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Gameloft Changes Their Policy On Games In The Android Market

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Gameloft is one of the biggest names in mobile gaming. I’m sure you’ve heard and played, some of their widely successful games like Asphalt HD, Nova and Dungeon Hunter. No matter which device you have, they pretty much have a game for you. Even though some of their games shamelessly rip off triple-A console titles, they still manage to translate that console experience faithfully onto the small-screen.

One of the HUGE drawbacks with Gameloft was the complete absence of some of their biggest games from the Android Market. This meant you could only buy their games from their site and this is what lead to even bigger problems. Because of Gameloft’s DRM policies, once you changed devices, it was then a huge a hassle to get those games onto your new handset. It was this reason alone that many people in the Android community and various blog sites sort of boycotted Gameloft games altogether. People begged and pleaded with them to not only change their DRM policy, but also release their games into the Android Market.

Looks like Gameloft has finally wised up and listened to Android users eagerly waiting to fork over their hard earned money. Now, whenever you download a game from Gameloft’s website, that game can also be re-downloaded at a later time if you ever upgrade (or downgrade) your handset. Also, Gameloft is releasing many of their hottest games onto the Android Market which is nice for people that are already comfortable with using that system for buying apps (buying games for my phone off the internet still feels a little weird to me).

But what do you guys think? Has this changed your opinion of Gameloft? Will you actually buy games from their website or wait til they’re released onto the Android Market? I can tell you I’ve had my eye on BackStab for awhile now and I think I may feel comfortable enough to finally make a purchase.

[Via DroidGamers]

Chris Chavez
I've been obsessed with consumer technology for about as long as I can remember, be it video games, photography, or mobile devices. If you can plug it in, I have to own it. Preparing for the day when Android finally becomes self-aware and I get to welcome our new robot overlords.

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31 Comments

  1.  I wont be spending $5+ per game, but I will at least give them a shot if they are reasonably priced/free.

    1. Haha! I don’t mind paying for games. Been spending $50 my whole. $5 is barely a Happy Meal at McDonald’s… =p 

      1.  True that, but I much pefer the free games, maybe when I have more money I wont mind throwing some around.

        1.  free games are boring…….

        2. Just get an emulator like what my friends did. But yeah, paying for games are for suckers. haha thats why I got an Android phone vs an iphone. These idiots pay for everything. love the ads if it means getting the app for free. love amazon free app days.  

  2.  What is that supposed to be? Colonial Assassin’s Creed?

    1. They have no shame XD 

  3.  As soon as I see Gameloft games in the android market, I will definitely be purchasing on my G2x

  4. I will not buy a single game from their website even if it’s 90% off. At the same time, I’ll buy any good game from them so long as they release it to the Market.

  5. Once I made a purchase using my mobile network, then I made a purchase by wifi… my accounts were splitted because of it… the IMEI and ISP defined my account… when I sent an e-mail to support, all I was told is that my phone was not supported (G2) and my account didn’t exist… ever since, I stopped buying things from their website, even if they had awsome deals… never again… I bought 4 games off of them, 3 on mobile network and 1 on wifi… once at&t bought tmobile, my mobile network account dissapeared… so I will only purchase apps from gameloft if they are released to android market or amazon market, and that’s it! :)

  6. Now in developer console of Android Market you can set specifically on what device your game runs. Therefore it’s now easy for Gameloft to create apks for selected devices and filter others. I think this is one of the main reasons why they finally started to publish games there. Let’s be real – considering various HW and SW preferences of Android devices it is really hard to please all the users with just one apk.

  7. I buy my apps from the market.  I really don’t shop anywhere else.  Unless it’s something I have to have and nothing from Gameloft I have to have.

    So Gameloft misses out on me whenever they don’t release their game to the market.  I bought Gameloft games when they were on the market.

    I’m sure there are millions of people like me.  It’s not an ideological position it’s about convenience.

    1. I think a lot of people only shop at the Android Market. Most people I know don’t even think about where they can get apps. They just click the Android Market icon and think that’s the only place they can get them. I’m sure not being in the Market hurts sales. . . at least imo. 

  8.  i’m still amazed at how gameloft managed to stay afloat with such poor quality games

    1.  Poor quality? You have to be kidding me. Gameloft makes the best games i have found for Android. Please name these all mighty game dev’s you speak of that make so called high quality games.

      1. Gameloft’s games are all pretty graphics but crappy gameplay. Same applies to most other phone games. Better games are found anywhere but on phones.

  9.  Not really related to gameloft but still game orientated  – why do I have pay £4.87 for something like FIFA 10 where as its 69p on the iphone market. P*sses me off.

  10. It says my device is not compatible, when I try to buy Modern Combat 2. LoL! I can’t believe we still not allowed to know WHY my device is not compatible.. that would help a lot, because it IS compatible.. :P

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  12.  I had Nova and Modern Combat.  I say had because as soon as I started flashing custom roms on my OG Droid I got a message saying that the games were (I believe it said) Not Original Copies and locked me out.  Same Droid + Different Rom = No Play.  So I refuse to buy any more games form the Gameloft website.  That being said I would consider buying a game from the Android or Amazon market/app store.  And $5 for a quality game is a good deal.  I was paying Verizon around $10 for crappy games on my LG Dare.  I also buy game in hopes of giving Devs an incentive to make good games for the platform.  If they can’t make money, they won’t make games.

  13.  I’ll buy a PC or console game for $50 before I buy one of these games because the processor, screen size, and controls are lightyears ahead of a touch screen phone. The exception would be an experia play, but I think that’s a niche market. As much as I love portable gaming, I just don’t have time. If I have downtime, I have my PC/console. If I’m waiting somewhere/something like that, free, touchscreen-designed games do the trick for keeping me entertained. If I’m shelling out big bucks it’s for legitimate entertainment, not for passing time…

    1. Different strokes for different folks.  I think there are plenty of games on the Gameloft market that meet or exceed expectations even compared to an Xbox 360 game.  

  14. The developers work hard to create games and apps for us. The android market will stagnate if stingy people refuse to pay for games. That’s why we dont have games as nice as iPhone games, because android users have a rep for never paying for games. The big-name developers don’t want to work hard for the peanuts that ad-supported games bring in.

    I have spent maybe 50$ in the last 2 months on games and apps. That is less the price of one new PlayStation 3 game. And I am doing my part to support the android market and the developers, and helping to ensure that the market has a bright future.

    1. I have to agree.  People want great games, but they want them for little or nothing.  If I have to have a regular job to pay the bills and use my spare time to write a game, then that game is only going to get the time I have to give.  And that’s if I’m not already brain dead from my day job. 

  15. I really don’t mind the price. What I would like to see is them backing up Google Market or Amazon Market and have a single source for DRM and purchasing.  Until then I will not buy an app from them

  16. Great to hear. Appearently the Android Market gets more and more recognized as the big thing noone can afford to pass by.
    I have bought several games and apps on the market even though it would be very easy to obtain these for free via other channels.
    I prefer to buy them, because I want to show my support for good coding.

    Absolutely love Samurai II Vengeance and Bang Bang Racing. Have played Atomic Bomber Free and bought the paid version because I liked that game so much.

    Keep coding code monkeys ;) !

  17. I tried gaming on phone and there’s just one problem with touchscreens:  I can’t see through my fingers… 

    1. Someone needs to make a phone with a touchscreen on the back and LCD screen infront lol 

  18.  I’ve purchased a ton of games from Gameloft and if they are on the market I will buy them there from now on as it’s a lot simpler. 

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