25 October 2010

Smartphone games

The iOS and Android platforms are becoming popular platforms for people to develop games on, and some people are even starting to let that get to their heads - trying to pretend they're "big boys".


Here's an ad by Sony for the PSP, making fun of iPhone games:



Got to agree with them to be honest. Platforms like the PSP and the DS are proper mobile gaming devices, they actually have something us gamers would play, and not just some flash games in the guise of apps.


An iPhone game came out a while back that "simulated" running a game development studio called "Game Dev Story". Gamers rejoiced at the prospect, I'm sure. That is, until they actually played the game, which showed off just how out of touch the mobile phone game devs are.

Adrian Chmielars from People Can Fly said "Game dev story on iPhone is as much about real game dev as Bokeback Mountain is about a skiing accident in Aspen" and "[it] might actually be tons of fun for people who are not in game dev, but for us... I mean, what developer's first hire is a secretary?".


So, my faithful followers, tell me - do you take mobile phone game seriously? Are there any iPhone or Android games you think are good enough to be called "games"?

96 comments:

  1. 9.99!!!! Sucker!!!
    LOL
    Good video !
    Nice blog

    ReplyDelete
  2. Step yo game up! I thought psps were dead.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Nope, they are not good enough to be called games.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I'm glad BREW is almost extinct, greedy Qualcomm

    ReplyDelete
  5. I have yet to find a mobile "game" game. Fun distracty time-wasters, on the other hand, abound.

    ReplyDelete
  6. To me, Droid and iPhone games are a lot like Wii games. Casual, but entertaining. The DS and the PSP are in a totally different league however, and I love mine to death.

    ReplyDelete
  7. you've got to try out the latest games on the iPhone!

    Modern Combat 2 just came out, and it's amazing.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Planning to get my own smartphone soon. Don't know how much I'll use it for gaming but I guess it depends on how fun it is (obviously, duh...)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Nope, I don' take them seriously. Just there to kill time when I'm on the train or bus. I don't feel right playing my NDS or PSP in public :x

    ReplyDelete
  10. lol i love sonys comercials
    Kevin Butler FTW

    ReplyDelete
  11. They are just time killers, where as psp/ds games are actual time investments

    ReplyDelete
  12. i suppose nintendo ds is better

    ReplyDelete
  13. Meh... if I would play games on my way to the school, on the bus, then thats all I'd do all day! I like to have my games stay at home.

    ReplyDelete
  14. hm dont like them. like someone before said, waste of money and time in my opinion

    ReplyDelete
  15. I playing very rarely games when I'm on the way..
    but it is a good idea for bored ppl in a train for ex

    ReplyDelete
  16. My phone is so primitive it has no games. It's battery life is so short, too, that I wouldn't dare play games on it if I could.

    ReplyDelete
  17. meh I enjoy the games on my iphone, but I like this ad.

    ReplyDelete
  18. iPhone gaming is just getting started. :)

    ReplyDelete
  19. I still think the mobile phone "gaming" is a bad joke being played on everyone.

    ReplyDelete
  20. its not a real form of gaming i dont think

    ReplyDelete
  21. I play these games when I'm taking a dump at work

    ReplyDelete
  22. As with every platform, some games are fun and some aren't.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Phones will always be phones. I have a PSX EMU with ff7, and an snes emu with earthbound on my phone. Sadly, I never seem to play them.

    ReplyDelete
  24. These games are time killers. That's all it really is, not real games and doesn't count as gaming. Cheers mate.

    ReplyDelete
  25. I have never seen a mobile game that wasn't a pointless time waster.

    ReplyDelete
  26. lol I a always playin them on the toilet too!

    ReplyDelete
  27. isnt bad, but im not ready to pay for something like that ^^

    ReplyDelete
  28. Smartphone games are good when you can't have a true mobile gaming device around.

    ReplyDelete
  29. I like my DS. I'd like it more if the games weren't so kiddy.

    ReplyDelete
  30. I've never considered smartphones as proper gaming devices, and it looks to be some time before I ever will.

    ReplyDelete
  31. well, are they going to come out with a new PSP?

    ReplyDelete
  32. Can't wait for PSP 2 sooooo excited.

    ReplyDelete
  33. I'm not a huge fan of playing stuff on my phone, prefer to just use a DS...

    ReplyDelete
  34. Only good games on phones are emulator games :)

    ReplyDelete
  35. I heard today that Sony was developing a "playstation phone", though I can't see why they would run an ad like that if they were. Probably fake.

    ReplyDelete
  36. the only games that are good for smartphones are sudoku and snake

    ReplyDelete
  37. No way in hell will this work!

    ReplyDelete
  38. Not my cuppa tea...

    ReplyDelete
  39. These have nothing on snake!

    Also, I'm a traveller, therefore no hair cut allowed. It's the rules :p

    ReplyDelete
  40. Ahh I miss my old CTW psp 5.00 m33.

    ;_;

    ReplyDelete
  41. cellphone games are good when taking a dump and forgot to bring your PSP along

    ReplyDelete
  42. cell phone games are getting better I must say.

    ReplyDelete
  43. There is a good iphone game.. No idea what it's called, but it's based around a little blob that gets bigger and smaller and has to keep falling down the screen. Trippy and hours of fun, anyone know what it was called though? :/

    ReplyDelete
  44. Nintendo will always dominate the handheld industry, they created it after all and have had the most experience. They just seem to know what makes a good handheld.

    ReplyDelete
  45. I want to see what the new PSP will look like

    ReplyDelete
  46. in a few years, these device games will rule

    ReplyDelete
  47. Nope, no real games. unless you count sudoku and dope wars.

    ReplyDelete
  48. iphone has a lot of entertaining lil addicting games which I enjoy just as much as regular ones

    ReplyDelete
  49. I prefer iPhone games.

    ReplyDelete
  50. Oh hang on, I think I know the name of the game now! Blobber. It was pretty sick, spent ages one night on it

    ReplyDelete
  51. i love sonys comercials
    Kevin Butler FTW

    ReplyDelete
  52. It's that awesome kid from role models!!!

    ReplyDelete
  53. I like my smartphone games... I can do it while at work

    ReplyDelete
  54. yay more stuff i cant do cause i dont have a iphone lol

    ReplyDelete
  55. looking forward to get my android smartphone :D

    ReplyDelete
  56. I don't take them seriously, but now that I'm seeing better ones come out I may start

    ReplyDelete
  57. Android games do suck... except for Angry Birds.

    ReplyDelete
  58. I could definitely see why game developers would go to phones instead of handheld game consoles. Everyone has a phone, only a few people got handhelds.

    ReplyDelete
  59. Angry birds lol love that game :D

    ReplyDelete
  60. I feel we should support hte smaller guys as much as possible. Kind of like music,- screw record labels, let the little man make his own beats. then we can allow for more creativity and construction of awesomeness!

    ReplyDelete
  61. just got copter on my blackberry

    amazing phone game

    ReplyDelete
  62. iPhone games forever! nonetheless nice article man :D

    ReplyDelete
  63. i use my android only for stuff that takes only several minutes. for real games i use a nds or pc :F

    ReplyDelete
  64. this looks awesome

    ReplyDelete
  65. Minecraft should be for PSP =_=

    ReplyDelete
  66. I really hate that the iPhone is pretending to be a console nowadays, really get a PSP or a DS guys!

    ReplyDelete
  67. Games on handhelds are pretty shit for what they are. I much prefer consoles and the pc

    ReplyDelete
  68. I like playing tetris on my phone more than anything else!! :D

    ReplyDelete
  69. But if you play games on your phone you dont have to carry around 2 things...

    ReplyDelete
  70. rather play games on a console, personally...

    ReplyDelete
  71. 9.99 sukka!
    Btw the playstation phone?

    ReplyDelete
  72. I only have games on my Android phone to have something to do on the bus

    ReplyDelete
  73. I only have Android games to have something to do on the bus

    ReplyDelete
  74. PSP games are legit. Better than Nintendo DS any day. Good reviews though, I have some myself check em ^_^

    ReplyDelete