01/10/2018 - Hardware capabilities
Hardware constraints:
There are many issues with hardware constraints a developer
needs to take into account when developing their game, For example are they
trying to release on as many devices as possible or are they aiming for
exclusivity so it is only available on a single device.
For those aiming to release on as many as possible to
maximise possible revenue they need to think about how these games would be
handled on each device playing it, So would an Xbox one game play on a mobile
device, Could a PC game play on a PS4 are all things the developers need to
take into account.
Examples of this would be games such as Paladins made by
Hirez, whilst not available on mobile devices as of yet it is however available
on PS4, Xbox one, PC and the Nintendo switch. This hits what I would call 4 out
of 5 major markets for gaming at the moment. With them all being PC, Xbox, PlayStation,
Nintendo switch and Mobile. Currently Paladins is available on all except for
mobile so it is missing out on potential sales there, The developers have
however remedied this by releasing a similar game with less hardware restraints
for mobile called paladins Strike which is a mobile friendly top town hero
shooter which still offers the same concepts and similar gameplay but more easily
accessible.
Another company trying to branch out across more than just
one device is 343 Industries partnered with Microsoft. They are releasing games
such as Halo wars 2 which was immediately available cross play between PC and
Xbox one. Whilst it only hits 2 of the 5 major markets in terms of devices it
was a step in the right direction in terms of starting a new era of cross
compatibility as the game is exactly the same on both PC and Xbox and neither
gives any distinct advantage so it is all down to what the consumer feels comfortable
with. A further bonus of this is the fact that if you purchase Halo wars 2 on one system you own it on your other systems too.
They have also released a game called Halo Spartan Strike which is
another top down hero shooter released on the Xbox, PC and on mobile devices
which again is exactly the same game across all devices and allows for players
to sync their progress across accounts so they can put down their controller
and immediately pick it up again on their phone from their last saved point.
Much of the current era of cross-play that Microsoft are trying to roll out is a new service called Play anywhere in which games purchased from the windows store or the Xbox store which are supported by this system are automatically unlocked for play on your other windows devices so for example I can play Sea of thieves or HW2 on my Laptop and my Xbox, or I can play minecraft on my tablet, Xbox and PC.
Link to all current play anywhere games
Minecraft is currently one of the most prominent games in the cross compatibility with their Better together Update which allows players from Xbox, PC, Android and Nintendo switch to play together on the same server, The only system that does not take part in this cross compatibility is PlayStation this however is rumoured to change soon as Sony are now looking into allowing cross play with other systems and games such as Minecraft and fortnite are their biggest markets in which they are planning to release this on so soon you could have all five major markets playing the same titles together.
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