When will major video game developer's embrace android products?

[Arkitech]

I'm honestly surprised that there is'nt much going on with gaming on all of the android products on the market. With the millions of phones and tablets currently in use, I would think that developers would be tapping into that market.

 

[gorcorps]

What else do you want?

 

[Arkitech]

Something other than the current generic, crappy games that's out there.

 

[88keys]

I would like to see the Android OS become a major competitor to Windows OSes. I'm tired of living in fear of M$ one day releasing a shitty OS and not following up with a good OS in time before they stop supporting their last good OS.

 

[Sureshot324]

Games need physical buttons and a d-pad or analog stick.

 

[davmat787]

I would like to see the Android OS become a major competitor to Windows OSes. I'm tired of living in fear of M$ one day releasing a shitty OS and not following up with a good OS in time before they stop supporting their last good OS.

With the amount of Windows in use in corporate environments, I don't think you need to worry about this. Besides, MSFT lays out how many years an OS will be supported before releasing it, or shortly after. So you can buy it knowing how many years in the future MS will provide support. Look how long Windows XP was supported for an example.

If long term support is a concern, I would be worried about Android more than Windows due to the nature of free software, especially when it is relatively new and not adopted in the enterprise yet.

 

[Zim Hosein]

Games need physical buttons and a d-pad or analog stick.

Anything else is just a way to pass time IMHO.

 

[Zim Hosein]

I'm honestly surprised that there is'nt much going on with gaming on all of the android products on the market. With the millions of phones and tablets currently in use, I would think that developers would be tapping into that market.

$.

 

[KeithP]

I would guess there would be a perception among the devs that there would be very high piracy rates. That and too many variations in hardware and software.

-KeithP

 

[RockinZ28]

Shadowgun, Nova, Dead Trigger, Samurai II, Asphalt 6&7, Dead Space, NBA Jam, Max Payne, GTAIII are pretty good. Many work natively with a controller on android 4.0+, and the rest you can use SixAxis app to do touchscreen emulation.

 

[Ichinisan]

I would guess there would be a perception among the devs that there would be very high piracy rates. That and too many variations in hardware and software.

-KeithP

This.

 

[ViRGE]

When games are $0.99, what do you expect? The economics of mobile game development only support new games that are cheap to develop and can have microtransactions worked into them, or old games that can be ported over with little effort and will not undercut console sales.

 

[CZroe]

I'm honestly surprised that there is'nt much going on with gaming on all of the android products on the market. With the millions of phones and tablets currently in use, I would think that developers would be tapping into that market.

Sony has made many Android gaming products including tablets, phones, etc (I own the Xperia PLAY). They even offer a certified gaming platform to other Android device makers ("Playstation Certified") with Playstation 3 SIXAXIS/DualShock 3 controller support over Bluetooth.

 

[Schfifty Five]

Real games need physical buttons and a d-pad or analog stick.

FTFY.

Yes I know there are some fun games out there that touch screen is good for (angry birds, where's my water, etc), but I don't classify those as REAL games.

 

[Schfifty Five]

Anything else is just a way to pass time IMHO.

Very true. Agreed.

 

[shortylickens]

Something other than the current generic, crappy games that's out there.

As opposed the generic crappy games we get on Playstation?

 

[CZroe]

FTFY.

Yes I know there are some fun games out there that touch screen is good for (angry birds, where's my water, etc), but I don't classify those as REAL games.

My Android phone has touch-sensitive circular pads that approximate analog sticks as well as a full gamepad (D-pad, shoulder buttons, etc).

I guess it's happened by everyone's definitions, so /thread

 

[dagamer34]

Economics of today keep from developing even the simplest of 3D console quality games from the PSOne and N64 era on mobile phones because a) the controls suck and b) no one wants to pay more than 99 cents for a few minutes of entertainment. Show me games like Fnal Fantasy VII and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and ill admit that portable gaming on dedicated consoles is dead, but there is something to be said for assigning more value and wanting to actually play and finish a game when you pay $30-60 for it!

Android doesn't get more attention because of piracy and the fact that it the exact opposite of how most game development works. You work with a specific spec sheet, optimize for one platform, and ship a game. Developers likely spend too much time check to make sure that XYZ device works that its not worth their time to do it honestly. And especially not when iOS is such a ripe cash cow with extremely few product variations.

 

[Schfifty Five]

My Android phone has touch-sensitive circular pads that approximate analog sticks as well as a full gamepad (D-pad, shoulder buttons, etc).

I guess it's happened by everyone's definitions, so /thread

those still don't replace teal physical controls. on screen analog pads and on screen d pads still have the problem of blocking your view as well as your fingers slipping off the sensor area causing you to lose control.

point is, any on screen controls severely limit any real good games from being made.

 

[vshah]

those still don't replace teal physical controls. on screen analog pads and on screen d pads still have the problem of blocking your view as well as your fingers slipping off the sensor area causing you to lose control.

point is, any on screen controls severely limit any real good games from being made.

he isn't talking about on-screen controls.

 

[RockinZ28]

those still don't replace teal physical controls. on screen analog pads and on screen d pads still have the problem of blocking your view as well as your fingers slipping off the sensor area causing you to lose control.

point is, any on screen controls severely limit any real good games from being made.

SixAxis app allows you to create pretty detailed touch emulation profiles. Simple presses, analog sticks, swipe actions as well as a bunch of other options. Also let's you connect controllers like the ps3 controller via Bluetooth. Pretty sweet for games that don't natively support controllers.

Here's what my NOVA 3 profile for ps3 controller looks like:

 

[slightlyhuman]

fragmentation bro.

 

[tommo123]

I would guess there would be a perception among the devs that there would be very high piracy rates. That and too many variations in hardware and software.

-KeithP

couldn't google make something like directx in android? i mean something that the phone makers have to work towards but would simplify things for the game developers?

i would love to play games on my phone (plugged in to a power source on a train or something) with a ps3 controller via bluetooth or an xbox controller via usb but there isn't a single game out i could be bothered with.

actually, are the GPUs in sgs2 level devices (and newer) capable of fps games like on the xbox? they're rendered in sub 720p aren't they?

 

[gevorg]

be careful what you ask for, last thing we want is mobile games, rather than console games, being ported to PC

 

[BladeVenom]

Games need physical buttons and a d-pad or analog stick.

Turn based games would work just about as well on tablets.