Most commentators in North America and Europe treat RIM like a dead man walking.
There's plenty of passion for the upcoming fight when it launches BlackBerry 10 within the company, however.
And some of RIM's development partners are surprising upbeat, so following the BlackBerry World 2012 conference, we've been polling the views of game studios already supporting the platform.
One key publisher for RIM is Gameloft.
It's released hundreds of Java games, and is gearing up for BlackBerry 10's launch as VP of OEM Ludovic Blondel explains.
Pocket Gamer: What's your current view about PlayBook as a gaming platform?
Ludovic Blondel: The PlayBook is a great device because it enables us to provide Blackberry users with a whole new gaming experience.
The fact that our teams can code in C for the QNX-powered PlayBook allows BlackBerry consumers to play games that they have never experienced on any previous BlackBerry OS.
How are you finding the early version of BlackBerry 10 in terms of development?
The consistency between the PlayBook and initial [Dev Alpha] BB 10 device has allowed us an early jump on getting our games running on the platform.
We hope this will remain consistent in the future so we can get as many of our games available on the device as possible, in preparation for the launch.
What are your hopes for the autumn OS and device launch?
We hope the market reacts very positively to the new device and OS.
One of Gameloft's main priorities is to make games for everyone. So, for us, having another established channel to sell our best products and reach a whole new audience is always a positive.
What do you think is RIM's biggest challenge?
I think it's changing the perception that RIM devices are not as powerful from a specs perspective as current devices on the market.
The developer community sees that the internal power of the device can compete, but the native feature was what was missing for consumers. With BlackBerry 10, we see the potential for that image to shift.
Do you think RIM can find a place in the mobile gaming market?
RIM devices have performed well for us in the Java space globally , and we feel that this trend can certainly continue and grow once the customer base for BB 10 grows.
Additionally, with new features such as BBM and Scoreloop, we think RIM certainly has the tools to find its place in the mobile gaming market.
Can you say anything about your plans for BB 10's launch?
As we announced during BlackBerry World 2012, we are very excited to about the launch of BB 10, and plan to release a total of 11 games, with four of them being made available at launch including smash hits like Ice Age Village and N.O.V.A. 3..
Thanks to Ludovic for his time.
Interview
Contributing Editor
A Pocket Gamer co-founder, Jon is Contributing Editor at PG.biz which means he acts like a slightly confused uncle who's forgotten where he's left his glasses. As well as letters and cameras, he likes imaginary numbers and legumes.
Related Articles
Top Stories
Feature
Mar 25th, 2024
5 takeaways from GDC 2024: The games industry reckons with key challenges, Godot competes with Unity, and AI was the big trend without the big announcements
Feature
Mar 25th, 2024
Hot Five: Epic’s app store plans, Turkey’s tax exemptions, and Call of Duty Warzone: Mobile finally releases globally
Events
Mobidictum Network Lisbon April 2024 | Europe | Apr 16th |
HIT Games Conference Istanbul 2024 | Apr 18th | |
App Promotion Summit London | Europe | Apr 25th |
Dubai GameExpo Summit 2024 | Middle East | May 1st |
Mobidictum Meetup Berlin May 2024 | Europe | May 7th |
Mobidictum Meetup Tallinn May 2024 | Europe | May 21st |
Israel Mobile Summit 2024 | Middle East | Jun 6th |
Mobidictum Meetup Barcelona September 2024 | Europe | Sep 1st |
Popular Stories
Feature
Mar 25th, 2024
5 takeaways from GDC 2024: The games industry reckons with key challenges, Godot competes with Unity, and AI was the big trend without the big announcements
Interview
Mar 22nd, 2024