Pros and Cons of Mobile Game Development

The development market for games specifically for mobile market for phones has been thought of over the last few years as having huge opportunities without a lot of risk.

It’s been a market where the current gaming industry giants have dominated taking EA Mobile’s 28.8 percent market share in the period that ended March 6, 2006, according to M:Metrics Inc.’s research of U.S. mobile phone users as well as permitting smaller studios that aren’t well-known to continue developing games that are profitable this is now nearly impossible for smaller companies that do not have the money to sustain the rising costs of each generation of console release.

The mobile market is viewed as one that’s not yet fully explored, and one in which independent game developers can be able to flourish and be inventive and ingenuous when it comes to the games they decide to create. In this piece we’ll review some of the advantages and disadvantages of creating games for this huge and ever-growing market.

Pros

The main reason why developers believe there is a lot of potential to create games specifically for the mobile phone market is because the potential market for games is unparalleled in its size. According to CTIA-The wireless Association’s survey results on the wireless industry the estimated number of 207.9 millions wireless users in the United States alone. This is amazing when you consider the number of people living in that part of the United States is hovering at approximately 298.9 million as of now.

If you take that number to a global scale that’s an audience that is expected to grow to 2.5 billion by the end 2006 . And 3.5 billion at the end of 2010 according to the findings of the wireless network strategy service from Strategy Analytics. For the record the population currently of the globe is estimated at 6.5 billion as of today in accordance with the International Programs Center, U.S. Bureau of the Census.

They are the bases that every console maker would be willing to sacrifice and you don’t even have to scratch a hole in the overall picture to create an application that is downloaded, purchased and played by millions of players.

The advantages of tapping into this enormous market are bolstered further by the incredibly affordable costs for developing games for mobile phones when as compared to PC and console game development. This is a hurdle that’s almost impossible for smaller businesses when it comes to development for console games especially where the next-generation consoles are in question.

Because the technology of mobile gaming can be compared to that of the early 1990s with videogame consoles, it’s also one of the few places you can still find games created by small teams consisting of just a few people similar to what was happening in the “good old times” according to certain. Smaller teams mean more creative control for those who are working on the game as well as much less cost for the person who is paying for the game. If the name of your father is Bill Gates or you happened to make money selling your shares of Google It’s highly unlikely that your parents, you or even your family members have enough money to finance the creation of a game for Microsoft’s Xbox 360, Sony’s PlayStation 3 or Nintendo’s Wii.

The lower development costs can also be beneficial in other aspects that involve game design. It allows businesses large and small and small to take greater risk when it comes to the kinds of games they plan to develop . It also allows them to being more imaginative in terms of game play mechanics and genre and also its characters and the story. The game industry is often hesitant to make a risk with the creation of new IP’s (Intellectual Properties) because of the revenue needed to make money from console games. The new trend is to depend on sequels of games that have already been marketed with a good brand and a large user base, or to create new games that are based on well-known and developed characters, stories and licenses.

In the case of a game that is developed for an console, a business may feel the need to look for and purchase a license for the game they’re working on in order to market it, and possibly restrict the new things their creators might want to accomplish with the game, simply because they perceive the challenge of marketing an IP that isn’t well-known as one that they don’t want to attempt to over. It’s more straightforward to launch and market an original game that is inspired by well-known and beloved characters, stories, and licenses. If you’re not sure then ask yourself, when someone releases an unlicensed football title that’s better than the EA’s NFL Exclusive football leagues are you sure that it has an 80% chance of in the midst of a massive sales increase for EA’s Monolith? This isn’t likely regardless of how great of the football game it could be.

Because the cost is significantly lower for games that are made specifically for this market, mobile game developers can choose to stay with what they’d like to do. They also can stick to their guns since it’s easier to be profitable. Therefore, there isn’t any need to depend on a licensed product or already established franchises to be able to justify making whatever game they would like to create.

Cons

There are 207.9 million mobile phone users within the United States and 2.5 billion globally however it doesn’t mean that there are a lot of people who are likely to download new games, or even to pay for and download the latest games. According to M:Metrics Inc.’s study it was found that just 24.2 percent of U.S. subscribers played any game on their mobile phones during the 3 months that comprised the survey. There was just 8.3 percent played downloaded games, and only 2.7 percent of them downloaded games from any mobile during the last month.

Although 6 million games downloaded may seem impressive but you need to consider that there’s an abundance of mobile games available on the market. Therefore, the percentage of each game’s share is very small. However, the number of subscribers is huge in terms of size, gaming on mobile hasn’t fully embraced mobile gaming. It’s growing but, evidently, shouldn’t be overlooked.

Another disadvantage when developing game for the market of mobile phones is the fact that there are a lot many more operators to manage and they have total control over the market. Instead of having to deal to Microsoft, Sony or Nintendo in the console world , or almost no one within the PC world, when creating games that are marketed to mobile phones, you’ll have to depend on the decisions of the service providers such as Verizon, T-Mobile, Sprint, Cingular, and Nextel.

In addition The operators also have more control over the games they offer to their customers since the vast majority of people buy services directly via their wireless service provider. Although it is an option to download and install games via the Internet that aren’t available through their service provider, the majority people tend to download and pay for games which are offered by their service provider. Similar to console makers the operators also have high standards for the games they’ll provide through their services. This typically means that they will work with the majority of devices that their customers are using.

This is the second issue and that is that there is an astronomical amount of mobile phone devices to support , and markets are so fragmented, it is essential to make sure that as many devices are supported as possible. This has led to an environment in which the engineering cost for developing games for mobile phones are much more expensive in comparison to the overall budget of the game as compared to PC or console games. Your game not only require the correct mobile phone platform and BREW and J2ME are the most well-known options currently however, it must accommodate all of the phones, which have various screen sizes, input capabilities as well as limitations on their processing power. Making a game that functions great with the T-Mobile Sidekick II and then making sure that it’s functional on other phones is an extremely difficult and challenging task.

The inability to process data of several devices and the fact even the most sophisticated ones will not be able to compete to the latest generation of videogame handhelds makes it difficult for developers to create in the types of games they can create. The majority of games are the same kind of games that were created in the 16 and 8-bit timeframes, and ideas that require advanced 3D graphics, and many of the ideas that emerged from this will probably be unattainable. Therefore, even though you might be able to experiment however, you don’t necessarily have the capacity to be as inventive and ingenuous as you could be if you had the power of computers or input devices that are available in new and upcoming consoles as well as PC games.

In conclusion

The enthusiasm for developing mobile games is massive and continues to grow and it’s clear why , given the cost-effectiveness and the unbeatable number of users available. However, it’s not something that’s been proven to be true or backed by any evidence, nor is it an easy process or an assured gold mine. It is, however, one of the only places where independent game developers have any chance of developing their games for, and it’s an opportunity that should not be ignored by those who create games and the people who buy games.