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The PocketGamer.biz week that was: PlayStation Mobile, the case of clause 2.25 and Apple goes (a teeny bit) console

The past 7 days in bite-sized portions

The PocketGamer.biz week that was: PlayStation Mobile, the case of clause 2.25 and Apple goes (a teeny bit) console
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iOS + Android + PS Vita ...

This week, PlayStation Mobile rolled out on the PS Vita and PlayStation certified Android devices, offering users a curated selection of optimised games while filtering out all the App Store chaff.

That was the stated intention, anyway.

Back in June 2012, SCE head Jim Ryan claimed that PlayStation Mobile users wouldn't "stumble upon any of the junk that exists in the wider marketplace."

To be fair to Mr Ryan, PlayStation Mobile is not full of junk. In fact, there are great games on the service – one of which I've already lost hours to. However, it's not an unblemished selection, and this is the problem.

Sony's vision of a curated store that's exclusively populated with gaming gems is already undermined.

For the platform to succeed, Sony needs to keep that quality bar stringently high. When you're competing against established app marketplaces, there's no value in offering a small selection of mixed quality.

Perhaps this is the inevitable consequence of requiring games on the platform to be developed in C#. After all, it's a relatively small group of developers that will be willing and able to make that effort for PlayStation Mobile.

If Sony's hoping to play curator, it will need a sizeable longlist to choose from if it's to have any hope of success. But that's quite enough of my wittering – let's move on to our bite-sized overview of the last seven days' worth of news.

Platform wars
Funding, start ups and acquisitions
  • Nexon acquires Japanese developer gloops in a deal worth $467.9 million.
  • We're committed to developers – says Qualcomm senior director Liat Ben-Zur – and that's why we're dedicating $370,000 to app contests.
  • Microsoft and Barnes & Noble sign off on their $300 million strategic alliance, rebranding their joint venture Newco as the snappier sounding Nook Media.
Monetisation
  • In this week's edition of the PocketGamer.biz Charticle, we take a look at Rovio's Bad Piggies, and see how effectively it's bringing home the bacon.
  • CMO Jennifer Vela-Valido explains how Geosophic can help developers drive downloads and get a better return on their advertising inventory.
  • Localising an app into a region's native language will produce an appreciable increase in downloads and revenue, according to the latest report from Distimo.
Industry voices
The curious case of clause 2.25
  • PocketGamer.biz editor Keith Andrew asks: is Apple clamping down on third-party app promotion services? Clause 2.25 in Apple's recently updated App Review Guidelines certainly suggests as much…
  • Consultant Tadhg Kelly reckons that Apple's new dev guidelines will avoid a Facebook style farce.
  • AppGratis CEO Simon Dawlat argues that the changes are an attempt to stamp out App Store copycats.
  • When Keith Andrew takes a straw poll of opinion, the developers he speaks to believe that Apple's trying to ensure its control over all aspects of its ecosystem.
  • The palpable sense of confusion in the industry has Keith whip out his soapbox and proclaim that Apple's rules and regulations aren't the problem – it's the way it delivers them.
James Nouch
James Nouch
PocketGamer.biz's news editor 2012-2013