[Babalu.]

I'm loving this amazon free app a day.

I went from like 1 game to like 10 already.

doodle jump, x construction, angry birdsx3, and soundhound.

so awesome.

I wouldn't pay for any of the games, so this lets me get them for free. awesomesauce.

pewpew is the game today which is kinda fun too.

 

[wondermega]

thanks for the support everybody

Yeah I don't expect that we will move many of the $1.99 units. In fact it's kind of a big scheme, I really don't give a crap if almost no-one buys the "Ultra" version. It exists for 2 reasons: 1, to satisfy the small group of people who HATE advertising banners in their games, and 2. to assign a value to the notion of "unlocking" from the free version. That's all really. I tried charging on iOS and while I got reasonable downloads, it was not anywhere close to the money I actually spent developing and supporting it (and not really a surprise I guess).

You really have to try weird and experimental things right now, for a lot of reasons. Just being out there and having people play your game and talking about it is pretty important, and staying relevant. If you can last long enough, there's definitely some money to be made; it's just not necessarily waiting at the end of the first couple of projects. In some people's cases, not even the first several.

I'll keep updating my status in this thread if you guys keep asking me

 

[Menelaus]

I wouldn't pay for any of the games

Yeah, food in the mouths of developers is pretty unimportant to me too.

 

[Rollo Lawson]

I wanted to suggest Farm Frenzy by Herocraft. It was free from Amazon a couple weeks ago...it's very addictive and somewhat intense.

It's hard to explain it, but there is a lite version on the market if you want to try it. You basically produce goods and money, and money from goods, and goods from other goods to meet goals, and you are constantly moving and upgrading to get the goals done faster. It's so good. Screens:

I couldn't get the QR code to work properly so I didn't post it.

 

[Rollo Lawson]

funny, I actually didn't try to calculate it. The amount generated by impressions is pretty tiny, so I would be shocked if it even came close to one dollar.

The thought being, if a few thousand people download the game, then I get next-to-nothing. But if I can get some serious numbers (hundreds of thousands of downloads) then it does start to mean something. Even if most of those people only play a portion of that time, it's still potentially way better than what I'd likely earn with a standard model of charging. Anyway, we got ~150,000 downloads on iOS with minimal publicity, so we'll see how this experiment goes..

Hey your game is fun and it looks incredible on my Xoom. I'll definitely buy it if you don't meet your goal.

 

[wondermega]

Hey your game is fun and it looks incredible on my Xoom. I'll definitely buy it if you don't meet your goal.

awesome, I have yet to see it on a tablet myself (can't wait.. I should walk down to the store tmrw and check it out!)

if the game does well I want to make a special tablet mode and take advantage of all that extra real estate. The gameplay would open up and go sick...!

Thanks for the kind words!

 

[wondermega]

well, since it's quite quiet in here, I might as well make a little noise.

the reddit thread for this little experiment is getting some attention, and there's a little bit of coverage on a few other sites as well. I'll probably write a blo and post it up on Gamasutra and see if that gets some eyeballs as well, it's hard to say. What i have learned from all of this is that the Android market is so, so different from the iPhone marketplace...

To be honest, I got a tiny amount of downloads compared to what I figured I was "worth" considering both my pedigree and my social networking, but I'd say this is off to a good start and if things build up rather than deflate quickly, I guess we will see what can happen.. I wanted to run this experiment a year ago on iPhone with the same game, but my programmer (at the time) wasn't too keen on it (it was rather difficult just getting that iteration out the door at all). I've kinda been holding onto Android as my "second chance," but after all this time I am pretty skeptical. Stay tuned!

 

[codswallop]

People don't like to pay for stuff on Android. So we've made this game in two versions: $1.99, and Free. Both are identical, except the Free one has ads (and content unlocks as you play). The kicker? Play the Free version for 10 cumulative hours, and after that not only is all the content unlocked, but the ads will be removed permanently. It will be exactly the same as the $1.99 version. No one has tried this method before, so let's see if it works.

Regardless of whether it works, I applaud you for trying out a new way to generate revenue. I've install this and will play it over lunch.

Edit: Well, it doesn't work at all on my (pretty old) HTC Hero running Android 2.3.2. Then again, it doesn't run a lot of stuff despite the Market thinking I could run it. (When I say it doesn't work at all, I can get into a game but then when there I get a grey background, with a small white box and a couple of blue boxes in that, then it crashes 2/3 of the time).

 

[wondermega]

Regardless of whether it works, I applaud you for trying out a new way to generate revenue. I've install this and will play it over lunch.

Edit: Well, it doesn't work at all on my (pretty old) HTC Hero running Android 2.3.2. Then again, it doesn't run a lot of stuff despite the Market thinking I could run it. (When I say it doesn't work at all, I can get into a game but then when there I get a grey background, with a small white box and a couple of blue boxes in that, then it crashes 2/3 of the time).

yeah I have an old Hero as well, and it's pretty similar to what you describe. When we released the game on iOS last year, we suffered considerably since we were rather behind the curve with our elegant, but not fancy presentation - it became fairly clear that we'd have to go above and beyond this time around to polish everything up nice and tight if we wanted a chance to succeed (and therefore, more horsepower was needed). Talking to a few people about this issue, maybe it is worth making a lower-tech separate "junior" app that runs without the bells and whistles. I'd love to do an 8-bit 180!!

 

[codswallop]

Talking to a few people about this issue, maybe it is worth making a lower-tech separate "junior" app that runs without the bells and whistles. I'd love to do an 8-bit 180!!

I wouldn't put any effort in on account of people using old phones like me. My totally unfounded opinion is that people who have older phones are less likely to purchase apps anyway.

The Android (and to a lesser extent IOS) markets are starting to get quite fragmented. I wonder if were going to start to see more graphics options in games soon.

 

[kurtrussell]

Anyway, we got ~150,000 downloads on iOS with minimal publicity, so we'll see how this experiment goes..

You have 2 more here - I grabbed it, and then recommended it to my Bejwelled-loving S.O!

Good job!

 

[kurtrussell]

Let us know how the $1.99 price point works out.

For comparison, our game Cubes Free (ad supported) is at 300,000 downloads, and the Pro version (ad free, extra features) is only at 800 downloads priced at $.99.

It's true that Android folks hate paying.

I actually pay for a lot of stuff on Android, but I don't have so much of an incentive when the only difference between free and full is the display of ads, because ads don't really bother me *that* much....

That being said, I've noticed that my purchases lately have been more of the 0.99 - 2.99 range of games - I used to shell out for $10+ productivity things, but I am not so willing to do so now that we only get 15 minutes to trial rather than the previous 24 hours - too much risk involved.....

If someone comes up with a really meaty tycoon/simulation game and not just a dressed-up farmville clone, I'd be all over that in a heartbeat no matter what the price.

 

[Cindres]

Just installed 180, from the online appstore for the first time too, that shit works damn good!

I'll pop up some impressions shortly but it looks pretty fun.

EDIT: Ok well that didn't take me long to decide, awesome game! Very original, a new one to decrease my lecture productivity -.-

 

[andycapps]

If anybody hasn't recommended it yet, I'd like to recommend Pew Pew. I got it from Amazon's App store I believe, but it seems to be free on the Android Market. Pew Pew 2 is around $3. I haven't completed it yet, but it seems to be a very good vector based "twin stick" shooter. Controls well, great music, and very smooth visuals. Loving it so far. Pew Pew 2 is out now but I haven't gotten that yet.

 

[drizzle]

If anybody hasn't recommended it yet, I'd like to recommend Pew Pew. I got it from Amazon's App store I believe, but it seems to be free on the Android Market. Pew Pew 2 is around $3. I haven't completed it yet, but it seems to be a very good vector based "twin stick" shooter. Controls well, great music, and very smooth visuals. Loving it so far. Pew Pew 2 is out now but I haven't gotten that yet.

PewPew2 was the free game on yesterday's amazon deal. It's pretty awesome.

 

[andycapps]

PewPew2 was the free game on yesterday's amazon deal. It's pretty awesome.

Dang it, I missed it. I'll buy it on the Market though once I finish Pew Pew.

wondermega - I'll definitely check out your game, have you given thought into lowering the price to $.99 to see if that helps your sales at all? I know for myself it is so much easier to justify that, maybe it's because it doesn't actually say $1 on it. I know $.99 is not much different than $1.99 but I'm wondering if it's a mind game thing for people to have to get over.

If you're not making much anyway on the market it may be worth a shot to see if a sale would spur more sales, quantity may be your friend, I'm not sure.

 

[sableholic]

My friend got his app feature on the marketplace, went from 25k downloads to 250k downloads. Ad revenue went from 20 cents/day to $30/day

 

[Cindres]

My friend got his app feature on the marketplace, went from 25k downloads to 250k downloads. Ad revenue went from 20 cents/day to $30/day

Well damn. What was the app?

 

[drizzle]

Alright! My new game has launched! Check it out at the Android marketplace here

I downloaded and I have to say... the game is pretty good!

I'm not a "match three, plot multiple combos" kinda guy, but even I liked the game. Will play more and eventually rate the game with my opinions (as I heard that's a good thing for the game on the Marketplace?)

 

[natureboy46]

I've been spending a ridiculous amount of time recently playing Baseball Superstars 2011. Amazing amount of depth and controls that are perfectly suited to the touch screen. Can't recommend it highly enough to anyone looking for a baseball game. Got it for $3.99 from Amazon too, rather than $4.99 from the marketplace.

Just downloaded 180 - really looking forward to it.

 

[KiKaL]

Yeah, food in the mouths of developers is pretty unimportant to me too.

I always felt like Dev's almost self sabotaged. Dev 1 releases an app/game for $$$. Dev 2 sees this app did well so then charges $$ for a clone and so on til it's free. I feel like this really started with the Apple Store and the "Peggle" sales for .99. I think it has killed the monetary value users perceive for apps. Out of my friends with iPhones and Androids phones I think I am one of the few who has spent money on the marketplace.

 

[sableholic]

Well damn. What was the app?

https://market.android.com/details?id=com.mattlary.shareMyApps&feature=featured-apps

 

[kurtrussell]

https://market.android.com/details?id=com.mattlary.shareMyApps&feature=featured-apps

Ha! I downloaded that, and used it to share the market link to 180 (mentioned above) with my S.O.

How meta

 

[SHAZOOM]

Anyone else playing DEMON HUNTER? Its a action RPG like Caligo Chasers/Zenonia, but more in the vein of Metroidvanias.

DEMON HUNTER

 

[Necronomikon]

Alright! My new game has launched! Check it out at the Android marketplace here

Dude, Kudos!! Great game, I've been playing it a lot recently. I'm having fun with it and I would buy it only to support you if it wasn't for the stupid region thing that the Android Market has that doesn't let me buy ANYTHING at all!

Anyway, great job dude!! Well done!

 

[wondermega]

Dude, Kudos!! Great game, I've been playing it a lot recently. I'm having fun with it and I would buy it only to support you if it wasn't for the stupid region thing that the Android Market has that doesn't let me buy ANYTHING at all!

Anyway, great job dude!! Well done!

hey, no worries. i'd rather you get to play it (and talk about it) than not at all. Thanks for checking it out!

I guess I am supposed to post one of these things, too..

 

[womp]

Meganoid is awesome and free.

 

[Callibretto]

Anyone else playing DEMON HUNTER? Its a action RPG like Caligo Chasers/Zenonia, but more in the vein of Metroidvanias.

DEMON HUNTER

game like this and zenonia really need buttons for me to enjoy. I just can't get used t virtual dpad. it looks cool, but I'll hope for PS suite port to be played on ngp.

 

[reminder]

For people who like Simulations there is a really good game for free (and without ads!)

Paradise Island

 

[W1SSY]

I have been playing 180 a good little bit in the last couple of days and really enjoy it. I am glad someone found a way to shake up the standard match three puzzle game. I hope it does well for you with your different approach to the free version.

 

[SHAZOOM]

Meganoid is awesome and free.

Downloading now.

 

[Unknown Soldier]

We're still waiting for the Holy Grails of Rage and Infinity Blade. What the hell are Id Software and Epic doing? Besides making their PC/console titles, I mean. Where are our Android ports??

 

[goober]

Can anyone recommend some other Sims a la Game Dev Story or the like?

 

[Truespeed]

We're still waiting for the Holy Grails of Rage and Infinity Blade. What the hell are Id Software and Epic doing? Besides making their PC/console titles, I mean. Where are our Android ports??

I think EPIC said they won't be porting Infinity Blade due to the inconsistencies between the performance of Android smartphones. Whatever. With 10 million activations per month who needs them.

 

[wondermega]

I have been playing 180 a good little bit in the last couple of days and really enjoy it. I am glad someone found a way to shake up the standard match three puzzle game. I hope it does well for you with your different approach to the free version.

Thanks! Yeah I am very proud of the game - I talked about the future plans for 180 in this interview today, after all that's happened I have a lot of very clear ideas how to take the game to another level. Of course it's just dependent on how much reaction we can get to it, but in the short time it's been released on Android I think things are going well so far.

I get frustrated when people dismiss the notion "oh, it's just another puzzle game, aren't there already enough of those?" Man. Aren't there enough FPS games, aren't there enough fighting games, racing games? There's always plenty of room to take some established principles and go in new and interesting directions with them, and I think people get so used to seeing re-hashes and iterative sequels that they forget that we've barely scratched the surface with any game genre. It just takes some R&D, and of course passion and vision. I think we are going to be seeing a lot of interesting products released by a lot of "risk-taking" independent developers in the next couple of years, and it's gonna be a huge breath of fresh air compared to the high-end "same-ol'" AAA stuff coming out of the big studios. Yeah those games will always have serious production values and heavy marketing campaigns to push them through, but a lot of those games are often forgotten about a few months following their release for a good reason.

I'm not trying to speak ill of those bigger games, of course a lot of them are quite good - but many of them do get caught up in a lot of politics and feature creep, sort of collapse under that weight, half-assedly shoehorning in extra features and modes and often ending up feeling like they "could have been, but aren't." With little independent developers, we can take risks those guys can't/won't and everyone can only benefit from it.

 

[Einbroch]

game like this and zenonia really need buttons for me to enjoy. I just can't get used t virtual dpad. it looks cool, but I'll hope for PS suite port to be played on ngp.

Zenonia is awesome without a physical pad because of the "auto-aim" attacking that goes on.

Illusia and games like it, I agree with you, but I think Zenonia does a fantastic job.

 

[Unknown Soldier]

I think EPIC said they won't be porting Infinity Blade due to the inconsistencies between the performance of Android smartphones. Whatever. With 10 million activations per month who needs them.

Wow, I guess Epic really has entirely forgotten how to be a PC developer. They only know how to make games for fixed hardware platforms now. Ever heard of MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS?

 

[wondermega]

I think EPIC said they won't be porting Infinity Blade due to the inconsistencies between the performance of Android smartphones. Whatever. With 10 million activations per month who needs them.

Wow, I guess Epic really has entirely forgotten how to be a PC developer. They only know how to make games for fixed hardware platforms now. Ever heard of MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS?

This is the sentiment of many developers not already working on Android (and some who currently already are). Especially in the case of a developer like Epic, they are absolutely cleaning up when it comes to iOS development (they rule the charts) so it makes sense for them to live over there while the Android scene "sorts itself out" in the meantime. Otherwise, they spend so much time, energy, and resource trying to get their higher-end apps running on countless inconsistent hardware. If it wasn't so easy for them to rule the roost (and get lotsa press) over on iOS it would be more worth their while to branch out early, but since so there's so little competition at the level they are competing at on iOS, it really doesn't hurt them much to simply wait it out.

 

[Noshino]

I get frustrated when people dismiss the notion "oh, it's just another puzzle game, aren't there already enough of those?" Man. Aren't there enough FPS games, aren't there enough fighting games, racing games? There's always plenty of room to take some established principles and go in new and interesting directions with them, and I think people get so used to seeing re-hashes and iterative sequels that they forget that we've barely scratched the surface with any game genre. It just takes some R&D, and of course passion and vision. I think we are going to be seeing a lot of interesting products released by a lot of "risk-taking" independent developers in the next couple of years, and it's gonna be a huge breath of fresh air compared to the high-end "same-ol'" AAA stuff coming out of the big studios. Yeah those games will always have serious production values and heavy marketing campaigns to push them through, but a lot of those games are often forgotten about a few months following their release for a good reason.

I'm not trying to speak ill of those bigger games, of course a lot of them are quite good - but many of them do get caught up in a lot of politics and feature creep, sort of collapse under that weight, half-assedly shoehorning in extra features and modes and often ending up feeling like they "could have been, but aren't." With little independent developers, we can take risks those guys can't/won't and everyone can only benefit from it.

Well, their opinions aren't entirely unfounded. What I mean by that is that these games might not share many of their gameplay mechanics, but they do tend to share the looks, and well...first impressions matter a lot.

If you are going for a different mechanic, then stand out by making it feel different, shit man, it worked for Angry Birds, and that is a game that simply copy mechanics, it did nothing revolutionary, it was just the looks of it.

Anyway, that was my honest opinion, sorry if I sounded a tad too harsh

Zenonia is awesome without a physical pad because of the "auto-aim" attacking that goes on.

Illusia and games like it, I agree with you, but I think Zenonia does a fantastic job.

Yah, although the UI sucked ass. At least the fact that the unit has a physical dpad ensures, or should ensure, that the stupid big ass circle is taken off.

This is the sentiment of many developers not already working on Android (and some who currently already are). Especially in the case of a developer like Epic, they are absolutely cleaning up when it comes to iOS development (they rule the charts) so it makes sense for them to live over there while the Android scene "sorts itself out" in the meantime. Otherwise, they spend so much time, energy, and resource trying to get their higher-end apps running on countless inconsistent hardware. If it wasn't so easy for them to rule the roost (and get lotsa press) over on iOS it would be more worth their while to branch out early, but since so there's so little competition at the level they are competing at on iOS, it really doesn't hurt them much to simply wait it out.

While it doesn't hurt them, they do lose the advantage. They could very well take that fame that they got on iOS and replicate it on Android. Betting the rest of developers/publishers to the punch, using their games to showcase new units. Its certainly an untapped source of money.

 

[wondermega]

Well, their opinions aren't entirely unfounded. What I mean by that is that these games might not share many of their gameplay mechanics, but they do tend to share the looks, and well...first impressions matter a lot.

If you are going for a different mechanic, then stand out by making it feel different, shit man, it worked for Angry Birds, and that is a game that simply copy mechanics, it did nothing revolutionary, it was just the looks of it.

Anyway, that was my honest opinion, sorry if I sounded a tad too harsh

Not harsh at all, I agree 100% Especially in videogames, looks are everything, and it is foolish to expect the player to understand anything of your gameplay when they may only gradually scroll by a screenshot on a website somewhere.. especially if it is out-of-context (as is probably the case more often than not) This is why we spent a lot of time polishing up the visuals between the original iOS version and the new Android game, although to be honest that really doesn't get around that same issue (makes it a little easier however)

While it doesn't hurt them, they do lose the advantage. They could very well take that fame that they got on iOS and replicate it on Android. Betting the rest of developers/publishers to the punch, using their games to showcase new units. Its certainly an untapped source of money.

They do lose the advantage to a degree, but the fact remains that they are doing quite well where they are right now, so if they wait awhile they still will have a serious head-start. I am sure they've been watching Android to see when (or if) it'll be mature enough for them to start putting effort into, but in the meantime they can just dominate on that other platform. I think they (Chair specifically) are small enough that it would be a pain in the butt for them to deal with not only the porting, but all the fragmentation issues to get sorted out (which is a real beast in itself). So inthe meantime they piss off the Android community, but you can bet enough from that camp will sign on eagerly if/when they do make their apps available over here. Yeah, there's diminishing returns and all that, but it is so earlyright now that it is probably splitting hairs - they likely feel their energy is better spent updating for the existing project/platform.

 

[Noshino]

Not harsh at all, I agree 100% Especially in videogames, looks are everything, and it is foolish to expect the player to understand anything of your gameplay when they may only gradually scroll by a screenshot on a website somewhere.. especially if it is out-of-context (as is probably the case more often than not) This is why we spent a lot of time polishing up the visuals between the original iOS version and the new Android game, although to be honest that really doesn't get around that same issue (makes it a little easier however)

Yah, but still, it resembles a lot of other games out there, there is not enough to set the game apart from others (when it comes to visuals)

Friends of mine thought that it was Jewels...and I would have said the same had I not played it before.

They do lose the advantage to a degree, but the fact remains that they are doing quite well where they are right now, so if they wait awhile they still will have a serious head-start. I am sure they've been watching Android to see when (or if) it'll be mature enough for them to start putting effort into, but in the meantime they can just dominate on that other platform. I think they (Chair specifically) are small enough that it would be a pain in the butt for them to deal with not only the porting, but all the fragmentation issues to get sorted out (which is a real beast in itself). So inthe meantime they piss off the Android community, but you can bet enough from that camp will sign on eagerly if/when they do make their apps available over here. Yeah, there's diminishing returns and all that, but it is so earlyright now that it is probably splitting hairs - they likely feel their energy is better spent updating for the existing project/platform.

Oh, no doubt, I do agree that they should still put most of their efforts on iOS.

The thing is though, that everyone (when it comes to big publishers/studios) sees the "diminishing returns" as well, no one is putting enough effort. It is the perfect time to get a Android supporting game engine (or may I say, further support it). A multiplatform, robust, easy to use engine hasn't been "established" on Android yet, they could act now and take the crown, the longer they wait, the harder it is to achieve.

 

[wondermega]

Yah, but still, it resembles a lot of other games out there, there is not enough to set the game apart from others (when it comes to visuals)

Friends of mine thought that it was Jewels...and I would have said the same had I not played it before.

haha.. no don't misunderstand, I AM agreeing with you

Oh, no doubt, I do agree that they should still put most of their efforts on iOS.

The thing is though, that everyone (when it comes to big publishers/studios) sees the "diminishing returns" as well, no one is putting enough effort. It is the perfect time to get a Android supporting game engine (or may I say, further support it). A multiplatform, robust, easy to use engine hasn't been "established" on Android yet, they could act now and take the crown, the longer they wait, the harder it is to achieve.

I dunno. Maybe someone will step up and do it. Maybe Epic/Chair will. But I think there's enough room on "the more accessible platform" right now for those heavy-hitters to duke it out, rather than slog through on the much-bigger-pain that is the Android. Yeah they could experiment and ultimately "own" it, but I guess what is more realistic to expect is that some younger, hungrier company will go after it instead - and when they've got it figured out, then the bigger guys will make their move and step right over the fence and say "okay we will support this now" and all their fans will come right with them, money in hand (and leaving the company which had "tamed" it to pick up the scraps). I guess second place is not too bad..

 

[Truespeed]

This is the sentiment of many developers not already working on Android (and some who currently already are). Especially in the case of a developer like Epic, they are absolutely cleaning up when it comes to iOS development (they rule the charts) so it makes sense for them to live over there while the Android scene "sorts itself out" in the meantime. Otherwise, they spend so much time, energy, and resource trying to get their higher-end apps running on countless inconsistent hardware. If it wasn't so easy for them to rule the roost (and get lotsa press) over on iOS it would be more worth their while to branch out early, but since so there's so little competition at the level they are competing at on iOS, it really doesn't hurt them much to simply wait it out.

It just seems a bit disingenuous coming from a developer that makes PC games to use the "consistent experience" excuse. I wonder how many PC gamers were given a consistent experience when playing their games. But to be fair, there is still the imposed size limit of APK files hosted on the Android marketplace. They should have run with the latter excuse.