The People Speak Week 11: Apps? WTF are apps?

Well, we're not getting rid of them anytime soon. Mobile games are here to stay. Whether you've got an iPod Touch, an Android phone, or a Sony platform capable of playing PSN Minis, apps are everywhere.

The little games that could aren't exactly the highest scoring pieces of software and there sure are a ton of them. What do you think? Are they worth having around? What's the right price for a mobile game? Will they ever be on the same level of the video games we know and love?

 

I think the whole Game Applications are great for starting independent studios to make a step in the industry without having to invest millions of dollars into a big-budget, current-gen console game. For every Call of Duty and Halo, there's a Minecraft and Angry Birds out there that's just as popular and fun for a fraction of the cost. It also helps out casual gamers who can't fork over hundreds of dollars to enjoy a hour or two of gaming on their spare time.

Though the problem with the casual market is that hardcore, for lack of a better term, gamers will have their differences with this market because they feel it's not about gaming and more about the social aspect of said games. Think of it in a sense of when Microsoft added XBox 360 Achievements: you have your base players who will play the games they enjoy, but there are also the gamers who horde Achievements to have a high score, that gamers will not enjoy since they're playing games for the more social aspect than just gaming to game, calling such suspects "Achievement Whores".

It's a weird medium that has its own dedicated sides. But in the end, both sides win for the fact that when the social/casual community gets a game like: Minecraft, bit.trip, or Angry Birds to a level of success that it has had, this will provide the stepping stones for that developing team to possibly get published by a first-party publisher to provide funds to make a Current-Gen title that the normal/hardcore gamers can flourish and enjoy themselves.

Apps are the future, and it can hopefully help out the Gamer future as well, providing a needed breath of fresh ideas into the melting pot.

 

Apps aren't meant to be on the same level as real games. They're simple. They're comparable to little flash games you play on things like AddictingGames and NotDoppler. In fact, a lot of apps are flash games...except you have to pay for them. Bloons Tower Defense 4 is a prime example.

Apps are limited. With the iPod Touch, you're supposed to be able to control everything by touching the screen and tilting. It's simple, and for a lot of apps, it works. But real games will never take a back-seat to apps, not even on the NGP. Functional apps are great and will be popular on the NGP, but not many people will just be playing game apps and minis on it.

 

I'm going to follow somewhat of what De-Ting said. Apps can be anything from annoying high pitched noises, to a little cat that moves it's mouth when sound is created. Like De-Ting said, most mobile games are flash. Even some classic games that you find on most mobile phones (Tetris and Pac-Man to name a couple) are flash.

In my opinion, meh. I don't much care for these types of games. They're just little fun games that people will play if they don't have their consoles next to them. The main reason why I don't like them is because they're $2.99/monthly. I'm not going to keep forking over that much for some silly game I don't play much of.

 

Depends on if you bought a mobile "game" or "app" At least that's what it is like with me.

 

Apps are like those mini, gourmet cupcakes at the bakery down the block. I think: I can afford to blow $3 on you. And the I regret the moment I'm done with consumption (or in this case: my 2nd time playing around with the app).

 

http://www.gamerevolution.com/manifesto ... otick-2839
http://www.gamerevolution.com/manifesto ... nsole-2857
http://www.gamerevolution.com/manifesto ... fired-2869

 

The games are still games, they are kind of replacing the nostalgia factor from old school games where you had three lives and 2 continues and eight levels to beat and stuff like that.

So yeah, they are valid.

 

Apps are something modern couples play with on their cellphones (not together) because they've run out of stuff to talk about and are on the verge of a break up but they just don't damn well know it.


That's what apps are.

 

Thanks!
http://www.gamerevolution.com/manifesto ... fapps-4753