Gaming 3DS Library shock

[Foxi4]

You still can't deny that the mobile gaming boom has had a significant impact on handheld gaming develpment and production. It effectively became a three party competition with Android and iOS sharing the third spot to represent mobile gaming. The overhead for mobile app development is infinitesimal when compared to the overhead development costs for either the 3DS or Vita. So instead of seeing a bin full of $20 3DS bargain titles, we have app stores flooded with $.99 games looking to make the quick buck. I say good riddance to those junk programmers, as I prefer quality over quantity any day of the week.

What makes you think that development costs for the 3DS or the PSVita are any higher or lower than development costs for mobiles when all these platforms are based on hardware from the exact same families? The only reason why a lot of mobile games have small budgets is that a lot of them are made by small studios choosing Android/iOS for their openness - bigger studios don't want to pioneer the way to "console quality" games on smartphones at their own peril as being "the first" often costs a lot. Make no mistake though - the industry is heading in that direction. Smartphones already practically swallowed PDA's, PNA's, MP3/MP4 players and "casual" cameras - gaming devices are next on the list. Game developers will go where the money's at, and right now, infinitely more people own smartphones than any gaming system.

 

[zhdarkstar]

What makes you think that development costs for the 3DS or the PSVita are any higher or lower than development costs for mobiles when all these platforms are based on hardware from the exact same families? The only reason why a lot of mobile games have small budgets is that a lot of them are made by small studios choosing Android/iOS for their openness - bigger studios don't want to pioneer the way to "console quality" games on smartphones at their own peril as being "the first" often costs a lot. Make no mistake though - the industry is heading in that direction. Smartphones already practically swallowed PDA's, PNA's, MP3/MP4 players and "casual" cameras - gaming devices are next on the list. Game developers will go where the money's at, and right now, infinitely more people own smartphones than any gaming system.

Google gives away the Android SDK for free, plus there's no need to buy any sort of dedicated devkit hardware for testing. All the app developer has to do is take their phone out of their pocket to test their apps. There also isn't a lengthy licensing process that you have go through to even be allowed to publish commercial software for mobile platforms. All you have to do is pay a small enrollment fee ($25 Android/$99 iOS) to be able to publish your apps to the appropriate app store. Compared to the thousands of dollars it takes to be a licensed developer for Nintendo/Sony, the app developer is paying pennies for the same privileges on Android/iOS.

 

[Foxi4]

Google gives away the Android SDK for free, plus there's no need to buy any sort of dedicated devkit hardware for testing. All the app developer has to do is take their phone out of their pocket to test their apps. There also isn't a lengthy licensing process that you have go through to even be allowed to publish commercial software for mobile platforms. All you have to do is pay a small enrollment fee ($25 Android/$99 iOS) to be able to publish your apps to the appropriate app store. Compared to the thousands of dollars it takes to be a licensed developer for Nintendo/Sony, the app developer is paying pennies for the same privileges on Android/iOS.

If you think +/- $3000 for a devkit really matters in the grand scheme of things when contemporary AAA game budgets range in millions of dollars, we're not on the same wavelength.

 

[zhdarkstar]

If you think +/- $3000 for a devkit really matters in the grand scheme of things when contemporary AAA game budgets range in millions of dollars, we're not on the same wavelength.

I'm not talking about the AAA developers here, they operate on a whole other playing field. I'm talking about the small studios who produce the bargain titles. Even though Nintendo has tried to cater more to indie developers through the eShop, the barrier of entry can still be viewed as steep for studios who are putting out their first commercial title ever. It doesn't matter the industry, every dollar counts when starting a new business.

You hit the nail on the head earlier about there being more smartphones in the wild than there are handheld gaming systems. However, until there's a touchscreen that can truly replace the d-pad, there will always be a demand for a traditional handheld gaming system of some sort in order to play certain genres of games. I did appreciate the experiment that Sony had with the Xperia Play. It just didn't catch on as expected.

 

[Foxi4]

I'm not talking about the AAA developers here, they operate on a whole other playing field. I'm talking about the small studios who produce the bargain titles. Even though Nintendo has tried to cater more to indie developers through the eShop, the barrier of entry can still be viewed as steep for studios who are putting out their first commercial title ever. It doesn't matter the industry, every dollar counts when starting a new business.

You hit the nail on the head earlier about there being more smartphones in the wild than there are handheld gaming systems. However, until there's a touchscreen that can truly replace the d-pad, there will always be a demand for a traditional handheld gaming system of some sort in order to play certain genres of games. I did appreciate the experiment that Sony had with the Xperia Play. It just didn't catch on as expected.

Keep in mind that these days consoles are slowly coming close to that ideal release model for small developers. PlayStation Mobile allows you to develop a game and release it not only on certified mobiles, but also the PS3 and the PSVita, Xbox Arcade is chock full of indie titles and PSN comes at close second with the I<3Indies programme, even Nintendo shows an increasing interest in indies - just look at Shovel Knight. With Kickstarter out there, today it's easier to get a devkit than ever before, and in some cases you don't even need one to begin with.

 

[Drink the Bleach]

You still can't deny that the mobile gaming boom has had a significant impact on handheld gaming develpment and production. It effectively became a three party competition with Android and iOS sharing the third spot to represent mobile gaming. The overhead for mobile app development is infinitesimal when compared to the overhead development costs for either the 3DS or Vita. So instead of seeing a bin full of $20 3DS bargain titles, we have app stores flooded with $.99 games looking to make the quick buck. I say good riddance to those junk programmers, as I prefer quality over quantity any day of the week.

I wasn't denying anything about mobile gaming. I thought our discussion was over my romslist comment.

 

[NinSyeiko]

did u finish all those games?

 

[Drink the Bleach]

did u finish all those games?

Its not alot, and its not impossible. In the 7 years I actually cared about NDS, I think I managed to beat atleast 120 games

 

[NinSyeiko]

Its not alot, and its not impossible. In the 7 years I actually cared about NDS, I think I managed to beat atleast 120 games

I know that, but Im suprised to know that this guy finished all those games when there are a lot of good games in others consoles too
(im not saying that those games are back, I like most)

 

[jagerstaffel]

Keep in mind that these days consoles are slowly coming close to that ideal release model for small developers. PlayStation Mobile allows you to develop a game and release it not only on certified mobiles, but also the PS3 and the PSVita, Xbox Arcade is chock full of indie titles and PSN comes at close second with the I<3Indies programme, even Nintendo shows an increasing interest in indies - just look at Shovel Knight. With Kickstarter out there, today it's easier to get a devkit than ever before, and in some cases you don't even need one to begin with.

Hmm, I'm not sure Shovel Knight is a good example of Nintendo showing an increased interest in Indie's. I'm not denying Nintendo is showing an increased interest in indie's, it's just that Shovel Knight was kickstarted, in which a large number of the kickstarters were polled for what platform they wanted the game on (PC). Of course the devs also wanted to put it on Nintendo platforms, which Nintendo just helped with marketing/advertising etc. But, from the get-go it was a kickstarted PC game with Nintendo on the side, so yeah...

In the meantime I am patiently waiting for Shantae and the Pirate's curse