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Android为何是游戏开发者的第二选择?

发布时间:2013-02-02 14:02:01 Tags:,,,,

作者:Mark Brown

经常有人会问我们一个问题,为什么游戏总是先出现在iOS平台上,过几个月才出现在Android上。

他们认为谷歌的操作系统拥有比苹果手机平台更大的市场份额。这一点并没错。

去年11月,根据研究公司IDC的报告,Android在2012年第三季度的智能手机市场份额为75%。12月,谷歌执行总裁Eric Schmidt曾向彭博社,谷歌在这场特别的战斗中轻松击败了苹果。

第二选择

既然市面上有如此多Android设备,为什么游戏开发者总是将谷歌作为第二选择?

来自《火星漫步》的开发商Tiger Style的David Kalina说道:“任何基于全球Android设备与全球iOS设备进行市场份额比较的人都遗漏了一点。”

他表示我们不能将市场份额与潜在用户对等起来。或者换个说法:“如果从购买游戏的用户来算,iOS平台拥有更强大的用户基础。”

Waking Mars(from pocketgamer)

Waking Mars(from pocketgamer)

(iOS冒险游戏《火星漫步》花了8个月时间最终登陆Android平台。)

来自Crescent Moon的Josh Presseisen(最近刚推出了《乌鸦之剑:暗影大陆》)也同意这一观点。

Presseisen表示:“我所看到的统计仍表示,Android的游戏销量只是iOS的十分之一。”

但是销量并不是开发商们将Android当成第二选择的唯一原因。

测试

首先便是关于游戏制作的基本要素。虽然Android和iOS的编程基本相同,但是应用的测试却完全是另外一回事。

在与开发社区进行对话时反复出现的一个词便是“分裂性”。

简单来说就是,在面向iOS制作并测试游戏时,你只需要考虑iPhone和iPad设备的差异便可。

而如果转向Android平台呢?

来自Cipher Prime(游戏邦注:代表作品包括《Splice》)的Will Stallwood说道:“Google Play本身便列出了超过1000款设备。我们不可能面向所有设备进行测试。”

技术支持

Tiger Style的Kalina说道:“开发商在开发和测试过程中所需要考虑的iOS设备都很容易管理,特别是对于小型独立开发商来说。”

他继续说道:“越多支持需求也意味着越发复杂。”

Presseisen也表示同意:“我在Android上的一款游戏上所收到的有关技术支持的邮件数量就相当于我在所有iOS游戏所收到的邮件——这真的很让我抓狂。”

Splice(from pocketgamer)

Splice(from pocketgamer)

(Android玩家等了三个月才能玩《Splice》)

我的意思是,Android游戏开发商们根本没时间在此做出解释,因为他们始终忙于修改游戏中所存在的漏洞。

商店战

数字商店中也存在分裂性。

Stallwood说道:“当我们面向iOS制作游戏时,我们只需要进入一个市场。也就是只需要在一个领域定制支持便可。”

“单在Android平台上就不是这样了——这是一个非常分散的市场。”

但是Google Play也有许多吸引人之处。

Presseisen便肯定了开发商可以在谷歌手机市场中基于不同设备销售游戏的优势。

他解释道:“当你推出一款AAA级手机游戏时,你不可能选择一款低端设备。就像如果《乌鸦之剑:暗影大陆》是面向Android平台,你便有广泛的选择,而无需为此多加担心。”

“Google Play的排行榜单设置也是我所欣赏的一点。即一天只改变一次排行榜,从而留给游戏更长的缓冲时间。”

盗版率

Kalina指出,Game Center(“对于所有人来说,iOS拥有更优秀的社区功能”)和媒体(“已经出现了一些专注于iOS游戏的新闻媒体”)是苹果继续主导手机游戏领域的主要原因。

并且Android还拥有较高的盗版率。

去年,《足球经理》的开发商Sports Interactive便估计Android上的《足球经理2012》招致了11个盗版者。

迎头赶上

Ravensword(from pocketgamer)

Ravensword(from pocketgamer)

(据称《乌鸦之剑:暗影大陆》将在年末进入Android平台)

如今有许多游戏同时出现在iOS和Android平台上。所以Android超越iOS成为开发商的首选将成为可能。

并且有些游戏在Android上的表现比在iOS上更加出色。

就像Android版本的《枪手克莱夫》的销量便超越了iOS版本,《超级六边形》也是强势面向Android平台发售。

除此之外,如果独立开发商们不想亲自进行游戏移植,现在他们便有了更好的选择。

Tiger Style便利用了第三方公司Apportable去创造《火星漫步》的Anroid版本,《雷霆铁拳》也在Noodlecake的帮助下进入了Google Play。

未来的发展

在我们所访问的开发商中,他们都对Android平台抱着积极的态度,尽管他们仍最重视iOS。

Kalina说道:“Android正在奋起急追,逐渐变成更加强大的游戏平台。但如果想超越iOS并成为主导者却不是件易事。”

Presseisen也说道:“我们已经在Android平台上做出了一些尝试,并有可能做得更多,但是我们并不会急于冲向这一平台。我相信Android在不断发展着,但从销量来看,iOS仍是主流。”

Cipher Prime的Stallwood说道:“尽管Android仍是我们的第二选择,但我们也不反对先在Google Play上发行游戏。现在我们对Android平台越来越感兴趣了。”

Stallwood补充道:“像Ouya等也是推动Android发展的重要力量。”

但是当市场上涌现出越来越多基于Android系统的主机时,Android是会变成经典的游戏平台还是越来越分裂?

让我们拭目以待。

本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译,拒绝任何不保留版权的转载,如需转载请联系:游戏邦

Pocket Gamer Investigates: Why DOES Android play second fiddle to iOS?

by Mark Brown

There’s one question that we get asked more often than any other at Pocket Gamer.

Yeah, more often even than “why won’t you review my Angry Birds clone” or “what are you doing in my garden?”

What many of our readers really want to know is why games routinely get released on iOS months before they appear on Android.

They argue that the Google-owned operating system has a bigger marketshare than Apple’s mobile platform. Which is totally true.

In November, research firm IDC reported that Android had a 75 per cent stranglehold on the smartphone market in Q3 2012. In December, Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt boasted to Bloomberg that The Big G was handily winning this particular war against Apple.

Second-class stamp

So, it’s a good question, yes. If there are loads more Android devices out in the wild, why are game developers often giving Google’s platform second-class treatment?

Well…

“Anybody who cites total global Android devices versus total global iOS devices as evidence of a larger market is missing the point,” David Kalina, of Waking Mars developer Tiger Style, states.

He says that you can’t equate marketshare with potential customers. Or to put it another way: “iOS has a much larger audience if you count people who buy games.”

iOS adventure Waking Mars took eight months to land on Android

It’s a similar story for Josh Presseisen at Crescent Moon, who recently put out Ravensword: Shadowlands.

“The stats I’m seeing still indicate that sales on Android are only one tenth of iOS’s,” Presseisen says.

But, lacklustre sales may not be the only reason that developers might treat Android as a second-class smartphone gaming citizen.

Testing, testing, 1, 2, 3

First, there’s the nuts and bolts of making the game. Programming for Android and iOS is a similar process, our interviewees say, but testing those apps is another thing entirely.

It’s down to one word that came up again and again in my conversations with the development community…

“Fragmentation”.

To put it simply, there are only a handful of iPhones and iPads that you need to worry about when making and testing your game.

But, on Android?

“Google Play alone has over 1,000 devices listed,” Will Stallwood, of Splice creator Cipher Prime, says. “There is no way we can test them all. Just purchasing the devices alone would be nuts.”

Tech support

Check out this photo of all the Android devices in the QA department of Hong Kong developer Animoca.

It’s the same for other companies, too.

“The number of iOS devices that developers have to consider in development and testing is much, much more manageable, especially for small independent developers,” Tiger Style’s Kalina says.

He says, “Support is orders of magnitude more complicated as a result.”

Presseisen agrees. “The number of support emails I got for just one game on Android was equal to all games that I have out on iOS [combined] – that almost sent me screaming.”

Android gamers waited three months to play artistic puzzler Splice

I mean, one developer couldn’t even contribute to this article because – no joke – it was too busy fixing an obscure bug in its game that only seemed to affect one Android device.

Store wars

Fragmentation exists on the digital shops, too.

“When you make games for iOS, there is one single marketplace. That means you only need to do customer support in one place,” Stallwood says.

“Android doesn’t have this – it’s extremely fragmented.”

But, there is a lot of love for Google Play, too.

Presseisen applauds the fact that you can sell games on a device-by-device basis on Google’s mobile marketplace.

“When you put out a AAA mobile game, it’s impossible to support the lower-end devices. If [Ravensword] were on Android, it would be a simple checkbox and nothing to worry about,” Presseisen states.

“Another thing that I like about Google Play is how the charts move. They only change once per day – so there’s a longer tail on most games.”

Walk the plank

There are other factors at play, too.

Kalina points to Game Center (“iOS has better community features built in and available to everybody”) and the media (“there are established press outlets dedicated to covering iOS games”) as further reasons for Apple’s continued dominance in the mobile gaming sphere.

And there’s also the higher piracy rate on Android to consider.

Last year, Football Manager developer Sports Interactive estimated there are a staggering 11 pirates for every one legitimate customer of Football Manager Handheld 2012 on Android.

Playing catch up

Last we heard, Ravensword: Shadowlands will hit Android later this year

It’s not all doom and gloom, of course. Many games now come out on iOS and Android at the exact same time. And it’s not an uncommon sight to see a game on Android first, and iOS second.

Plus, some games actually do sell better on Android.

The Android version of Wild West platformer Gunman Clive has outsold its iOS counterpart, for example, while Super Hexagon enjoyed a stronger launch on Android than on iOS.

Furthermore, indie developers now have options if they don’t want to tackle the port themselves.

Tiger Style used a third party called Apportable for the Android edition of Waking Mars, and Punch Quest is heading to Google Play thanks to Noodlecake.

The future’s bright

As for the developers we talked to, they remain positive about Android… though they still see iOS as the top dog.

“Android is catching up and has become far more viable as a gaming platform,” Kalina says. “But, it’s hard to see it overtaking iOS and becoming more dominant.”

“We have tried some things on Android, and will probably do some more, but we’re not in a huge rush to get everything over there,” Presseisen says. “I do believe Android is growing, but iOS is still the king when it comes to sales.”

Cipher Prime’s Stallwood says, “Android will probably stay our secondary release, but we’re not opposed to releasing on Google Play first. Android is something we’ve become a lot more interested in.”

“Things like the Ouya also help Android quite a bit,” Stallwood adds.

But, when the market is flooded with Android-powered consoles, will ‘droid become the go-to gaming platform, or will it just be mired in further fragmentation?

The jury’s still out on that one.(source:pocketgamer)


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