G1 News

Despite the Android platform bringing smart phone connectivity to the masses in handsets like the HTC Tattoo and T-Mobile Pulse, French developer Gameloft is finding it lacking for gaming, reporting that they are scaling back development for the fledgling operating system.

“We have significantly cut our investment in Android platform, just like…many others,” Gameloft’s Director of Finance Alexandre de Rochefort told investors at a conference.

The Android Market is said to be a major factor in this decision, with the service lacking the ’shop window’ browsing functionality of the App Store, as well as the absence of an iTunes-style desktop client for computers.

“[Android Market] is not as neatly done as on the iPhone. Google has not been very good to entice customers to actually buy products. On Android, nobody is making significant revenue. We are selling 400 times more games on iPhone than on Android,” Rochefort continued.

With Apple’s App Store contributing 13% of revenue into Gameloft’s coffers last quarter, and a steady stream of titles garnering both critical and financial acclaim on the iPhone, it comes as no surprise as they focus efforts on the more financially viable platforms.

If Android is lagging behind Apple’s App Store success story due to the iPhone’s huge existing install base of users, could impending high profile Google-powered phones such as the Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10 and Motorola MILESTONE redress the balance?

If so, it is likely that Gameloft, one of the largest and most prolific mobile game publishers, will return to this potential gaming goldmine at a later stage.

Source