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Android's increased fragmentation across hardware devices and OSversions, and its lack of a central app store, have left gamedevelopers disappointed with the OS, according to the CEO of"Plants vs. Zombies" publisher PopCap Games. "Android is not a very good business for most game companies, nomatter what anyone tells you," PopCap CEO David Roberts said ininterview Thursday. "I'm sure there are some people making money onit, but based on the amount of hardware it sells it hasn't turnedinto the game business I think a lot of folks hoped" Roberts made the comment as other developers have complained ofAndroid's fragmentation and the difficulties in building apps for the OS. PopCap, asubsidiary of Electronic Arts, has developed hit mobile games,which are available for both Apple's iOS, along with Android. TheiOS platform, however, has been far easier to develop for, giventhat all apps are sold through Apple's App Store, and that there islittle variation among the company's iPhone and iPad devices,Roberts said. The opposite is true for the Android OS, he added. At the sametime, iOS users generally buy far more apps than Android usersbecause Apple's App Store offers a better buying experience. "We game developers can't fix it. That's the problem, we alwayswish we could. But you can't sign up with every payment system, andevery carrier and do marketing with all of them," he said referringto the different channels through which Android apps can be bought."Without a single storefront like Apple has, (Android is) even lessappealing." Roberts, however, said the fragmentation could be gradually fixedin "big pockets," with the establishment of more unified Androidapp stores with large customer bases. On Thursday, PopCap announcedit would launch two new exclusive "Plants vs. Zombies" games forChina, through a service provided by Tencent, the country's majoronline gaming operator. Tencent's QQ Game Center currently has morethan 220 million registered users. PopCap announced its new "Plants vs. Zombies" games as the companyhas been working to localize its hit franchise for the country."Plants vs. Zombies Great Wall Edition" will be released May 18 asan Android app. Later this year, the company will launch amultiplayer title called "Plants vs. Zombies Kingdoms," which isinspired by popular Chinese games set in the country's historicalThree Kingdoms era. China ranks as one of "Plants vs. Zombies" largest markets. But theChina downloads, which number between 120 million to 150 million,largely come from pirated versions of the game. Currently, thepublisher has about 15 million China downloads for "Plants vs.Zombies" that have come via Apple's App store and deals made withAndroid device makers. PopCap's Shanghai office, which was established in 2008, has soughtto navigate past the piracy by designing its newest games to be freemium,meaning users can play the games for free, but have to pay toaccess for advanced feature or services. The business model hasworked especially well in China, but contrasts with the way PopCapand other western game publishers have sold their games as pricedproducts in the past, Roberts said. "Here [in China] we're going to learn about business modelinnovation," he said, while attending the Global Mobile InternetConference being held in Beijing. "We're going to find new ways todesign our great games for freemium markets." PopCap intends to take those lessons to other countries includingthe U.S, as markets move away from paid games. Roberts pointed tothe fact that the most popular version of its "Bejeweled" game isthe free one available for Apple's iPhone. "The burden is on us to make the game a game service, and not justa stand-alone game," he said. "Not just in Asia, but reallyglobally, now we have shifted our thinking to game services, andnot just buy-it-once." Along with innovating new business models, China has also helpedPopCap jump-start the developer's merchandising business, whichfirst began a year ago as deal for a local clothing vendor to sell"Plants vs. Zombies" apparel in the country. Last month, PopCapannounced it had finalized several merchandising deals for NorthAmerica and Europe to sell products based on its hit gamingfranchises. "That notion of making money from our brands is something we'veexported to the rest of the world," Robert said. In China, thecompany has also sold "Plants vs. Zombies" children books. "Theydon't really seem like innovations, but they're big steps for alittle company like ours.". We are high quality suppliers, our products such as Swing Arm Barrier Manufacturer , China Flap Barrier for oversee buyer. To know more, please visits Automatic Traffic Barrier.
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