I see too many unity game developers, publish only for Android and iOS but not for the PC. I’m developing an android game, but the game can ran on windows just as good, with little to no work. So, why do a lot of developers don’t publish to the PC too? Do people like platform exclusive games more then cross platform games? Is it bad to do so, meaning will I make less profit if I publish on the PC too? Or is it that the developers are just too lazy to make tweaks for the other platform?
Well they are usually made for touchscreen and are more casual.
See comments I get on greenlight, when I ask if anyone want a FREE pc version of my game.
Basically, mobile game is the game where you play on the go, with around 5-10 minutes of gameplay every session. I also believe that consumers nowadays attached to their smartphone more than PC. So if they have the game in the smartphone already, why would they want to play it again on PC?
There’s nothing to say that you can’t or even shouldn’t publish to mobile and desktop platforms. The key here would be to create a game that satisfies two very different markets adequately. As mentioned previously, most mobile players want games that can be consumed in the relatively tight time constraints of a break or while waiting for the bus. Desktop players by contrast look for a much longer, more immersive and in depth playing experience. I believe it could be done, but you’re going to have to be damn clever about your design, and the monetization scheme that makes it a viable business. Best of luck to you!
You also have to keep in mind the different input methods on each platform. Simply adding mouse support to a touch screen game is rarely enough to make it playable.
Yeah, it’s not a question of tech so much as it’s a question of design.
Question, did you notice an increase in downloads/sales when you put your game up on Greenlight?
Some mobile games can translate to keyboard input nicely. I have two games, one is heavily dependent on tilting so it’s a no go. The other one is on Mac but not on PC. Why? No distribution path without forcing me to setup a shopping cart on my site. The day Unity starts exporting with Windows 8 Market compliance, I MIGHT finally publish my game for PC (I also may be forced to upgrade to 4.0 and that may cost too much, depends how I’m doing with other projects at the time if it’s a viable thing.)
HI have you heard of/tried these simpler versions of shopping carts?
Just checking
because they don’t think it will make any money, and in most cases they are right a lot of games people are willing to pay for on mobile, people who play pc games think are sh… not very good sort of aimed at the casual market
many pc players will be aware of better versions for free
Because a lot of them would look bad also. Android game are optimised for android devices.
There are more than one thing I’d have to do if I did my own shopping cart. Having to do my own DRM or Key based system is an example of things I rather not have to deal with (and although you cant stop piracy, I think you should have at least a basic DRM to prevent copying to be too easy.)
For Minibowling the plugins are the large reason it’s not pushed to PC at the same time as Android/iOS. It took weeks to get the plugins on the mobile platforms to get them to where I wanted them to be and it’s hard to justify doing the plugins again, especially since PC doesn’t provide the same mechanisms like the easy facebook login and push notifications. A second reason is between using a mouse and touch to play the game, it just feels a lot better playing on a touch screen, and most PC’s don’t have touch inputs and would be really cutting into potential customers by requiring touch input.