Borrowed: Why Windows Phone's Game Library grows slow?

A major limitation that still exists in Windows Phone is probably the slow growth of the app ecosystem. No, I personally don't believe this as Windows Phone is just a newer platform and as far as I'm concerned, the platform is growing at a decent rate every day. However, for the current customer, waiting is not an option. Perhaps this is the reason why Windows Phones are still considered a 'growing' smartphone platform instead of a leading one.

From the normal app side, its okay to say that Windows Phone is definitely having a good growth. However, if you look more closely, its the game section that needs attention. Apps can still be ignored but games are still a strong demand for any platform. And when it comes to games, I can't but admit that the growth is slow. But there are reasons -- pretty much notable ones to reason this.

So, why are games delayed all the time for Windows Phones? Recently, WPCentral posted an article to explain this. I already researched before the arrival of this article but I failed to post within time. Moreover, this will allow me to save several keystokes. The reasons given in WPCentral are accurate and they match with the ones I found. If you are interested, you can check the in-depth article to know eveything.

Brief Explanation

In a nutshell, it is so because of two factors -- time and money. About the time factor, Microsoft promised that with its tools, apps can seamlessly ported from iOS or Android to Windows Phones. But the reality is not so. To be exact, a game can be ported from iOS to Windows Phone in half the time it takes to actually develop a brand new iOS game of the same kind -- without Xbox Live ofcourse. If its an XBL game, it takes double the time.

In short, it takes about 2 to 3 months to port the game from Android or iOS to Windows Phones. If the game's bigger, it takes more than that. Not so easy now, wasn't it?

Now, you must be asking -- "Why not develop the WP game in parallel with iOS and Android versions?". Here comes the money factor. No, developing a new game for Windows Phone is not a difficult job and can take the same time for creating a new iOS and Android game. But you need to consider the budget too and the profits you get from this. Right now, Android and iOS are the most popular platforms and just like any gaming company would do, these games would always be at first released on the popular platforms and later to other platforms. Developing in parallel requires more workmen and more money. Normally, no company would take risk in doing so and its quite natural. This is why most games arrive late for Windows Phones.

No need to worry! We're growing!

As WPCentral mentioned at the end, the time for worrying has come to an end. Right now, Windows Phone app ecosystem is growing at a stable rate and we are seeing new games pop up in the marketplace including free Xbox games from EA and other major game makers. Even though we had a rough track, it seems Windows Phone is finally gaining some momentum after all. Moreover, good news is that some of the future titles like Angry Birds: Star Wars 2 will be launched for Windows Phone too on the first day.

So, chill up and expect for more games and apps in the coming weeks. If you believed this app ecosystem would never survive, its high time to correct that error.