Open Feint donosi besplatno mrežno igranje

Android Market raste astronomskom brzinom. Sa 4.5 milijardi instalacija, Android Market teži da postane najveći market aplikacija u svetu. Market postaje prioritet broj jedan za developere na mobilnim platformama. Kao rezultat ovoga, možemo videti ogroman broj iOS aplikacija koje prelaze i na Android.

Jedan tip aplikacija koje takođe prelaze sa iOS-a na Android su društvene igre. Ove igre su uglavnom besplatne, gde developeri zarađuju kupovinom unutar same igre ili virtualne prodavnice. Društvene igre su postale jako popularne na iOS-u zahvaljujući upravo tome što je iOS platforma ovo omogućavala na veoma lak način. Što još uvek nije slučaj na Android platformi, ali i to će da se promeni.

Da bi pomogli developerima na Android platformi da prave virtualne prodavnice u njihovim aplikacijama, OpenFeint je najavio svoj popularni OFX servis i za Android. OFX će prvo izaći u private beta fazi, sa registracijom otvorenom za ograničen broj developera. Pa ako ste developer i planirate virtualnu pijacu, posetite OpenFeint developersku stranicu i prijavite se što je pre moguće.

Igre su još uvek slaba tačka Androida u odnosu na iOS, i postoji dobar razlog za to. Iako Android nadmašuje prodaju iOS-a u udelu na tržištu, developeri i dalje više zarađuju na iOS platformi. Developeri moraju da imaju neki vid sigurnosti zarade na nekoj platformi kako bi se za nju i opredelili.

Sa ovakvim alatima, poput OpenFeint-ovog OFX-a, možemo očekivati još veću eksploziju kvalitetnih igara za Android platformu.

A evo i zvaničnog saopštenja OpenFeint-a:

OpenFeint Expands Free-to-Play Platform to Google’s Android
Game developers can now monetize their users by selling virtual currency and virtual goods

May 13, 2011 – Burlingame, Calif. – While Facebook-style developers rapidly move their games to mobile, traditional mobile game developers are adopting the same free-to-play model – giving games away and making money from in-game purchases. Google’s IAP system lets developers process in-game transactions, but most lack the virtual economy management system necessary to build profitable games.

With the private beta launch of OFX for Android, game developers can now easily build and manage profitable virtual economies without having to build and operate the servers themselves. OFX helps developers run complete virtual stores – stocking and selling virtual currency and goods, analyzing real time performance, and modifying inventory on the fly.

“IAP systems are like credit card machines – necessary to process transactions but somewhat useless without a store around it. OFX makes it easy for any game developer to build that store and have confidence in its ability to scale as they snag millions of DAUs,” said Jason Citron, founder and CEO of OpenFeint.

For games selected to participate in the private beta, OFX will use Google’s IAP to process payments. Future updates will include support for alternative payment providers, like direct-to-carrier billers.

“We’d rather focus on building great games than an incredibly complex scalable server infrastructure. Using OFX for iOS has been incredibly easy, so we’re excited to implement it in our upcoming Android games,” says Shainiel Deo, CEO of Halfbrick Studios.

OpenFeint is strongly invested in developing gaming on Android. Just last week it announced the launch of a new distribution channel for Android games in China, called “The9 Game Zone.” Earlier this year, it announced a strategic partnership with The9 to bring quality games to Android through the $100 million Fund9.

The OFX private beta is open for a limited time and will close as soon as all slots are filled. Developers interested in learning more about OpenFeint and participating in the OFX Private Beta should visit OpenFeint.com/developers/ofx.