Cross-Platform Mobile Gaming Gaining Traction

andylim writes "Several mobile gaming companies are developing cross-platform multiplayer games allowing Android and iPhone users, for example, to play games against each other. Last month touchArcade reported on a cross-platform baseball game developed by Com2Us called Homerun Battle 3D. Unlike turn-based multiplayer mobile games, Homerun Battle 3D allows players to compete against each other instantly, but you don't see the other player — instead you only get to see your competitor's score being updated. Pushing cross-platform multiplayer games even further, a company called Bulky Pix has created a table-football-style game that displays the action as it happens — both players see the ball moving around. This hopefully suggests that cross-platform, multiplayer mobile shooters aren't far behind."

Comments

Correction

[not already in use]

You can in fact see the other player, if you enable the PiP option. The game itself is pretty fun, by the way.

Re:Correction

[CockMonster]

There's nothing fun about baseball... pixelated or not.

I disagree

[Monkeedude1212]

This hopefully suggests that cross-platform, multiplayer mobile shooters aren't far behind.

I wouldn't hope that on anybody. Last thing you need is getting BOOM HEADSHOT 'd so hard that you rage and throw your 300 dollar phone to the pavement.

Re:I disagree

[BadAnalogyGuy]

But with a built-in camera, teabagging becomes a personal experience.

Cross Platform?

[icebike]

Pitting one cellphone against another cellphone does not seem like cross platform. Looking at the specs the hardware is almost totally identical on many.

Similarly pitting one gaming console against others of the same ilk seems only slightly more impressive.

Ditto for general purpose computer gaming.

It will truly be cross platform when PC/Mac/Linux gamers can be in the mix with Play stations and iPhones with skill (and ping) being the only deciding factors.

Checkers and Chess, no problem. First Person shooters or team combat type games are a whole different story.

This is levels of magnitude harder than porting a game to yet another ARM processor with a slightly different video chipset.

I don't see anything but turn based games having much prospect of competing fairly across all platforms.

Re:Great!

[DdJ]

How come there are not any great games on normal Java phones? J2ME has so many libraries and they're capable of the same.

You can get one hint by tracking down the five most popular J2ME-enabled phones, and then trying to get the same app to run the same way on all of them.

You can get another hint by looking at the revenue earned in the J2ME-app market compared to the iPhone and Android app markets.

Re:Same Technology For Different Applications?

[icebraining]

You mean, something like a private twitter, with plenty of mobile apps?

The question is, how would the "service" know what room and activity the doctor would be doing? You can't expect them to be writing that stuff every time...