I read an interesting comment from a friend of mine that mobile game developers should focus more on creating games like Infinity Blade II rather than just sticking to the common stuff that you can find on the App Store. This year, we’ve seen the likes of Dream:scape, Shadowgun and the aforementioned Infinity Blade II being released on the App Store, and if there’s one thing that tells us, it’s the market that dictates what gets released, not the developers.
The ecosystem that Apple has introduced has brought about a vicious cycle that perpetuates the need to keep the prices of games low. Take a look around, and you’ll find a majority of games going for 99 cents a pop. With that kind of pricing, coming up with big budget games that feature console-like graphics would be suicide for smaller game studios as they can’t recoup the cost no matter how well the critical response can be to the game.
One analogy I could make out from my friend’s statement would be expecting PS3 game developers to make stuff with the same production qualities similar to that of Unchartered 3. The power is definitely there on Apple’s devices to support such endeavors, in just one year, Apple has introduced hardware that allows Infinity Blade II to shine.
Signs are pointing towards more publishers and developers taking a bold step in pricing their games above the USD 0.99 glass ceiling. In recent months, I’ve seen games priced from USD 2.99 to USD 4.99 (Thank God I’m in the business of reviewing games, buying games is a sure fire way to make a dent on the wallet, irrespective of the platform), highlighting a renewed confidence in fixing this price discrepancy.
With that, we can see more (but not necessary many) high-production value games on the iOS and Android platform in 2012 as the market matures. We’ll probably see more than ONE high-profile game headlining the launch of future iOS devices.
