Why are their so few good games for android?

[NinjaGabeX]

i used to have an iphone back in the day i had a 3g model and there were a plethora of great games for it but sadly even with android being superior in almost everyway there arent nearly as many good games now as their were 2 years ago for the iphone atleast not that ive found i like rps rts tower defense fps ill play about anything providing its good

anyone have any recommendations for me as well?
i have dungeon defenders battleheart defensoid hex defense and zenonia 2 and a few other games that arent really worth mentioning

tldr

android needs more good games
suggest some

 

[Yeahha]

Gameloft has many high quality games. What type games are you looking for?

 

[MRW1215]

Well, iOS seems like a more "stable" platform to develop for, in that all the devices that run iOS have pretty much the same (or at least, fairly similar) hardware. With Android, though, there are so many different phones, with different hardware, that there's probably a lot more devs have to take into consideration when making and porting over games.

 

[StandingCow]

As the market size increases (as it has been), more good games will come out for it.

Android being generally much more open and free than apple... probably helps a lot.

 

[HeadcaseGames]

I've been discussing it in other threads and will repeat it here..
There's numerous reasons why devs don't flock to Android so much as they do to iPhone. Fragmentation of hardware is a huge issue, the fact that there are different stores instead of a single unified experience, the consensus that "Android customers will always refuse to pay for apps" and of course the general disinterest of several Android-centric forums and websites towards being supportive of developers in general (if you look at many developer threads in this and other forums, they often are ignored and sink out of sight quickly).

If the community wants this to change, they need to address several of these issues and more developers will start to come over. Personally I think it is an important time as there is so much room for devs to flourish.

 

[ogrenator]

couldnt have said it better myself Headcase.....on another note....the whole exclusive games deals that are starting to become big now sucks but at the same time may help in the long term...I know nvidia has brought a good amount of new devs to android just by recruiting them to develop for the tegra chip....qualcom has a service that is about to roll out which includes many devs also...I am thinking maybe all of this competition will get more and more devs to the platform and eventually all games will work on every current gen device at the time....my 2 cents

 

[thehitmen]

I belive this is Androids time for gaming...

With the release of the experia play, Android is now in the driving seat for games development. Its a dedicated gaming phone with the pysical keys to take modern gaming forward. Take battlefeild which is coming to the experia Play, this is the first foot forward, spon we could see Call of duty etc... while Apple is stuck with touch screen 3D Gaming which works ok, but not seriously...Now steve jobs once said famous quote "Consumers don't know what they want, but when they see it, they will want it"

I belive once Android is making news, gaming mags etc... will people move from Iphone to Android.


Soon android will have a good collection of real games, with online capablitys taking it from a phone to a gaming device with a phone inside.

 

[ShowGirl]

Hi NinjaGabeX,
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[gallandof]

Androids biggest issue with apps/the market place is the way its sorted. As a developer its very hard for them to get their app any sort of publicity through google and the market place. They need to rely on forums and tech blogs. On top of that consumers may not know where to find they best games, giving an impression of no good games. Fragmentation is a negative too, just not as much as people make it. sure we have to ignore a lot of older phones, but at the same time iOS is starting to have to do the same thing with iphone 2g and the iphone 3g.

 

[Ingenu]

I think everyone here makes some excellent points. For me personally it's the lack of a controller on some games that makes me disinterested in playing them. Playing Angry Birds is one thing but trying to play something on an SNES emulator with on screen controls just plain sucks. That's entirely why we are making the controller we are making, so gamers have an option and so hopefully we will see some solid games developed where it's just not gimmicky controls.

I am starting to see some rather polished games hit the market, Air Attack HD comes to mind as well as Game Dev Story. Still you see stuff like 'Mousetrap' which don't get me wrong is great but, is just a reskinned brick mover game. I think too many developers are falling into the trap of just designing based off current games on the market rather than opening their minds and taking a risk.

 

[jerofld]

Unfortunately, you also have to consider that mobility also affects Android/iOS gaming. Sure, that controller is a nifty refit of a SNES controller. But it's also larger than your iDevice there (at least, it looks like an iDevice). Which is certainly a consideration. Not that I'm trying to knock your project. I like the concept. But not many of us are going to carry around a SNES controller (or a similar controller) all day.

I just think that Android Gaming, if a physical controller is necessary, is going to wait for more handset makers to make things like the Xperia. If not exactly the Xperia, devices with physical buttons. Which, as the trend has been revealing, has not been the case (ICS is even seeking to make it so no physical buttons outside of the power switch is needed). Or a compact controller that is like the one you're building. One of those two.

 

[Ingenu]

That's an EVO, I may be a self promoter but I would never put up iDevice videos on this forum haha.

I hear what you are saying and I agree to an extent. Our controller will hopefully end up looking very much like a PS2 controller but, since we are doing a custom mold we want it to be slimmer and smaller so it can slip into the pocket with ease. Portability is something we are definitely looking into.

Since most phone developers are stuck on the novelty of the touch screen functionality I wouldn't hold your breath for more phones like the Xperia. As cool of an idea as that phone is many manufacturers do one part of a dual purpose device well. What I mean by that is they either make a great phone and a mediocre gaming device or a great gaming device and mediocre phone and that's basically the idea I get from the Xperia reviews.

 

[JFSG]

I agree with the lack of quality games. There are a few decent paid ones like Game Dev Story, Robo Defense etc.

 

[Shocky]

Games are being released at a faster pace now than last year and the quality has improved, we don't have the volume or quality compared to iOS yet, they are just too well established for all the devs to move over to Android.

Due to the number of Android phones out there it's getting harder for the developers to ignore Android.

 

[Scrav]

I belive this is Androids time for gaming...

With the release of the experia play, Android is now in the driving seat for games development. Its a dedicated gaming phone with the pysical keys to take modern gaming forward.

Never mind that the Xperia Play only contributes to the existing fragmentation (both software and hardware). It's a device that will only service a small amount and specific type of user.

I'm sure we will still see high profile titles trickle in, but I don't see the flood gates ever opening, at least not in the near future.

Android phones are booming, but many just don't really care about (or are even aware of) applications. The iPhone is marketed on applications, while perceptions for Android phones are more just as a smart phone.

 

[jerofld]

That's an EVO, I may be a self promoter but I would never put up iDevice videos on this forum haha.

Thank you for that. It's always a mystery if a game/app that is demonstrated being played on an iDevice was actually ported over to Android when advertised here. And if that's an Evo, I have forgotten how large SNES controllers were. I don't even know why they have the iDevice frame in the first place. People are just going to assume it's for iDevice, anyways.

But good luck on your controller. I think if you model it after a PS controller, it would further make it an inconvenience to travel with. The SNES controller is flat and would fit in a pocket. The PS controller would just hurt to carry in a pocket, IMO. But for tablets, which I see as an inconvenience to travel with in the first place, it would probably be awesome.