Apple looks all set to dominate the mobile gaming market as more and more users are picking up their smartphones to play popular titles from developers that previously may have been reserved for consoles. Here’s why iOS has a big advantage over Android when it comes to gaming.
In a detailed TechCrunch piece, Matthew Panzarino dives into how Apple is headlining tech industry events that the company doesn’t even have a presence at. The most recent example is the 2018 Game Developer’s Conference.
Panzarino notes that the blockbuster news from the event didn’t even have to do with the event, rather it was that the wildly popular Fortnite console game was coming exclusively to iOS. A few days later, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds arrived on iOS and Android.
The launch of Fortnite, especially, resonates across the larger gaming spectrum in several unique ways. It’s the full and complete game as present on consoles, it’s iOS-first and it supports cross-platform play with console and PC players.
In talking with Apple’s VP of iOS, iPhone, and iPad product marketing, Greg Joswiak, TC discovered how Apple is leveraging the refreshed App Store to promote mobile gaming.
I spoke to Apple VP Greg Joswiak about Apple’s place in the industry. “Gaming has always been one of the most popular categories on the App Store,” he says. A recent relaunch of the App Store put gaming into its own section and introduced a Today tab that tells stories about the games and about their developers.
TechCrunch also learned more about how the company views its advantage over Android.
“We bring a very homogenous customer base to developers where 90% of [devices] are on the current versions of iOS,” says Joswiak. Apple’s customers embrace those changes and updates quickly, he says, and this allows developers to target new features and the full capabilities of the devices more quickly.
This highlighted by the fact that Epic Games decided to launch Fortnite on iOS first, with an Android version arriving in the coming months.
“There’s a very wide range of Android devices that we want to support,” Epic Games’ Nick Chester told Forbes. “We want to make sure Android players have a great experience, so we’re taking more time to get it right.”
Joswiak went on to share his belief that it’s about to become the norm to see console quality games regularly released for iOS.
“They’re bringing the current generation of console games to iOS,” Joswiak says, of launches like Fortnite and PUBG and notes that he believes we’re at a tipping point when it comes to mobile gaming, because mobile platforms like the iPhone and iOS offer completely unique combinations of hardware and software features that are iterated on quickly.
Another big benefit to Apple is how fast it can innovate and offer developers new tech and capabilities.
“Every year we are able to amp up the tech that we bring to developers,” he says, comparing it to the 4-5 year cycle in console gaming hardware. “Before the industry knew it, we were blowing people away [with the tech]. The full gameplay of these titles has woken a lot of people up.”
How about you? Are you spending more time gaming on your iPhone or iPad, or do you prefer to stick with your console or another dedicated device?
Check out 9to5Mac on YouTube for more Apple news:
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Comments