4 ms·

It's amazing the difference real buttons make. I feel like mobile gaming will always be seriously limited by that.

by vlunkr 12y ago

archagon 12y ago
I'd say there's more to it than that. WarioWare Twisted, Phoenix Wright, FF Tactics, Elite Beat Agents, and many other games could have easily been developed for mobile. The problem is that nobody has the confidence to put a year into making truly standout mobile games.
- deleted 12y ago
  [deleted]
- emsy 12y ago
  FFT and Phoenix Wright are at least available as ports. I think you can make money with fixed price games, it's just not so visible because they are not played by everyone.
  - eridius 12y ago
    Square-Enix actually have a bunch of games on the iOS App Store. Most of them are ports, but a while back there was the Chaos Rings series which was original IP (I haven't checked if they have any other original IP for iOS). And they're not just straightforward ports either, for example the Dragon Quest games have all been adapted to play in a portrait layout (because their target customers are Japanese people playing while standing up on subway cars, where they can't do two-handed landscape gaming). I also find it notable that Square-Enix is maintaining relatively high price points for these games (such as $15), and have done so for years, despite the iOS game market still being primarily aimed at the $1-$3 level. Of course, the fact that the games are being published by a well-known name like Square-Enix lets them do things other companies couldn't get away with, but it must be profitable enough because they keep adding more games to their iOS lineup.
- Pxtl 12y ago
  There are plenty of mobile games that measure up to that stuff, they're just not at the top of the App Stores because they don't move volume as fast as mini-games and F2P... and most of them are ports of classic titles. For example, I played the heck out of Civilization Revolutions, Z Origins, Swords and Soldiers, and Bard's Tale on various mobile devices. Those all measure up in fun and complexity vs Nintendo's titles, although most of them are ports of older PC and console games.
  - archagon 12y ago
    Well, I'm referring more to original IP. Yes, there are ports, but ports just aren't all that interesting in the grand scheme of things. There are basically zero studios on mobile making games on Nintendo's level as first-class platform citizens.
    - Pxtl 12y ago
      Swords and Soldiers impressed the hell out of me, although it lacks online multiplayer. It's a very complete experience, as hand-held RTS games go. Also, I feel like "port from handheld device" isn't really too much of a port to complain about in the case of Civ Revolutions - a touch DS/PSP game is hardly a big jump to Android / iOS. That's more of a cross-platform release than a port.
- vlunkr 12y ago
  Well sure, you can do those on mobile, but you can do those and alot more on the ds with buttons. I'm not saying good games are impossible on mobile, just that their scope is limited by a lack of buttons.

It's amazing the difference real buttons make. I feel like mobile gaming will always be seriously limited by that.

by vlunkr 12y ago

It's amazing the difference real buttons make. I feel like mobile gaming will always be seriously limited by that.

I'd say there's more to it than that. WarioWare Twisted, Phoenix Wright, FF Tactics, Elite Beat Agents, and many other games could have easily been developed for mobile. The problem is that nobody has the confidence to put a year into making truly standout mobile games.

deleted 12y ago
[deleted]
emsy 12y ago
FFT and Phoenix Wright are at least available as ports. I think you can make money with fixed price games, it's just not so visible because they are not played by everyone.
- eridius 12y ago
  Square-Enix actually have a bunch of games on the iOS App Store. Most of them are ports, but a while back there was the Chaos Rings series which was original IP (I haven't checked if they have any other original IP for iOS). And they're not just straightforward ports either, for example the Dragon Quest games have all been adapted to play in a portrait layout (because their target customers are Japanese people playing while standing up on subway cars, where they can't do two-handed landscape gaming). I also find it notable that Square-Enix is maintaining relatively high price points for these games (such as $15), and have done so for years, despite the iOS game market still being primarily aimed at the $1-$3 level. Of course, the fact that the games are being published by a well-known name like Square-Enix lets them do things other companies couldn't get away with, but it must be profitable enough because they keep adding more games to their iOS lineup.
Pxtl 12y ago
There are plenty of mobile games that measure up to that stuff, they're just not at the top of the App Stores because they don't move volume as fast as mini-games and F2P... and most of them are ports of classic titles. For example, I played the heck out of Civilization Revolutions, Z Origins, Swords and Soldiers, and Bard's Tale on various mobile devices. Those all measure up in fun and complexity vs Nintendo's titles, although most of them are ports of older PC and console games.
- archagon 12y ago
  Well, I'm referring more to original IP. Yes, there are ports, but ports just aren't all that interesting in the grand scheme of things. There are basically zero studios on mobile making games on Nintendo's level as first-class platform citizens.
  - Pxtl 12y ago
    Swords and Soldiers impressed the hell out of me, although it lacks online multiplayer. It's a very complete experience, as hand-held RTS games go. Also, I feel like "port from handheld device" isn't really too much of a port to complain about in the case of Civ Revolutions - a touch DS/PSP game is hardly a big jump to Android / iOS. That's more of a cross-platform release than a port.
vlunkr 12y ago
Well sure, you can do those on mobile, but you can do those and alot more on the ds with buttons. I'm not saying good games are impossible on mobile, just that their scope is limited by a lack of buttons.