Big publishers need new IPs to make it on the App Store, says Gameloft

It's been a good year for Gameloft, and it's been speaking about its success and new mobile gaming trends with Mobile-Ent. The company's Gonzague de Vallois passed out more than a few top tips for the big companies looking to make money with a smartphone.

"We did 17 million Euros on the App Store, from 40 titles,” says Gonzague de Vallois. “Ubisoft will do 15 million Euros with one good title on the PSP. Also, they'll have five IPs a year, so they won't do big business on the App Store unless they create more new IPs.

"It's a challenge for them. It's a business they have to be in, because it's hyped and growing, but it's still small compared to their existing business.”

Gameloft does indeed seem to be playing the smartphone business smartly, and spoke of its intentions for Google's Android platform, which it previously seemed quite unsure about.

"This year is Android's year in terms of volumes," de Vallois continues. "It's true that you don't see that many big publishers developing for Android Market, which is very specific to the gaming side. But we hope that will change."

Despite sitting on the Android fence, he goes on to quietly sing the praises of Palm as an up and coming smartphone games market. Gameloft seems interested that the Palm app store is managing to sell a considerably number of 200MB plus games, suggesting a more serious gamer is at the touchscreen.

As smartphones grow ever smarter, it seems Gameloft is also considering the closing gap between the likes of the iPhone's App Store and Xbox 360's Live Arcade. The living room doesn't seem to be beyond the mobile giant's vision.

"[The]console business is interesting for us for R&D. We will be spreading our key IPs to console."