Gameloft is one of the largest mobile app game development companies with revenues at approximately $132 million in the last three quarters (just to give you an idea of how big). They have recently decided to significantly cut their investment in the Android platform, “just like … many others” according to Alexandre de Rochefort the Finance Director of Gameloft. Since the release of this statement there has been all kinds of buzz on the Internet about it with comparisons of the Apple App Store vs the Android Market since Gameloft has had much success in the Apple App Store. So what do we think about it?

It’s simple, it’s no secret that the iPhone has some really good apps and that the developers can make a good profit in the App Store, however, I think Android critics (Gameloft included) are overlooking a very important element of the Android platform…it’s open source. This means that the sky is the limit with what developers can to do. They can basically create anything that they want. With that said, let’s take a look at the paid games that Gameloft offers in the Android Market.

UNOâ„¢

• This is a great game, in fact I did a review on this one not too long ago and I gave it our Highest Seal of Approval. The only issue that I see with other Android users is that they are not willing to pay $2.99 for this game because 1.) you cannot turn off the sound 2.) for this price you should be able to play others online and 3.) the size of the file is quite large which causes the game to lag with some users. So if Gameloft fixed those 3 issues they might see an improvement in sales.

Midnight Bowling 2

• Great graphics but that’s about it. The game lags quiet a bit and the gameplay itself if boring, not to mention you have to go through a tutorial every time you do anything in the game. No real challenge here and definitely not worth $2.99.

Platinum Sudoku®

• Lots of gameplay options for this game but the graphics for the actual game are disappointing compared to the other Gameloft games. The game is to the point and does provide a great, electronic version of Sudoku and the solver mode and custom puzzle features are a plus. However, this is another game that should have the capability to play other players online and it does not. There are many free Sudoku apps that do the same thing in the Android Market.

Chessmasterâ„¢

• Really? You cannot charge $2.99 for a chess game app with the low quality of graphics and the amount of bugs that this app contains, period. Not too much else to say about this one, look at this screen shot, it speaks for itself.

Brain Challengeâ„¢

• This game app features a bunch of mini games that test your memory, logic, math, visual and concentration skills. The app’s description says that it “takes full advantage of your Android’s capabilities for everyday use and comfort.” but the accelerometer feature does not work properly, when you try to tilt your phone it tries to go into landscape mode and then you get an error telling you that this mode is not available. The graphics for the menus are pretty good and the animations are good as well. However,some of games don’t have that great of graphics. The games are fun to play but the app takes awhile to load each mini game. It’s not a horrible game but it’s not worth the $2.99.

The Settlers®

• In general the Settlers is a great game but if you have played it else where then you will be disappointed with this version of it. You basically follow a tutorial and the game lags…yeah no one is going to pay $2.99 for this game.

CSI: Miamiâ„¢

• Great game but only one level? This will not sell well for $2.99.

Assassin’s Creedâ„¢

• Great game but the touch screen controls are too big but they are placed far way enough from the gameplay area so you can see what’s going on in the game. Also, the game lags a bit and the graphics could be a lot better.

Big Range Hunting 2

• Not a bad game, the graphics are pretty good but the controls really should be based on the trackball. The touch screen controls for this game just really don’t work out that well for it. It makes the game really difficult to play and not fun to play at all.

NFL 2010

• The graphics for this game are not of quality to say the least. The user should have the ability to play in landscape mode to give them more room. The game lags a bit and is not accurate with the response times.

The Oregon Trail

• The app forecloses way too much. Can’t really even play it to give my opinion.

Bubble Bash® HD

• This is a great game with lots of levels and good graphics. The controls work which is also good. To play you aim with your finger and shoot the different colored bubbles. You need to pop 3 or more of the same color in order to make them disappear. The game is very similar to Snood.

Derek Jeter Pro Baseball 2009

• Bad graphics, bad controls and bad accuracy. It seems like this game was not formatted well enough for the Android platform.

Block Breaker Deluxe 2 HD

• This is a great game but it lags way too much. It’s a shame too because the graphics are pretty done and this game is a classic that has been re-done many times but this version needs some work.

Midnight Pool® 2

• Good graphics but the controls are not good. Because of the controls the game is not really that fun to play and makes the game not worth $2.99.

Midnight Hold’em Poker

• It’s a good poker game but the graphics could be better especially because the game focuses mostly on the players and not as much on the cards. Probably a bird’s eye view of the table would be better and you would not notice the old school graphics as much. It’s a good game to learn how to play poker and it’s actually one of the cheapest poker games in the Android Market to date at $2.99.

Million Dollar Poker feat. Gus

• This game is huge improvement as far as combining the two possible views for the game together. In this game you can see both the players as well as a bird’s eye view of the table. With this layout it would be great to have the ability to play other people online. There are a few bugs such as lag, freezes and the controls are not as responsive which can make you actually lose a bet or even the game.

1 vs 100â„¢

• If you are going to make a trivia game that people will not install and get a refund then the answers to the questions need to actually be correct. For quite a few of the questions even if you select the right answer the game will say that it’s wrong.

Prince of Persia

• This is actually a good game. The controls are on the display screen but I found they they actually worked for this game and I was still able to see the main character while I used the controls. The game is pretty fun to play and there are tutorials that will pop up occasionally to tell you how to use the controls to move on the to next part of the level. The graphics are decent but they still have that old school feel to them.

Night At The Museum 2

• This is really disappointing, you cannot really play the game because of the placement of the controls.

Dogz 2

• With a game like this you absolutely cannot leave out a save game capability. There is really no motivation to play a game like this without that feature. Other than that, the game might be a good one. Not sure if it’s worth $2.99, though.

Gangstar 2: Kings of L.A.

• Absolutely awful controls and the graphics are not impressive. There are 75 different levels in 6 different areas which is such a shame because if this game’s controls and graphics were better the game might actually be worth $2.99.

New York Nights 2

• This game will not go past the Gameloft screen. C’mon, really? $2.99 for this???

Asphalt 3 : Street Rules HD

• The game has pretty cool 3D graphics but the controls are a bit off and it really ruins this game. It has potential but it needs some work on the controls. Also, there needs to be a better solution for the boost control, it does not work out well they it currently is by having to press the trackball.

Real Soccer 2009 HD

• I could not find this game in the Android Market to try out.

Spider-Man: Toxic City

• From the main menu the buttons do not respond well if you try to use the touch screen to navigate through the app. The controls are used by the display screen for the actual gameplay. The directional button that you use to control Spiderman is so big that you can only see him if he stays within a small space on the screen. The attack and jump buttons do not always respond and the game is just not fun to play since you can barely see or control Spiderman while playing. The graphics are not really the best either, they look a bit old school and the game lags a bit from time to time.

Overall, it looks like the main issues with the Gameloft games are that they were not really properly converting their iPhone games to work well on the Android. You simply cannot take a game that was created for the iPhone, not convert it properly, not take into consideration the different screen sizes, not alter the game to work with the device’s different capabilities, use a lower quality for the graphics, price it at $2.99 and expect them to sell. Just because it has Gameloft’s name on it does not mean that Android users are just going to pay $2.99 for games that foreclose, lag, have poor controls and have graphics that look like the graphics from the classic NES and Atari game systems. If Gameloft took the time to convert their games to work well for the Android platform and completed them with graphics like they do for other platforms they may have had a huge success with the Android Market. Hopefully they will take into consideration the numerous complaints about their games in the Android Market and make their games work well with the Android Platform.

Please feel free to leave your own experiences with these games as well as your comments on this issue.

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