Why are android ports of some IOS games always delayed? (I'm looking at you fallout shelter)?

Question

Is apple really paying developers to release their game on IOS first? Look at the walking dead, the android version of the game was, I think released about a year after the IOS port. Clash of clans was ported to android 1 or 2 months after IOS. And now we have fallout shelter.

Answer 1

Apple doesn't necessarily pay to have developers release first. It's just easier to create higher quality apps on iOS where you get paid more from Apple than Google. Also, since most games are written in some kind of C language, converting that to Java isn't exactly easy even with the Android NDK (which sucks by the way). Then you have the typical Android performance issues, rewriting to take advantage of several different processors and screen sizes, etc.



And to be honest, Fallout Shelter really isn't that great after about a week of playing it once you figure out how to do things.

Answer 2

I came across this answer on a tech article when I got my iPhone earlier this year. Studies show that ppl with iPhones are more likely to buy apps compared to android users. So iOS is where developers make the most money, and thus will release their games only on iOS or will release on iOS before android. Fallout shelter made millions of dollars within days of being released on iOS, and this is with in-app purchases, because the game is free.



I just checked the apple stores top grossing games of all time, and Fallout Shelter is @ #26 at just 2 months after release.



And, I've had, to the best of my memory, 2 android phones, and I've just bought my first iPhone. I have to admire that the first time I've ever thought about buying a game for my phone is when I bought my iPhone. The games in the Apple Store are so much better than what's in the google play store, and some games are only made for iOS.

Answer 3

My friend is an app developer and he told me two things. 1) Money 2) Time

People on IOS buy apps more frequently than Android users

Also, most Apple users are on either IOS 7,8, or 9. Makes it easier to make the app for those rather than Android ie: 4.3, 4.4, 4.4.2, 4.4.4, 5.0, 5.1, and eventually 6 and everything in between. He says it takes more time to write apps for Android than Apple devices

Answer 4

iOS always has the newest versions and updates because it makes far more money then any others. It makes sense for developers to there first, I think they also have alot more professional type developers writing apps where android has a bunch of amateur type stuff that gets dumped into the store and then forgotten about and never maintained.