What does Android mean for mobile games?

Today's unveiling of the first Android handset, T-Mobile's G1, hasn't quite topped the hysteria surrounding Apple's two iPhone launches (or, indeed, any time Steve Jobs takes to a stage to show off new products).

However, make no mistake: Android could be a big deal for mobile gaming in the coming months and years. It's not a revolution, and indeed, it's not particularly focused on gaming. But there are several reasons mobile game developers are excited about the platform.

The first is that Android fits into the trend towards high-end native mobile games, sitting alongside iPhone, N-Gage and (to a lesser extent) Symbian and Windows Mobile. Developers see these as enabling richer, deeper games that make full use of the handsets they're designed for.

That's the theory, anyway. What's more, the emergence of several native platforms at roughly the same time means developers and publishers can put more resources into these high-end mobile games, in the knowledge that they can potentially be published on several of the platforms.

The second reason game developers are keen on Android is because Google is keen on developers. The company is making similar efforts to Nokia in terms of seeking out talented developers and good application ideas (including games), while also encouraging them to make use of Android's features.

Ah, yes, those features. GPS and location-based services are a big thing for Android, even more so than for iPhone or N-Gage. Think Google Maps, local search and so on. So game developers are keen to take advantage of this for their games.

Admittedly, the result may be a bunch of '30 people running round the same city block virtually shooting each other' titles, but there could be some really innovative games beyond that. How could Google Maps be integrated into a game in an imaginative way? We should find out soon.

The fourth reason developers are excited about Android is the Android Market. In short, it's Android's equivalent of iPhone's App Store – an open retail environment for developers and publishers to sell games and apps, without an operator getting in the way.

It's not unique to Android, but it is stimulating games development, just as the App Store is for iPhone. Developers with cool ideas can see a way to make money from them, without needing to give a slice of the revenues to an operator and publisher.

The last thing to say about Android is that it's not just the usual mobile suspects making games for it. Yes, Glu has already announced its first Android game, and you can bet EA Mobile and Gameloft will be supporting the platform at some point too.

But the Google connection is attracting Web 2.0 developers too, who've already got experience working with Google's APIs, and many of whom have ideas for games bubbling away. The result should be some truly inventive ideas, perhaps not hampered by their creators having spent the last few years thinking inside the Java mobile game box.

Android is going to be a slow-burner – the G1 will be on sale in the UK by Christmas, but it will take time and more handsets for the OS to establish critical mass as a games platform.

Even so, it's an area we plan to follow closely on Pocket Gamer, and we're intrigued to see how Android, N-Gage and iPhone develop in the coming months. Stay tuned, in other words.