Fruit Ninja developer throws a halfbrick at Google's Android Market

It's not rare for criticism to be aimed towards the Android Marketplace. Many developers, most notably Gameloft, have snubbed it for that very reason, instead distributing titles through their own stores or third-party platform GetJar.

However, it seems that the Android Market has other issues too.

Asked in a recent interview about the financial viability of developing for Android over Apple's App Store, Phil Larsen, chief marketing officer at Halfbrick Studios, had some choice words to say.

“Despite some enthusiastic Android gamers claiming otherwise, that market is much smaller than iTunes by a significant margin.” Larson said.

“Android devices are selling very well, but the core gaming ecosystem is not set up like the App Store is in regards to usability and consistency.”

The openness of the Android platform is often touted as a superior model to Apple's walled-garden approach. Larsen disagrees.

“There are no checks or reviews on Android – you upload your game, or app, or program of any kind, and it is live on the store immediately. Overall, game downloads are much lower on Android, even at the top of the charts.”