Mobile platforms losing their lustre while eShop holds promise – Image & Form

While once they seemed like the holy grail for game developers, mobile platforms like Apple’s iOS or Google’s Android have become such a popular destination for games that it’s incredibly hard to make a single title stand out.

At least one development team has decided to give the 3DS a chance, hoping that it’s less crowded eShop will allow games to get noticed.

You may recognise the name Image & Form, as their latest game SteamWorld Dig has had quite a lot of buzz around it recently. While they have released a game on the DSi eShop in the past, they moved to the iOS platform for later titles.

In an interview with Gamer’s Thumb, Image & Form CEO Brjann Sigurgeirsson summed up the issue by saying “there’s an enormous installed user base for iOS and Android. But there are also a lot more games coming out on mobile the whole time.”

“Last fall, there were some 235,000 active publishers on the US App Store alone and around 300 app submissions per day. In a week, that means more than 2000 new apps and games.

“That’s just insane numbers, and it’s very tough to find your way to consumers.

“Very many of them don’t use their mobiles to play games, and prices have fallen through the floor. Literally, because most games coming out are free to play.

“Therefore, we decided to stand back for a moment and see how the other platforms were doing. And the 3DS became an obvious contender: there are more than 30 million units sold, sales of both units and games are increasing, it’s a gamer-centered platform, and the ocean is definitely blue. Plus the fact that SteamWorld Dig fits the unit like a glove. “

You can find our review of SteamWorld Dig here, and judging by our impressions, we hope that Image & Form stick around on the 3DS for a long time.

Do you think this could be the start of a new trend? Let us know in the comments!