Gameloft has confirmed that is scaling back application development on Google’s Android platform.
“We have significantly cut our investment in Android platform, just like many others,” said Gameloft finance director Alexandre de Rochefort, who was quoted by Reuters.
Rochefort attributed Gameloft’s decision to the “weakness” of Android’s application store.
“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. We are selling 400 times more games on iPhone than on Android,” claimed Rochefort.
Gameloft’s abrupt announcement sparked concern amongst a number of bloggers and journalists, including Nicholas Bonsack of MacWorld. ?
“Whether it’s Google’s Android or Palm’s webOS, the smartphone industry could really use a David to the iPhone’s Goliath to promote competition and better products all around,” wrote Bonsack.
??”So it comes as a bit of a downer when we hear that Android development isn’t going so well. If Gameloft’s claims are true, we may see more of the larger developers start to move away from Android—or continue to stay away – thanks to a lack of marketing.”
?However, Bonsack also noted that MacWorld has reported on a “steady exodus” of smaller developers from the iPhone platform – due to Apple’s “often murky” policies.
“In the past, Google has largely relied on viral marketing, its partners, and word of mouth to promote its own products. Perhaps Google could stand to learn a thing or two from Apple’s marketing?”??
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