Category: Mobile Gaming (Page 5 of 9)

DSi LL outsells PSPgo

November 24, 2009 / Jeff Morgan

The DSi LL launched in Japan two days ago and is already reporting strong sales. According to Famitsu publisher Enterbrain, the plus-size version of the Nintendo DSi moved more than 103,000 units on the first day.

Those aren’t incredible sales, but they’re good for a cosmetic update of the popular handheld. The DSi’s original launch sold 170,000 units in the same amount of time in Japan. The PSPgo, which like the DSi LL is more of a cosmetic update, sold just 28,000 units in that same amount of time in Japan.

There’s still no word on the DSi XL launch date for the US (first quarter 2010 is all I’ve heard), but I’d imagine sales here will remain strong. The fact that the system comes with three games pre-installed is nice, and in the case of handhelds, most people prefer a larger screen.

Mobile Gaming, Nintendo DS, PSP

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Gameloft cutting back on Android development

November 22, 2009 / Jeff Morgan

Android may finally be on the handset of your dreams, but it’s too late for mobile game developer Gameloft. The french developer said it has significantly cut its investment in the Android platform due to underwhelming revenues.

“It is not as neatly done as on the iPhone. Google has not been very good to entice customers to actually buy products. On Android nobody is making significant revenue,” said Gameloft’s finance director, Alexandre de Rochefort. There must be a bit of meaning lost in translation of the word “neatly” from french to english because I would hardly call the App Store neat. That’s not to say the decision doesn’t make sense.

According to Rochefort, Gameloft is selling 400 times the number of apps on the App Store as on Android devices. Obviously there are a lot of factors to consider, market share being prime among them. But even if market share were closer I’d imagine Gameloft would struggle with the number of different devices Android runs. With so much different hardware it’s just easier to design apps for the iPhone/iPod Touch and support them.

Source: Washington Post

Mobile Gaming, News

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N64 emulator headed for the iPhone

November 3, 2009 / Jeff Morgan

Zodttd, the intrepid developer behind the Game Boy Advance emulator on the iPhone, says he’s working on an N64 emulator for the 3GS and the new iPod Touch. Just imagine playing GoldenEye on the iPhone. Just imagine trying to strafe!

It sounds pretty cool, but really the controller could become a problem. Where do you put the Z button? And the C buttons? It’s a lot to try to cram onto the iPhone’s screen. I’m impressed, though, that the 3GS is fast enough to run most of the games. Zodttd did say that the higher-end games won’t run just yet, but that sounds to me like he’s got plans for them in the future. Now if someone would put together a standard controller accessory, everything would be just fine.

Mobile Gaming

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Red Alert hits the iPhone

November 2, 2009 / Jeff Morgan

If it weren’t for Red Alert 2 I probably would have done a lot better in high school calculus. As it was, I spent most of my time worrying about when my next paratrooper drop was coming in the computer lab. This week EA released an iPhone version of the classic strat game with an extra map pack and the promise of more DLC down the road.

The game’s a little pricey at $9.99, but it’s got a full campaign for the Soviets and the Allies, 12 skirmish maps, and a map pack with another six skirmish maps. EA’s also promised that a future update will bring multiplayer over Wi-Fi and Bluetooth along with additional content. That’s more features than just about any game in the App Store, so maybe the ten bucks is worth it this time around.

The next patch is for the Empire of the Rising Sun and will add a third faction.

EA, Mobile Gaming

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N-Gage goes the way of the dodo

October 30, 2009 / Jeff Morgan

Nokia will be closing the doors to its wildly unpopular N-Gage gaming service next year, according to an official blog post today. The service never really got off the ground, which isn’t much of a surprise. Remember those phones? They were absurd. After that it became an online platform with a following most industry folks would call “cute.”

Of course Nokia is masking the failure behind the launch of the Ovi Store, but I think we all know what really happened: the App Store. The iPhone tapped into Nokia’s arteries a while back and just isn’t stopping. The platform is much more attractive to developers and is probably making them a lot more money as well.

For the one to two this affects, you will still be able to get your N-Gage games until September 2010. The community site will shut down at the end of the year.