Unity Technologies announced last week the details of their iPhone development license for Unity. I've been waiting for this since they first said it was coming, and the specifics are about what I expected:
- The iPhone development license is an add-on to an existing Unity license.
- There are two versions of the license -- one that clearly targets indies and one for larger studios. The indie version is significantly less expensive, but it comes with some limitations, including a mandatory Unity splash screen as the game loads.
- There is no limit on the number of games you can create with a license (as opposed to the Wii development license for Unity, which has a per-title fee).
I can't help but wonder, though, how much of a future the iPhone has as a gaming platform. Certainly it's a great device. The accelerometer and multi-touch display make it perfect for simple, addictive games. But how much is just a novelty? Will every new iPhone owner buy a couple of games because they can and then play them for a grand total of five minutes? Everyone I know that owns an iPhone is constantly messing with it, sending texts or looking things up on YouTube. But when do they play games? During the morning commute? On planes? Though where does any adult play mobile games?
Still (can you tell I'm undecided?), the cost of entry is pretty low -- just a few hundred dollars, which, if you consider it the cost of starting a small business, is unbelievably small with very little risk. And, considering that Unity is perfect for developing games quickly, you can't really go wrong.
For a small team with limited resources, there are remarkably few reasons not to develop games for the iPhone. But the one that makes me hesitate is a big one: in another year, will anyone still be buying games for their phone? What do you think?
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First!
ReplyDeleteI don't see why people wouldn't. I think there are people out there who want something that's a phone/mp3 player/hand-held gaming device. I would want one, but I'm too cheap to buy an iPhone and I love Sprint too much. :D
Dew
I was talking to someone at work about this today, and he could think of plenty of places where he would do some mobile gaming -- watching TV, waiting to get his car worked on at the shop, waiting to pick up the kids from school.
ReplyDeleteI think the trick is being able to have an enjoyable gaming experience in five-minute stretches. Ideally you'd have something that could be picked up for five minutes or thirty and still be fun.
I think it'd be fairly common in areas where you don't drive to commute(i.e. riding a bus/train/etc).
ReplyDeleteDew
I just got an iPod Touch (well, I was given one for a class I'm taking), and waiting for the shuttle has become a great time to play a quick game. I don't exactly have my finger on the pulse of the gaming world, but I do know that Spudzooka would be a perfect distraction while I tried to ignore the undergraduates gabbing on their cell phones next to me at the bus stop...
ReplyDelete