Fishlabs on the ins and outs of iPhone game development
Mobile gaming has been given a fillip by the arrival of iPhone, Blackberry and other 'native' development platforms. The fact that these new devices support app stores removes some of the traditional barriers to distribution (the publisher, the aggregator, the operator deck) is an extra bonus.
But they also present new challenges. ME spoke to Fishlabs CEO Michael Schade about the ins and outs of iPhone game development...
What are the main benefits of developing for iPhone?
In terms of quality, iPhone is higher res than PSP and the rendering is similar. It’s really premium gaming and that’s reflected in the prices you can set.
But it’s also about the control the app store gives you. You get daily reports and you can change the marketing constantly.
How much does iPhone development cost?
It’s a mid-five digit figure to make an iPhone port look really good. Mid-six figure for a genuine original title.
How do you get games listed?
You submit the game and they approve it in a few days, then you can upload it immediately. This can take months if you go the operator route. The process is great – a big thumbs up to Apple.
Is there a risk that the App Store will become unwieldy and over-populated like an operator deck?
It’s already happening. The 99c games dominate the charts and it’s getting hard to get user ratings if you can’t get the users in the first place. I’m sure Apple is working on a new approach to premium apps.
It is possible to embed links to your website and then get ad revenue, but the problem here is that the CPMs eat into your revenues. We’ve got Toy Tanks 3D coming out in a free ad-financed version and an ad-free version at €1.59.
Do you see the App Store model being replicated by others?
I like what Nokia is doing with N-gage. It’s being selective about what goes on the portal, and it’s serious about making it work.
But for anyone launching an app store with Java games, it will be tough. It’s so easy to open up the code and take out the copy protection.
To read Part 5 of our Game Developer special focus, click here.
Click here to read Part 3 of our Game Developer special focus.
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