Microsoft Has “Too Much Invested” to Let Apple Win Mobile Gaming

Microsoft is “very serious” about competing with Apple in the mobile gaming market.

With the release of Epic’s Infinity Blade on the iOS platform today, it seems that so-called hardcore gaming has finally found its way into the App Store which has been dominated by diversions and casual games like Angry Birds. Despite Apple’s prominence in the market, Kieron Connell of Microsoft Games Studios says that the company from Redmond is still attempting to hit it big in mobile games. Windows Phone 7 is a viable platform for games and will hopefully be able to compete with Microsoft’s rivals.

“I think there are too many people with too much money invested to let Apple win in terms of flooding the entire market,” Connell told people at the Evolve In London Conference yesterday. “You’d better believe Microsoft is very serious about Windows Phone 7, and protecting their part of the business. It’s going to be an interesting time – that’s for sure.”

Not everyone is convinced that Microsoft is a major player in the market. Neil Young, CEO of mobile games-maker Ngmoco, said that the iOS platform leads the pack but that Google’s Android operating system was picking up momentum. “[iOS] is dominant in the west,” he said. “In the East, it’s probably Android then some of Europe is probably up for grabs. Android has lots and lots of momentum right now but an inferior publishing model.”

Young failed to mention Microsoft or Windows Phone 7 at all.

For the record, I’m not sure that saying that you’ve put too much money into a project for it to fail is a good thing. Windows Phone 7 could dethrone the App Store eventually, but showing desperation this early doesn’t instill me with a lot of confidence.

Source: GamesIndustry.biz