iOS vs. Android
According to a new report by the Wall Street Journal, Apple and Google are competing each other to get exclusive games on their iOS and Android platforms first. As the report indicates, both the companies are offering developers promotional packages such as “premium placement on their app stores’ home pages and features lists” in order to ensure that various popular games land on their respective platform first.
Apple previously made a deal with Electronic Arts in order to get the Plants vs. Zombies 2 title on its platform first before releasing it on Android. Indeed, the game launched on Android 2 months after first appearing on the iOS platform. A similar deal was struck with ZeptoLab over Cut the Rope 2.
ZeptoLab’s sequel to its popular puzzle game “Cut the Rope”, introduced in December, reflected a similar pattern. The company and Apple agreed to about a three-month window of exclusivity for Apple’s App Store, in exchange for the store prominently promoting the game, one person familiar with the matter said. ZeptoLab launched an Android version in late March.
In addition, Apple doesn’t offer money to gain exclusive rights to apps but instead, it offers promotional packages. In response to this, Amazon has also started providing incentives to developers by offering to place apps on its App Store page in order to gain advantage over its competitors and release various games on its Kindle devices.
However, Gameloft, developer of Asphalt, refused to deal with Apple and chose to simultaneously launch the game on both iOS and Android. Gonzague de Vallois, head of sales and marketing at Gameloft told “We haven’t found the case where it makes sense for us.”
Source: Wall Street Journal
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