Gameloft pulling back on Android development
by Richard Mitchell 
{ Nov 20th 2009 at 5:00PM } 
To put things in perspective, Rochefort said that Gameloft has sold 400 times as many games on the iPhone as on the Android platform. Of course, it's worth noting that Apple's iPhone has a significantly larger market share than Android. According to a recent Gartner report released in August, the iPhone accounted for nearly 14 percent of the smartphone market, while Android phones accounted for less than 2 percent. With more and more carriers offering Android phones -- notably the recent release of the Droid on Verizon -- the Android market is likely to expand in the coming months. It will be interesting to see how the mobile market changes -- and whether Gameloft and others change their tune -- a year from now.
[Via Washington Post]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
DVDA @ Nov 20th 2009 5:06PM
Android is just getting started.
Sidebuster @ Nov 20th 2009 5:09PM
I hope it does good for the sake of competition. I love my iPhone and all, but if Apple had something to be scared about it could only mean good things for the consumers.
Pip @ Nov 20th 2009 5:25PM
Yeah, this is an odd announcement. Android isn't really even out to the masses yet. The most people know about it is the recent commercials about it, they know nothing about what devices it is on yet, or will be on in the future.
Give it a few years, THEN get back to us.
Joshua Ochs @ Nov 20th 2009 5:46PM
A few years? You do realize that iPhone app development is only 18 months old (since June 2008), and there are over 100,000 apps. Meanwhile, Android is a year old and there... aren't.
MowDownJoe @ Nov 20th 2009 6:03PM
If you want to use numbers (which really doesn't work, because we all know the majority of apps on the iTunes App Store are bad), Android has 10000 apps in a year. That's still significant. Plus, it has one plus over the iPhone... the SDK is free for anyone to download. And getting listed on the Android Marketplace is just a one-time fee of $25. The money a smaller developer needs to invest is much less than for the iPhone.
mian @ Nov 20th 2009 7:18PM
Genius moves for Gameloft. Apparently they overdeveloped on Android while it was confined to a few low res poorly spec'd devices mostly relegated to TMobile, the smallest of the 4 major US carriers, but now they're backing out just as an explosion of decent devices hits all carriers?
> You do realize that iPhone app development is only 18 months old (since June 2008), and there are over 100,000 apps.
At that time, Apple already had an install base of 5 million units--all identical models at the time. Competitive Android devices are just now being made.
Also, of the iPhone's 100k apps, 99k are useless. And iPhone developers have their series of issues, from mismanagement and secrecy of approval policies to a poorly designed store that promotes cheap crap over quality. There are success stories on the platform, but Apple has generated dramatically more failures than successes--even amongst developers who deliver quality goods.
Android's real issues confront small developers because of the need to debug on so many actual devices (reports are implementations are making debugging on emulators alone insufficient--for example, bad drivers screwing with programs where the emulator had no issue). The Gameloft case appears to be the fault of a developer who thinks it's a great idea to over-invest when there's no audience, and under-invest going into an audience explosion--not the fault of platform.
BIGGEN (LIVE-PSN: BIGGEN1103) @ Nov 21st 2009 8:10PM
you guys are defending android like it's your little sister. why? what's to gain from spouting off your numbers and how many apps (you feel) are worthless? i'm defending apple or dissing android, but you all are pointless with the blah blah fuckin blah.
Otis Whitaker @ Nov 20th 2009 5:06PM
It probably has something to do with Android users having a modicum of intelligent, the ability for free thought, and a lack of gravitating toward "Shiny things" like mosquitos.
Not that I've used Android or anything, just sayin' somethin' about a certain competitor here :x
"IT JUST WORKS!! LOL"
Ghen @ Nov 20th 2009 5:25PM
Exactly.
and I hate gameloft games anyway, so no big loss.
WREturns [Planeteer I Power of The Final Countdown] Personal Shopper of the ATDF @ Nov 20th 2009 5:30PM
You're an idiot.
Granger @ Nov 20th 2009 5:38PM
Is there a large group of folk that gather to hate on the popularity of popular things? I just want to belong to something...
XLM @ Nov 20th 2009 5:44PM
If there is a group like that, it best not get too popular or people might hate it.
Joshua Ochs @ Nov 20th 2009 5:44PM
I love it when people rant about the conformity and "sheeple" nature of the iPhone, when all they can point to is "I'm not them". Reminds me of Steve Martin's "non-conformist pledge"...
It's been 8 years now and they're still irrationally hating. People use the iPhone (and iPod before it) because it's a better product. It's time to get over it. Android will provide some much needed competition, but it's not game changer, sorry.
nick @ Nov 20th 2009 6:18PM
@MowDownJoe The sdk is free for anyone.... its the distribution that isnt free.
Also Android has the same issues as Apple its just there are even more few good apps on the android store. I have a Droid and a iPhone and time and time again the iPhone has better 3rd party support.
in a lot of ways Google creating apps causes the same problems Nintendo has with their first party titles. They are always better then what the 3rd party can produce and most of the time people will flock to Nintendo in this case google for apps.
Otis Whitaker @ Nov 20th 2009 6:58PM
It isn't a better product. Why is it a better product, exactly?
Is it a superior phone? No.
Is it a superior music player? No.
Is it a superior PDA-esque device? No
Is it a superior smart phone? No.
Is it shiny and "Cool"? Why, yes!
Is it advertised a lot? Certainly!
superberg @ Nov 21st 2009 12:01AM
You know that there is a difference between opinion and fact, right? Some people like it better. I've used all sorts of portable media devices, and I prefer the ipod classic. I've used all sorts of smartphones, and if it wasn't for the lack of a physical keyboard and the lack of carrier choice, I'd use an iphone.
I've got a G1, and it's a pretty good phone, but the App store on it is pretty lacking. Of course, most of GameLoft's work is nothing to get excited over. The Android market is full of almost-good games that needed a little more time in QA.
HappyFunBall @ Nov 20th 2009 5:11PM
I'm a little disappointed. As one of those folks who purchased the Droid, I was hoping the added market share would entice more development on the platform.
There's tons of great apps on the Android Marketplace, but the games are sorely lacking. And I agree that the organization isn't there. But it's still new, it'll get better.
Kevin949 @ Nov 20th 2009 5:12PM
It's been out a week and we're not making money yet, STOP PRODUCTION!
NaeemTHM @ Nov 20th 2009 5:18PM
Android has been out for a year man.
Kevin949 @ Nov 20th 2009 5:27PM
Oh right, I'm thinking of the Droid. Either way, it's still in its infancy.
Hooch @ Nov 20th 2009 5:12PM
Well, it must be hard to resist just solely devoting your resources to the Iphone, with the more streamlined App Store and much larger install base :S
NaeemTHM @ Nov 20th 2009 5:17PM
Here's the problem with Android, because it's designed to work on any handset it's hard for dev's to know just how far to push their games. So we're stuck with lame Pac-Man and blockbreaker games.
That said, the Android community loves to port old school games and emulators so if you have a G1 or Droid you can still get some serious gaming done.
Anyway, I hope Gameloft comes back at some point because Android is still in it's infancy and has yet to reach it's full potential.
HedonisticKai @ Nov 20th 2009 5:21PM
on an unrelated note.. the new engadget is ugly
aroCOMMENT @ Nov 20th 2009 5:21PM
They'll be changing their tune soon enough...
With, literally, HUNDREDS of Android-equipped devices (on all 4 major carriers) scheduled for release in the next 12 months, they would be morons to cut out that market of potential customers.
Joshua Ochs @ Nov 20th 2009 5:41PM
From the article above:
Fact 1: The iPhone has 7 times the marketshare as Android.
Fact 2: Sales on the iPhone of their products are 400 times Android.
That means, phone for phone, the iPhone results in over 50 TIMES as many sales as an Android phone. I can see why that would give developers pause.
It probably doesn't help that all of the different models with significantly differing capabilities, hardware, software, and even firmware make it much more difficult to treat the Android as a single platform. It likely increases testing and support costs, and prevents developers from using the best features on top-end phones since they may not exist on others. Sure, there are some differences on the iPhone, but they're vanishingly small compared to the fractured nature of the Android market.
Rein [Prime Minister of the city-state of New Bjork] @ Nov 20th 2009 5:44PM
As an Android user, I will admit that when I first booted up the Android Market, I was totally lost. But, if you really wanted people to have an easy way to download your game, you can just use a barcode so they can scan it with their phone.
Besides, if it's good, the game will rise to the top of the games section anyway.
Rein [Prime Minister of the city-state of New Bjork] @ Nov 20th 2009 5:46PM
Wait, I just looked at the 3 gameloft games on the marketplace. Solitaire? Bubble Blast? Brain Challenge?
Yeah, I don't think us Android users will be missing gameloft that much...
Kodros @ Nov 20th 2009 7:00PM
"I will admit that when I first booted up the Android Market, I was totally lost"
Step 1 - Open up the Market
Step 2 - Click on the games tab at the top.
Rein [Prime Minister of the city-state of New Bjork] @ Nov 20th 2009 7:16PM
To be honest, my only gripe with the Market is that there's no alphabetical listing, only popularity and date. Finding new things isn't exactly the easiest thing to do in the Market.
zodduska @ Nov 20th 2009 5:55PM
Posting from my Droid, their loss. Plenty of quality games are available through emulation but I don't have this to play games anyway.
GiggMan @ Nov 20th 2009 6:05PM
I think Android will be fine and Apple and RIM better look out. I have had all three and my view on it is iPhones best at having fun and sucks at multitasking, Blackberries are top notch as far as buisness (BES FTW) but boring as hell, and Android is really good with both.
The only area that Android is lacking in is gaming but I think that will change (no biggie for me though)
MrStacy @ Nov 20th 2009 6:07PM
I own the G1 and I have to say the biggest issue holding back the android platform is not being able to install apps to SD Card (without rooting). I am reluntant to buy apps/games when I know my space is limited and I may be forced to delete said app/game for the space. I also think this is very limiting to the games that be released on android as space is very limited.
zodduska @ Nov 20th 2009 9:19PM
Assests go on SD, only the app's executable needs to be stored on internal memory
Katana Master @ Nov 20th 2009 6:07PM
Gameloft... Gameloft... I've heard the name before but now I forget where from...
Oh yeah, those retarded ads on Youtube. The one advertising Uno to be exact.
I never liked Uno.
OrganicMeatbag @ Nov 20th 2009 6:28PM
A couple of points:
1. Although the Android platform does allow for a variety of hardware configs, it's looking like the majority of phone-type devices will be Droid-level in terms of power (at least) from here on out. Which, apparently, is about the same as iPhone 3GS, or a bit less.
2. Although I can't say that I personally will miss the types of games Gameloft produces, having a big-name house like that developing for the platform will always help, in terms of getting other apps made.
At the moment, however, I'm just enjoying my Droid for the fantastic mobile communicator it is.
Diskoboy7 @ Nov 20th 2009 7:39PM
I played with a Motorola Droid on launch day. I'm asking for one for Christmas to replace my Blackberry Storm - I loved the damn thing.
This doesn't have me too worried... Once they see the money to be made, they'll change their tunes.
edensuko @ Nov 20th 2009 8:44PM
This is why we need flash support on all handhelds, make a flash based game that runs on all of them and voilá, if you need 3d graphics just go open cl and there you go. Every SDK should use or be able to use this technologies
arrness (PSN: chsowls) @ Nov 21st 2009 1:52AM
to bad every game gameloft has made runs like complete shit
im using a 3rd gen 64 GB ipod touch: brothers in arms freezes, earthworm jim doesn't open and asphalt 5 doesn't load
Thomas @ Nov 22nd 2009 2:53AM
The problem with Android isn't the capability of the devices themselves, it's the structure of the Android app's marketplace. Specifically, the problem is its return policy.
If you buy an application on Android, you have 24 hours to request a refund, and you will get it, no questions asked, for any reason at all. You can buy the game, finish it in a day, and then "take it back to the store" and effectively pay nothing to have played the game. What makes this so crappy for developers is that Google will penalize whoever developed that game for having their app returned to the tune of three dollars per return.
It's a great policy for consumers, but it scares developers to death. It means that charging less than $3 for your app risks LOSING money. And until this changes, it doesn't matter how many Android phones are out there, we still won't see the kind of app influx that the iPhone currently enjoys.