Interview

Interview: Exit Games talks iPhone and Android

And what role connected gaming has to play in both

Interview: Exit Games talks iPhone and Android
Earlier today, Exit Games announced that its Neutron connected gaming platform now supports Android, alongside its existing stable of gaming platforms.

We got on the line with the company's head of product management Robert Boehm to find out more on that, as well as iPhone and other gaming platforms. Exit started out focused on mobile games, but Neutron has since evolved into a cross-platform tool. Is that side of things taking off?

"Partners and clients are always interested in cross-platform, but there isn't too much drive from the market," he says.

"It's more of a buzzword at the moment, rather than a major selling point - there are not so many cross-platform games actually out there. But it is important and unique in our go-to-market strategy, as these platforms will become more important in the future."

Exit added iPhone support to Neutron earlier this year, and Boehm is hugely enthusiastic about the potential of Apple's family of gaming devices (not forgetting the iPod touch). "It's the perfect platform for bringing connected features," he says.

"The device has a focus on connectivity, it's bundled with a flat-rate data tariff, and it has the distribution channel with the App Store. There's no fragmentation as with J2ME, and it's got a big screen and the new touch and motion-sensing controls. That makes it the perfect platform for innovation, and the business case is there too."

Boehm says he's seeing a mixture of approaches to connectivity from developers making games for iPhone and Android, from console firms looking to make online multiplayer games through to social games firms wanting to integrate iPhone games with Facebook friendlists.

What's happening with publishers' approach to connected gaming on iPhone though? Are they looking to just have connected features in individual games, or are they keen to set up their own communities which all their games tie into?

"I'm sure the big ones will try to push their own community on every platform," says Boehm. "For example, EA has its own community on console. With iPhone, it's technically possible to create your own publisher community and identify users by their unique device numbers. But will this be possible on the App Store, and how will it fit together? There might be more of an opportunity on Android, which is open."

One of the features of the Neutron platform is the ability for developers and publishers to use micro-transactions, getting players to pay small amounts in-game for new content of some kind. Is this a growing trend?

"Every developer and publisher I talk to is requesting that," says Boehm. "It's definitely a very important thing. I believe it could be a new way for independent companies to create new innovative games with new business models, and compete with the big brands. For those companies to be able to give a game away for free and then sell items within it could be really important."

However, he concedes that on iPhone at least, micro-transactions won't be possible until Apple allows them.

How is Exit Games's business doing when it comes to Java and BREW games? "It's doing very well in the US," he says. "We have big games like Taito's Puzzle Bobble, Disney's Trivial Pursuit and Konami's Dance Dance Revolution Mobile live and distributed through all the carriers. People can make more money from connected games, because distribution costs are lower than in Europe, and we have subscription billing."

He also says that US operators are starting to demand connectivity in games from their publisher partners - naming Verizon as one example. As Boehm points out, the US has overtaken Europe for connected mobile games. Is there any hope for them taking off in Europe?

"It's really tough in Europe, although it's emerging and we have some games live," says Boehm. "But we have lots of hope. It all depends on how visible gaming is within a carrier. They're seeing that gaming is a worthy market, thanks to iPhone, so they just need a little push..."

Contributing Editor

Stuart is a freelance journalist and blogger who's been getting paid to write stuff since 1998. In that time, he's focused on topics ranging from Sega's Dreamcast console to robots. That's what you call versatility. (Or a short attention span.)