Google IO fever is in full swing and, though there are a lot of interesting things coming out of this year’s IO, but there is only one real threat to Apple’s leading position in mobile Monetization. This is Play Games. Play Games functions a lot like Game Center with a bit more and (naturally) a focus on Google+. Play Games allows many of the features that Game Center does but has one killer feature: it is cross platform, supporting Android and iOS. You might wonder why this matters, but the truth is (according to the Apple App Store top grossing and top paid charts) the developers that are making the most money are the game developers. It has been argued that one of the big advantages that iOS has is that it is the prefered platform for mobile game developers — meaning that they release on iOS only or iOS first.
Play Games looks really impressive, but the most attractive aspect of it is that it is a backed Game Center like service that is not run by Apple. Let’s be honest, Apple makes great devices and some pretty good client-side software, but their backend services leave a lot to be desired. Game Center in particular was crippled when Letterpress — one of the first games to actually take advantage some of Game Center’s more advanced functionality — was released and became an overnight success. The reality is that Apple left this door open by not focussing on backend-technologies and now Google is going to be able walk through it.
If Android is able to generate roughly the same revenue as iOS for developers, Apple will have to act quickly to preempt an exodus of developers. This might sound a little overboard, but there is a frustration in the iOS community in all but the most hardcore Apple fans that Apple’s policies are increasingly hostile toward independant developers, but as long as the business case is strongly in Apple’s favor, Apple can do whatever it wants. If Google was able to change the business story, they’d be changing the entire landscape.
