Scoreloop talks connected iPhone gaming
Why challenges and coins are the future
With Apple letting iPhone games developers use whatever technology they like to include connectivity in their games, there are no shortage of companies looking to help out.
PocketGamer.biz has been talking to Scoreloop, whose platform is already being used by three games on the App Store to let players challenge each other, with more than 100 developers registered to use it in their titles.
"Our USP is challenges," says CEO Marc Gumpinger. "We allow games to be challengable against other people, and it's what sets us apart from the companies just offering high scores and chat. Challenges are what interconnect people, and it's establishing a new category of gaming: mobile social gaming."
The company faces tough competition from the likes of Aurora Feint, ngmoco, GameSpy, Geocade and AGON Online, but Gumpinger reckons Scoreloop's secret weapon is its virtual coins system, which players use to challenge each other.
Meanwhile, he also hints that the company is looking to launch a service to make it easier for iPhone owners to find good games in the App Store, while also stretching its platform beyond iPhone.
"iPhone is right now the most developed market, but we already have prototypes for Android and Java running internally," he says.
For the full interview and information on Scoreloop's technology, head over to PocketGamer.biz.
