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What happened to pocket pc games development?


What happened to pocket pc games development?

Postby babracadabra » Jan 1, 2008 @ 1:19pm

I've been working on a game for about a year now, and now that it is nearly finished, it seems like the Pocket PC market for games has died! 8O

Looking on the sites like Handango and Pocketgear, the number of downloads per month has dropped drastically, aswell the number of games being released. and here... there are hardly any posts in the forums. Where have you all gone? :?

I really hope that I am missing something, and that there is still a market for my game. Are there any developers still trying to make games for this platform out there?

hello?
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Postby Kindred2k7 » Jan 2, 2008 @ 4:32am

I'm just starting development of a new Windows Mobile game. I don't know how the two sites you mentioned are performing compared to the past, but I think ClickGamer.com is doing alright and seems like a good place to market a game.

Take a look and let me know what you think! I'm hoping to develop a few 3-4 month projects over the next year or so. The release of Windows Mobile 6 will hopefully ignite the mobile gaming market again.
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Postby David Horn » Jan 6, 2008 @ 12:35am

Focus has shifted away from Handango and PocketGear for games, and I think Clickgamer tends to be preferred by developers. I've watched several large developers switch their stores to Clickgamer in the last year.
Crosswind technique: "Using your peripheral vision, react to body movements, gasps, groans, and shouts from the other side of the cockpit, and always remember that it's better to be lucky than good."
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Postby Dan East » Jan 7, 2008 @ 1:54am

Do you know, even anecdotally, what type of commission clickgamer takes? I know Handango pretty much raped developers, which is why I never sold anything through them. Even if I sold half as many copies going it alone, I kept 95% of the proceeds, so I would still be ahead in my book.

Plus, if you can make the same amount of money selling 10000 copies verses 100 copies, you better bet you would prefer the later. Less time spent on customer support!

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Postby David Horn » Jan 7, 2008 @ 11:16pm

Clickgamer take a 35% commission on Pocket PC games. I think it came up in the discussion when we switched affiliate stores to them, as I was adamant that the PocketGamer commission didn't come out of the developer's share. Lookin' at you, Handango.

I have to admit that I've been tempted for a long time to tie in a store to the new games database that lets developers sell at at 0% commission (ie, the only thing they pay are the credit card fees, and with PayPal that could be cut down even further).

However, Clickgamer have been absolutely fantastic when it comes to looking after PocketGamer, and I feel that it would be incredibly unfair to undercut them like that.
Crosswind technique: "Using your peripheral vision, react to body movements, gasps, groans, and shouts from the other side of the cockpit, and always remember that it's better to be lucky than good."
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Postby Presto » Jan 10, 2008 @ 5:04pm

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Postby mm40 » Jan 30, 2008 @ 4:57pm

The market is far from dead, but the days of releasing a crappy game and making some money are long gone. If you don't release a AA to AAA title then you are wasting your time. I have seen sales fall over all the portals over the last year, but not too much.

Its kind of ironic considering that there are probably 10-20 times (yes TIMES) the number of windows mobile devices out there than there were a few years ago, yet software sales are the same. This is because all of the new devices are sold by the big telco companies which lock users to their platform, and most people buying a phone from them, have no idea they can even hook it up to their computer, go on HDGO/PG/CG and install a game on it. Hell most of them are still paying $2 per ringtone when you can simply copy your own MP3 to the device for free! The telcos are VERY good at keeping their monopoly intact, which includes software.

As far as market share through the portals is concerned I have seen PG fall a lot, ever since thier portal change they are doing terribly, they are doing about 1/6th the sales they used to be doing. HD is holding steady. Last month here was the breakdown PayPal 29% HD 51% PG 10% CG 10%. Its funny even though HD does almost double the sales as Paypal, I take home more with Paypal.
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Postby sponge » Feb 1, 2008 @ 2:30am

holy internets batman.
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Postby jaguard » Feb 2, 2008 @ 11:33am

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