Windows Phone just can't catch a break when it comes to video games, can it?
Consider the fact that the biggest mobile games franchise in the world isn't showing Microsoft's mobile software any love. Angry Birds Space debuted on a slew of platforms yesterday, but WP7 wasn't one of them and Bloomberg News thinks that's a big problem.
And hey, the game's much better this time around! Its tributes to old-school games feel like a bid to court hardcore gamers who look down their noses at Rovio's hit franchise. They want casual and console constituencies to come on down to their good ol' pig-killing party.
Unless, of course, you own a Windows Phone. Here's what Peter Vesterbacka of Angry Birds developers Rovio had to say in the Bloomberg report:
"If you look at activations, Apple's iOS and Android are clearly bigger than any other platform," he said. "We want to be on all screens, but we have to consider the cost of supplying the smaller platforms. With Windows Phone it's a lot of work to technically support it."
Damn. Windows Phone is a smaller platform, huh?
What makes this whole situation even more awkward is that Nokia-who announced a partnership with Microsoft last year to actually make people think that they make mobile products that are actually worth a damn-apparently have offices within slingshot distance of Rovio.
Can you imagine what those parking lot and lunchtime conversations are like when Rovio and Nokia folks run into each other?
"Oh, hey, you guys! How's that Angry Birds Space comin' along? When do you think we'll be able to see a Windows Phone demo?
"…"
For all of Redmond's power in console gaming, the Windows Phone games marketplace is like a lonely hearts messageboard, filled with ports from other platforms that finally got around to coding for WP7 and original games that won't ever find the critical mass to become household names. The fact that Rovio's not making WP7 a priority for their newest game just makes the state of gaming on Windows Phone look even sadder.
Angry Birds Space Game Skips Windows Phone in Blow to Nokia [Bloomberg News]