The new iPhone 3.0 software could help mobile game micro-transactions become as popular in the West as they are in South Korea, says Hoyun Shin, VP of the International Development division at Com2uS.
"In countries like Korea and Japan, games with in-app purchasing have satisfied everyone involved," he tells PocketGamer.biz.
"Extended contents and the add-fun satisfied game users, and lucrative sales made content developers and service providers happy! But implementing micro-transactions in wireless games both for iPhone and iPod touch and traditional mobile phones have been very difficult in western markets."
Com2uS has been releasing micro-transaction enabled mobile games in Korea since 2006, so the publisher will be looking to bring its knowledge in this area to bear on the App Store.
"This store kit API in the 3.0 software should be a definite turning point for global wireless content market," says Shin. "Players will see how in-app purchasing could extend in-game depth with Com2uS games, starting with Baseball Slugger: Home Run Race 3D."
Shin also says P2P Bluetooth connectivity will be a big plus for iPhone games developers, spurring a new burst of local multiplayer games this summer.
Meanwhile, he also cites the new ability to access the iPhone's music library as potentially important. "This will become a synergy effect for both iTunes and the App Store," he says.
"Gamers will definitely utilise what they already have and also purchase their immaculate choice of music for their games. Application developers will be more eager to produce creative music games for the devices. After all thats where the whole thing started: music plus phone..."
News
Contributing Editor
Stuart is a freelance journalist and blogger who's been getting paid to write stuff since 1998. In that time, he's focused on topics ranging from Sega's Dreamcast console to robots. That's what you call versatility. (Or a short attention span.)
Related Articles
Interview
Apr 9th, 2024
Saga CEO Rebecca Liao on the launch of publishing division and mass market web3 games
Top Stories
News
8 hours, 40 minutes ago
King and Flexion partner to bring Candy Crush Saga to App Gallery and more alternative app stores
News
9 hours, 35 minutes ago
Zynga’s Game of Thrones: Legends is open for pre-registrations with a July 25th release date
Feature
11 hours, 57 minutes ago
Mobile Mavens: Are today's everlasting, live ops games holding back new innovation?
Feature
Jun 11th, 2024
The key takeaway from Apple's AI-laden WWDC keynote? It's time to buy a new iPhone
Events
Tribeca Games Festival 2024 | North America | Jun 5th |
Steam Next Fest: June 2024 Edition | Jun 10th | |
WN Conference Istanbul 2024 | Jun 11th | |
GamesForum Hamburg 2024 | Europe | Jun 11th |
ESI London 2024 | Europe | Jun 13th |
Game Con Canada (GCC) 2024 | North America | Jun 14th |
Indie Dev Play 2024 | Europe | Jun 14th |
DevGAMM Vilnius 2024 | Europe | Jun 14th |
Popular Stories
Interview
Jun 5th, 2024
A galaxy far, far away… Why Star Wars: Hunters took six years to hit the target
Interview
Jun 7th, 2024