Game developer drops Android version

[thewayne]

He's a small operation, just him and his wife, and he says the problem is that the Android version of his game, Battleheart, accounts for 5% of their revenue but 20% of his support/development time.

Apparently his problem is common more among game developers than business app/utility developers. He's having to tweak shaders and installation programs to support the various graphics chips and such which aren't as much of an issue in other types of apps. This is something that I recognized a long time ago that would be an issue, and it epitomizes the difference in support between Windows and Mac operating systems. Windows lets anyone create hardware for their OS, Mac controls it tightly. Windows has an all but infinite array of hardware combinations they have to support, Mac much more finite.

Which is a better path to take? It really depends on your needs and which end of the board table you're on.

http://www.electronista.com/articles/12/03/10/mika.mobile.says.android.money.losing.platform/

http://games.slashdot.org/story/12/03/10/2226214/battleheart-developer-drops-android-as-unsustainable

Comments

[thewayne.livejournal.com]

That's the thing that I don't get. You'd think that an operation like Google, who is trying to eliminate all Windows machines from their internal operations to improve security, would get that. The article said that the couple had spent thousands of dollars on phones for testing, and that just makes my brain hurt.

I think the thing that I find the most sad/silly, is people complaining that you have to (A) own a Mac and (B) pay $99 to buy the developer's kit for iOS. How much is a used Mac, and how much are all of these test phones?

I suppose it's possible that Google didn't anticipate the incredible diversity of Android handsets and didn't realize their OS model was broken until it was far too late. I'd like to think that, at least.