游戏邦注：本文原作者为加拿大手机游戏开发商IUGO公司业务开发副总裁莎拉·汤姆森（Sarah Thomson），她在文中阐述了IUGO公司对iOS、Android、黑莓、Windows Phone 7四个手机平台的看法。

IUGO从事手机游戏开发已有7年之久，这在手机应用领域可算是相当长的一段时间，最开始时主要面向J2ME, BREW和Symbian等各种手机平台开发游戏。

尽管发展缓慢，但近年来手机领域也确实发生了许多重大变化。从独立手机游戏开发商的角度来看，这一行的多数变化都较为积极正面。以下是IUGO对市场上的四个主流手机操作系统的看法：

iOS（IUGO评分：8分）

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可以说这个手机平台彻底改变了IUGO的发展方向。

在乔布斯发布App Store的时候，IUGO首席执行官Hong-Yee Wong便决定关注这一趋势，并动员所有员工投入开发iPhone游戏。在之后的两年中，IUGO开发了15款原创游戏，其中有些相当卖座，有些则惨淡收场。

对开发商来说，苹果iOS确实是一个十分称心如意的平台：卓越的硬件设备、人性化的手机操作系统、强大的处理功能、完善的产品发布平台、无障碍付费系统，它的优点数不胜数。

但这一平台也并非十全十美，iOS游戏开发商仍然面临不少的挑战：应用数量过多，产品曝光率很成问题；苹果应用商店的相关规则和条款指向不明，定义模糊……但不论如何，iPhone毕竟改变了整个手机游戏开发行业。光是iOS硬件设备与操作系统高度统一的技术标准，就足以让广大开发商给乔布斯一个热吻。IUGO未来将继续支持和利用iPhone平台，创造更好的游戏体验。

Android（IUGO评分：4分）

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Android发布之初可谓是吸引了众多业内人士的目光，但却开始步上Java的后尘。现在，不光是手机硬件设备存在技术标准过于分散的问题，即使是手机操作系统也是版本不一，手机设备制造商和运营商都可以定制或采用各种版本的操作系统，更为Android的发展前景蒙上了一层阴影。

其次就是Android应用商店的退款政策，即玩家在购买任何游戏产品后的24小时内均可反悔退款（据游戏邦了解，现已缩短至15分钟）。然而事与愿违，大量用户钻这一政策的空子，严重损害了开发商的利益。同时由于Android Marketplace经常发布免费游戏，直接培养了用户希望所有产品永远免费的心理。尽管游戏开发商们正竭力挽回形势，试图重塑用户的消费观，但这是一个相当缓慢而痛苦的过程。

另外，现在开发商如果想在Android应用市场盈利，就不得不与运营商保持良好的关系，但这对像IUGO这种小型开发商来说无疑是一大限制。除非投入大量的经费，否则游戏开发商很难获得运营商的支持。当然开发商也可尝试与发行商合作销售游戏，目前IUGO也正在采取这种方式。

尽管目前Android手机的市场占有率稳步攀升，但如果开发商在这个平台上无法盈利，Android有再大的应用安装基础都没有太大的意义，希望谷歌能采取有效方法解决以上难题。

黑莓（IUGO评分：4分）

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IUGO已经发布了3款黑莓手机游戏，但市场反应一般。

据游戏邦了解，黑莓手机虽已配有一个应用商店，但多数应用销量却来自运营商的应用商店。也正因为如此，广大开发商都更青睐于无需与运营商打交道的苹果手机平台。黑莓在这一领域的无所作为实在是个大遗憾。

除此之外，黑莓应用商店的计费服务也是个难题，尽管RIM正在慢慢处理这件事情，但目前这一平台最管用的还是运营商计费系统。

不过，黑莓手机现在面临的最大难题在于它的定位是商务手机，游戏并不是它的主打功能。虽然近年来这种定位已经有所改变，但目前多数开发商都仍处于观望态度，不会在这一平台投入大量精力。

Windows Phone 7（IUGO评分：7分）

Windows-Phone-7

WP7是微软推出的新手机操作系统，它的功能强大，绑定Xbox Live这一功能更使其备受开发商关注。

IUGO已面向该平台发布了《Implode!》和《Zombie Attack! Second Wave》这两款游戏，开发团队认为与这个平台的合作非常顺利，所以现在又自己在该平台发布了另外4款游戏，虽然销量平平，但相信这是个循序渐进的过程，而不是一蹴而就的经历。

IUGO期望WP7的定位介于苹果和Android之间，比绝对保守的苹果开放一点，但又比完全开放的Android更严格一点。

微软对手机游戏市场的重视，为广大游戏开发商创造了不少商机。WP7绑定的Xbox Live功能可谓是一大富有前瞻性的策略，IUGO将继续关注WP7，并看好该平台的发展前景。（本文为游戏邦编译/gamerboom.com编译，转载请注明来源：游戏邦）

IUGO’s Sarah Thomson on the four-way fight between iOS, Android, Windows Phone 7 and BlackBerry

This is a guest column written by Sarah Thomson, vice president of business development at Canadian mobile game developer IUGO.

IUGO has been developing mobile games for seven years; and that’s a helluva long time in mobile years. We began on the nightmarish platforms of J2ME, BREW and

Symbian. We’ve paid our dues, that’s for sure.

Though it may be at a snail’s pace, mobile has changed a lot since those good ol’ days. For the most part change has been positive, particularly from the perspective of the indie mobile games developer.

Let’s take a look at where we are now to reflect on how far we’ve come…

iOS

This is the platform that changed it all, for IUGO anyway.

As soon as Steve Jobs announced the App Store, our CEO Hong-Yee Wong decided to throw caution to the wind and put everyone on developing for the iPhone. For the next two years we pumped out 15 of our own original titles. Some did really well and others bombed.

Apple got a lot of things right; a platform that was a pleasure to develop on, gorgeous hardware, an intuitive OS, processing power, a well-established distribution platform, seamless payment process… I could go on and on.

Yes, there are challenges too: discoverability is a bitch, Apple is a wall of silence, rules and guidelines have been sketchy at best, hypocrisy ran amuck with app approvals… But all-in-all, iPhone changed the landscape of mobile games development forever.

The elimination of fragmentation alone is reason enough to give Steve a big ol’ kiss. IUGO continues to support and utilise the iPhone as its lead platform in games development.

[IUGO rating: 8/10]

Android

A few of you probably aren’t going to like what I have to say about Android: Callum Rowley from Gameloft really hit it on the head in his recent article on PocketGamer.biz.

When Android first came out, we were excited, we really were!

But then the open platform started repeating history by following in the footsteps of Java. This time, fragmentation wasn’t just about handsets though, as handset makers and carriers can customise and utilise whichever version of the OS they want, creating an extra layer of nastiness.

Then there’s the refund policy: users can return games within 24 hours of purchasing the game [since reduced to 15 minutes]. This has backfired as users seem to have taken real advantage of the policy, and that’s not good for developers trying to make a living. Another big error was that the Android Marketplace launched with free content, so everyone expected everything to be always free. Developer are now trying to re-educate customers but it’s a slow and painful process.

Also, as I understand it, the old and annoying carrier relationships are still required if you want to make any kind of decent coin on Android. That sucks for us little guys. Carriers are impenetrable unless you have a lavish business expense account to wine and dine them, which isn’t really an option for an indie developer.

There’s the route of pairing with a publisher to distribute your game, which we will be trying soon. The jury is still out on this approach.

Of course, there are vast numbers of Android handsets being used, and it’s a number that’s growing every day. However, if there’s no money to be made, install base size means diddly squat. I really hope Google finds a way to fix the mess, but I’m not holding my breath. How do you even approach that fragmentation problem? We’re still watching Android but as a games company, IUGO remains cautious.

[IUGO rating: 4/10]

BlackBerry

IUGO has released three titles on BlackBerry, and they’ve pretty much done nothing.

BlackBerry has an app storefront, but the majority of sales occur on carriers’ storefronts. One of the reasons we’re so in love with Apple is it was the first handset manufacturer to eliminate the need for carrier relationships. It’s a shame BlackBerry hasn’t had much luck there.

We’ve also seen issues with billing on BlackBerry App World, although RIM seems to be slowly addressing this. Carrier billing is still the best option.

But the biggest problem with BlackBerry is that the handsets are designed for business use not gaming. This is changing, but as with Android I’m not holding my breath for big changes that will makes the lives of game developers easier. I wish we could tap into the vast BlackBerry userbase, but as it stands, IUGO won’t be doing too much more for the platform.

[IUGO rating: 4/10]

Windows Phone 7

The new (reborn) kid on the block, Microsoft did a lot of things right when it launched the platform late last year. There are sleek and powerful handsets from a few manufacturers, the integration of Xbox Live is smart, and there’s great support for game developers.

IUGO had two launch titles supported by Microsoft: Implode! and Zombie Attack! Second Wave. And our development team found the OS so delightful to work with, we’ve released an additional four titles ourselves. Early sales are modest but this is a marathon, not a sprint. We feel optimistic about Windows Phone 7, and hope to continue supporting it.

In the medium term, I hope to see Windows Phone 7 take the middle ground in between Apple and Android; balancing out Apple’s restrictive, closed environment with Android free-for-all open platform.

Microsoft’s focus on gaming makes us sparkle and giggle with joy. The notion of convergent gaming with the implementation of Xbox Live is an awesome strategic and forward-thinking move. IUGO has embraced Windows Phone 7, and hopes the platform thrives so we can too.

[IUGO rating: 7/10]（source:pocketgamer）