AuroraFeint‘s OpenFeint was a pioneering platform for providing developers with the tools to create social gaming options on the iPhone. Then Apple decided to create its own Game Center. Then, as now, the company’s insists its still playing nice with Apple.
But the fact is, OpenFeint has decided to take its 9,200 developers and over 2,200 games over to Android.
“To date, Google has only made small gains in gaming with the acquisition of AdScape in 2007 and the launch of flash games thanks to a partnership with Mochi Media in 2008. OpenFeint for Android will provide more than just an SDK code but a new game discovery and payment solution.”
Coming along for the ride are game publishers Astraware, Digital Chocolate, Glu Mobile and Hudson Soft, as well as indie studios like Distinct Dev, ustwo, Pik Pok and RocketCat Games.
Certainly the OpenFeint developer community, whose efforts on the iOS have attracted 28 million users, is a long stride forward.
What If?
The question seems obvious, however. If OpenFeint proves instrumental in making Androids a power in mobile gaming, will Google decide it should have its own official mobile game development kit, just like Apple?
“If Google did, that would be a nice problem for us to have,” said Eros Resmini, VP of Marketing. “It would tell us we were, once again, doing the right thing”
Peter Relan, Executive Chairman:
“Neither Apple nor Google is motivated to work across both platforms. Assuming the world will have both iOS and Android, OpenFeint will remain interesting to developers and users as the only multi-playform SDK and community.”
OpenFeint also closed a $4 million investment from The9, an Chinese online game company, this week. Previous investment included last October’s investment by Japan’s DeNA.
