Why mobile games are different

I'm very tempted to just have a one line post: "'cause they are". But I realize that this isn't exactly an informative one line post.

Mobile games aren't selling the way "analysts" predicted. The huge growth in sales isn't happening, the number of titles is staggering, there are both licensed and unlicensed titles...but the consumers aren't there. Every week I hear about mobile game developers and publishers going out of business.

But let me throw another wrinkle at you... the iPhone. (Some of you are already excited, and pardon me while I tattoo "I like bright shiny objects", on your forehead)

"iPhone applications and the App Store will change the way people look at their phone" I've heard that line many times, and I agree. It will totally confuse the consumer and at least 3/4 of the "mobile game publishers" will drop Java and Brew development in favor of the iPhone.

I think that's just as well. By far the majority of mobile games I have seen in the last 2 years as a mobile game producer have been awful. When the games are awful, why is it shocking that sales are also awful? Sales are great for Tetris. This just in: Tetris is a good game, your adaptation of Miami Vice is awful.

In interviews I always say the same thing: Make good games... make that your focus. If you make good games you'll have sales. If you make bad games, you won't have sales. Is this really that hard to understand? Apparently the answer is yes.

The title of this posting is "why are mobile games different". The answer is: because many mobile publishers think that there are easy bucks to be made and that the consumer is dumb enough to buy anything. The truth is, these are the same discerning consumers who buy XBOX 360 and PS3 games. Wake up publishers, they're not dumb. They know a bad game when they see it, and they remember the publisher who tried to foist it on them.

Always always always, make good games.

Mac

READ MORE - Why mobile games are different

Hand waving

What makes a game a good game? Well, fun for one thing. But part of that is interest in the subject material. When I was at Broderbund I was given a submission to evaluate and write a response. The first title I got was "SludgeMaster". Yes, you turn poop and pee into drinkable water. I never laughed so hard in my life...

But what was UNDER the game, the actual mechanics was actually fun. The game actually was based on an existing game, it was just hard to see under the... poop.

So back to hand waving. If you've ever played, and liked, Monopoly you understand the basics of how to play. If you go to Target or Walmart, you might have seen that there are hundreds of flavors of Monopoly. There's SpongeBob Monopoly, Spiderman Monopoly, X-Men Monopoly etc. But if you know how to play one, you know how to play ALL of them.

Lets define our terms:

The hand waving is: SpongeBob, Spiderman etc

The GAME is moving around the board using dice, buying properties, charging "rent" when a player lands on your property, and improving those properties to increase the "rent"

So the "game" is the part of Monopoly that you play in each version, the hand waving is SpongeBob or Spiderman. (Personally, The Simpsons Monopoly cracks me up)

When it comes to game design, don't get the two confused. Don't think that because you're an expert fan of SpongeBob, that you can design the next hit SpongeBob games. The two things are very different.

If there's enough interest, I'll do a podcast on this subject. Let me know by leaving comments below!

Mac

READ MORE - Hand waving