If 2009 was the year when the mobile world went all in with Apple and its App Store, 2010 is shaping up to the year when other mobile platforms carve back market share.



Android phones such as Droid are picking up kudos, sales and generating mobile traffic, BlackBerry has announced significant platform enhancements, while others including Samsung, Vodafone, Nokia (with Ovi), and Windows Mobile are also attempting to push games and apps.

But where does that leave publishers as they try to allocate their resources?

One such is Korean company Com2uS, which as well as having success on the App Store with sports games such as Homerun Battle 3D and RPGs like Chronicles of Inotia, has recently had a #1 game on the Samsung Application Store with GrandPa Golf.

We caught up with Joony Koo, Com2uS' team leader for global business development, to get his take on the company's future options.

Pocket Gamer: Most of the industry's still focused on iPhone but what opportunities do you think will be available in 2010?

Joony Koo: There are open markets coming from all corners: carrier's open markets; OEMs' open markets; open markets from each platform and OS.

For Com2uS, Android and Windows Mobile will be our second candidates. Any open markets that fall into the same OS category will be managed. If there's a spot where our quality games will be easily and effectively reached by gamers, that's where our games will be.

How do you decide which games go to which platforms?

At the moment, we don't know which platforms are the biggest markets. We're working closely with handset manufacturers to gather information on how the handset device market is evolving.

If you view these devices as game consoles, I'm sure we'll get a good grip of which platforms will progress.

Your game GrandPar Golf has been #1 on the Samsung App Store, so will it comes to other platforms?

We don't have plans to release it on other platforms yet, but that will always be an option.

Why do you think it was popular for Samsung users?

First of all, there isn't much competition for golf games in the Samsung Application Store. Plus, it's a full 3D game and the concept is hilarious.

How important is the fact you can charge higher prices for games on other app stores compared to Apple's App Store?

I don't see that other app stores do offer a higher price than we see with Apple.

Some games in the App Store are very expensive, while our game Homerun Battle 3D is priced at $4.99 and has been in the US Top 100 for over 3 months.

What technology do you have in order to help you port games more easily between different platforms?

We have a technology that makes the porting process much easier. However, technology cannot guarantee high quality. At the end of the day, it's developers who bring out the creativity and fun from each games, regardless of the platform.

Are you disappointed about the performance of games on Android?

You have to think about what's good about the Apple App Store. There's no additional porting, there's a big buzz in the market, and the shopping experience is great.

Android will get better but Google will need to solve porting issues and also need some success stories such as Super Monkey Ball's launch on the App Store. That really encouraged developers to get involved. Android also needs to provide a good user experience for the Market in terms of the device and the PC.

Do you have any plans to develop for the likes of BlackBerry and Ovi?

We are looking into which platforms fit us best. Naturally we will expand to cover BlackBerry. However, our main focus now is on the Apple App Store, Android and Windows Mobile. When we have enough confidence in these three platform then we will consider expanding to cover other platforms.

At the moment, it's very hard to work out which platforms or markets will be best to support. 2010 will be another year of change.

Thanks to Joony for his time.

You can keep up to date with Com2uS via web, Facebook and Twitter.