This Is The Day Of The Ports

Porting has long been accepted as the done thing in the gaming industry – getting your game out as many platforms is possible is the best way to get as much moolah back from it as possible, and with two new lucrative platforms in iOS and Facebook, it’s more popular than ever. With that in mind, check out the porting announcements that have been made in the last twenty-four (or so) hours alone.

Android

There’s news on two decent releases jumping to Android from other platforms. First up, EA is completing the Scrabble trifecta, bringing out a ‘Droid version to match the pre-existing iOS and Facebook editions. It’ll be released next week for free, and will allow cross-platform competitive multiplayer.

[drop]In addition, Subatomic has finally released Fieldrunners HD on Android. After some issues with the Android Market pricing rules, and the Amazon Appstore’s regional inavailability, they’ve come to a solution. If you’re in the States, it’s free today on the Appstore – if not, it’s reduced for today only on the Market, with the price going up tomorrow.

iOS

Over on the Apple side of things, a Bungie-blessed port of Marathon for the iPad is now available for the lovely price of free as part of the Bungie Day celebrations. There’s also a £2.39 ‘HD mode’ in-app purchase available to give the graphics a bit of a boost. Grab it here.

EA have also demoed  FIFA 12 running on an iPad, blown up onto a big screen (whether via video-out cables or streaming over AirPlay to an Apple TV was unclear), being controlled by two iPhones. It’s a nifty set-up for a console that can be moved around without too much hassle, but also – obviously – requires that all players have an iPhone of their own. Nevertheless, it’s a cool demo.

Facebook

EA again (they held their big Summer Showcase yesterday): Risk Factions, the console version of the classic board game that launched on PSN and XBLA last year is making the jump to Facebook, bringing with it special faction-specific weapons “that add a great level of strategy” – like donkey cannons. It’s in a closed beta right now, but should be opening up very soon. In related news, the PS3 version of Risk Factions is currently on sale in the US, down from $9.99 to $6.99, or $4.89 for Plus subscribers.

2K has also released their Facebookification of Civilization onto the world, in the shape of Sid Meier’s Civ World. I spent a little bit of time with it earlier, and it starts off basically as you’d expect, with some city building. 2K says you’ll later be able to join friends to build a nation, and then a civilisation. Get started here.

Others

[drop2]One last bit of news in today’s roundup: Konami has confirmed the rumours that the previously XBLA-exclusive Castlevania: Harmony of Despair is coming to PSN. It’ll bring with it four-player local multiplayer, more levels, and more characters. No price has been announced, but it’ll arrive this summer.

And if you’re wondering why everyone seems to be porting their games to mobiles, you may want to see the latest figures released by Nielsen. They say that 64% of smartphone users are downloading games – more than social apps like Facebook or Twitter. iPhone users play for an average of 14.7 hours a month, Android users for around 9.3 hours, and (despite the presence of Xbox Live integration) Windows Phone 7 users rack up around 4.7 hours of playtime.