Can BlackBerry 10 take down iOS and Android. Indeed, should it even try?

In the wake of the new platform's unveiling by the newly rebranded BlackBerry, we decided to get in contact with some of its keenest backers – some who've been there before, and some newcomers – for their take on what BB10 brings to the table.

Next up, we spoke to Sampo Töyssy of 10tons, who – with 10 titles already launched on the platform – thinks iOS ports can only be a good thing for BlackBerry 10's longterm chances

Pocket Gamer: Generally speaking, what did you make of the BlackBerry 10 unveiling?

Sampo Töyssy: It was a nice event and the products looked good.

The Q10 is an interesting device from the game developer's perspective. Most of our games don't support the square screen, but I imagine the BlackBerry users interested in games tend to choose the Z10 anyway.

On the other hand, the developers who can easily support the square screen will probably face less competition.

Are you working on the platform, and if so, why?

Yes, we have 10 games available.

BlackBerry made much of the 70,000 apps it has ready to go from day one, though many it showcased appeared to be ports from iOS. Why would consumers want to switch formats to play with apps they already have on their existing handset?

For a large portion of developers it's good to have titles on as many platforms as possible, so I view the high number of iOS ports as a positive thing.

It tells you that the devs like the platform and have found it easy enough to work with to go through with the porting effort.

Developing games for iOS and Android is already a very high risk business due to the massive amount of top tier competition on the market. I imagine very few developers can create exclusive content for a runner-up platform on their own risk so it's natural that there are a lot of ports.

What's BB10 like to develop for? Has BlackBerry been easy to work with?

For us, BB10 development has been trouble free and we've had a great relationship with BlackBerry.

Many see 2013 as playing home to a race for third place between BB10 and WP8. Who will come out on top?

That's great question and I think we'll have an interesting year finding that out. We like both platforms and we're obviously present on both of them.
Azkend - one of our most popular puzzle games was just released for Windows Phone 8 devices and there are many more in the pipeline.
Thanks to Sampo for his time.