Android vs iOS - Which is the best platform for games?

What do you want from a games machine? Is it the best new releases first? Exclusive games? Maybe you just want to be able to find the most awesome titles as quickly as possible? Perhaps you just want to be sure every time you download something new that it isn't going to fill your shiny new device with malware? I'll be honest, it seems a bit odd to me that we're even having to have this conversation.

Don't get me wrong, I love Android phones. Until I got an iPhone 6 Plus, I'd been Android my entire smartphone life. As a communication device, I can't argue against Android. As a gaming device though? Well, there's really only one choice to make when you're trying to balance that equation.

For one thing there's the confidence you get when you download something new from the App Store. You know it's going to work, you know it's not going to brick your machine, and you know that if it's somewhere near the top of the Games page on the store, that it's been curated by Apple's editorial team.

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Compare that with the still-shockingly-slapdash Google Play Store. I've searched for plenty of games on there only to be presented with self-published erotica and movies that bear a similar name to the game I'm after. It just isn't good enough, and in our gimme-it-now world, it's pretty damn sloppy.

There are definitely arguments to be had about which is the best mobile OS, and i certainly wouldn't be so partisan when it came to them. But for gaming on the go? The only way is iOS. Come at me brah.

OK, first off, what's wrong with finding a treasure trove of self-published erotica and similarly-titled movies? Some of my best nights in have been had with these exact items.

More seriously, it's that lack of curation that helps the Google Play store in a way. The App Store is now so tightly focused on what a handful of people think you should be playing that hidden gems just fall by the wayside. Would I have ever played the magnificent Good Pizza, Great Pizza if I hadn't just stumbled across it thanks to the Play store saying "hey, this is vaguely relevant to a game you played three years ago"? I sincerely doubt it.

The App Store keeps showing off the same games over and over in varying forms - and don't get me started on some of their weak feature lists. If I see another "eight games you have to play because the colour green appears at least 17 times" list I'll scream.

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But on iOS, all you get is the App Store. On Android, the marketplace is wide open. Sure, you can get some pretty nasty malware - but stop going on that dodgy APK site that's definitely illegal anyway. Check out some of the great stuff on itch.io - most of which you'd never have a chance at seeing on the App Store. Because it's self-published erotica.

And even if you're looking for bigger games, you don't need either store - which is the beauty of Android. Look at Fortnite - the biggest game in the world and it's completely bypassing Google Play altogether. But you'll still find it. And (aside from the initial slip up, don't @ me) it's unlikely to do any harm to your device if you get it direct from Epic.

But let's steer away from that entirely and focus on something even more important. iOS devices are stupid expensive, and they're constantly being updated. You can get your shiny new iPhone XS Max right now, and in a year it'll be obselete thanks to the iPhone XSX 2.0 Super Hyper Turbo Edition. At least when I'm buying myself a new Android, a) I can get one brand new without having to remortgage my house, and b) it'll probably still be relevant a couple of years down the line.

How's that 6 Plus treating you? Looking forward to it being useless once iOS 13 comes around?

I sort of think you're arguing against the entirety of the capitalist system when you rail against the iPhone's upgrade cycle (and while I'm normally all for that I can't just agree that everything is awful and move on because that would be boring). Plus let's not beat around the bush here - flagship Android devices are on exactly the same cycle anyway.

And while I realise you're a technologically savvy young whipper snapper, I have neither the time or the effort to research whether I should be getting Google's new phone, Samsung's new phone, Sony's new phone, or getting something imported from China that might not run my banking app.

But all of that pales in comparison to the simple fact that you didn't actually come up with a counter argument for Apple's killer app - iPhone has got better games. You might be able to trawl the dark web for erotic adventures to stick onto whatever cyanogenmod-powered bodge job you’ve got in your pocket, but for day and date big releases, iOS is the only way.

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Plus the App Store is filled with mad little games - they might not be super easy to find but then it's not super easy to open up your Android to the worst of the World Wide Web when you start sticking dodgy apks on there.

Besides, this ain't an argument about which smartphone you can cram with the ripest filth, it's about the best platform for players - and Apple comes out on top in every other aspect we might try and turn into a metric.

Finally, to answer your question, my iPhone 6 Plus died ages ago. It went to join every Android phone I have ever owned in the river of obsolescence created by the seemingly never-ending rush of technology. Got a 7 now, refurbed for a decent price - plays everything the App Store can throw at it. And I don't need a degree in computing and neck beards to use it.

Nah fam. Look, everyone and their dog might be pushing for iOS-first releases, but you know what that means? A lesser experience. Android might not be the first to get the games, but we get the absolute best version by the time it lands.

And, if I may say something controversial, Android gets a better deal because of devs shifting to free-to-play for most of their games. Yeah. I went there. I reckon Alto's Adventure is better on Android specifically because it has an ad-supported system that lets you pick up where you failed in a level if you wait 30 seconds and learn about War of Army or whatever the next moneybags strategy game is called. I don't like to just have the one go. And I don't care if I have to watch an ad to get more of it.

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Now I appreciate that a lot of that comes down to the fact that everyone nicks premium games on Android (an action I ABSOLUTELY DO NOT CONDONE) but in a way it's made devs think smarter about how to make money while also making a good game. Feel free to fight me on this one, I know I'm probably in the minority.

But you know what's not in the minority? Android users. You want a platform that's best for gamers, you should pick the one that everyone's on. Me and you, we can afford to splash the cash on a second-hand iPhone once every three years. In other countries (yes, there are other countries than the UK and US!!!) they're more likely to buy a cheapo Android phone. And if developers want to hit that audience, they'll need to make sure the game can run on these phones.

Nintendo knows this - Fire Emblem Heroes just added a "lite" option which reduces the visual and audio quality to fit onto your dad's work phone. Now literally anyone in the world could play it on a knock-off brand without batting an eyelid. That's progress.

Give a dev a device with the power of a PC and they'll make a PC game. Give them a piece of crap that barely runs Snake and they'll have to get creative. And those limitations lead to better games. Which will then be put on Android for all to play. Think about it. You know I'm right.

Right, let me get this straight. Your argument is that Android is the best platform for mobile gamers because it isn't the best platform for mobile gamers? That's a pretty big leap right there boss. Also, making developers think about how to make the most money is the best way to make games? Thinking like that leads to crunch, shovelware, and clones.

I don't disagree that the openness of the Android platform, and the sheer number of different kinds of devices running the OS, offers some interesting options for developers. I'm sure there are good games on the Google Play Store, worthy of mention on these hallowed pages, but Alto's Odyssey is better with videos crammed into it? Eh, I'm definitely going to have to disagree with that. Unlike you I want players to experience games in their purest form, and having to sit through another playable advert for that garbage Final Fantasy game is going to kick them out of that.

Sure, there's loads of different Android devices out there - my Dad has a cacky old Samsung that he shouts at from time to time - but I'm pretty sure this argument isn't about whether Android or iOS offers the worst phones. We're talking about the best platform for gaming. There are loads of rubbish Windows Phones out there, but that doesn't make the platform some sort of utopia for indie developers looking to make weird, innovative games. It just means people made a bad choice.

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I mean, there are billions of people on Facebook, and hundreds of games for them to play there. The Wii had some great games, lots of people bought it, but for the most part everything that came out was hot garbage - because devs saw a way to make some quick money. Would you say the Wii was a better gaming platform than the Switch? Or that Facebook was the ultimate place to make games because there's such a massive, captive audience?

When it comes down to it, there's really only one choice if you want the best gaming experience on-the-go. And that's buying an iPhone. Yup, it's expensive, you're gonna get stuck in a refresh cycle that may well bankrupt you if you keep up with it, and you won't have the customisation options or openness of Android. Those are problems, for sure, but they're not big enough to shake my belief that iOS is the way. I'd love for this not to be an argument, because two healthy gaming ecosystems are going to create competition, and competition creates innovation in the tech sector, but here we are.

Allow me to finish with a strained metaphor. Android is a mess hall with a slop trough running down the middle - sometimes you might find something good to eat in there, but for the most part it's leftovers, grit, and poison. iOS is a fine-dining establishment - the best choices are laid out for you, the serving staff are knowledgeable, and you've got a comfy chair. It costs more to eat there, but you get a knife and fork, whereas Android gamers have to push their face into the trough and hope for the best.

Apologies for torturing your metaphor even more than it already had been, but you're wrong. Sure, you get a knife and fork and a table at the Apple diner, but you also get a slimy lad in a Primark suit trying to sell you his Game of War knock-off anytime you ask to see the a la carte menu. And the wait staff keep telling you to ignore the foul stench from behind the curtain.

The App Store isn't some oasis of quality content like you seem to think. It's just that Apple has taken matters into its own hands and tried to brush the chaff under the carpet. And then handed the money makers the ability to directly shill their game to you when all you want to search for is a game you actually want to play.

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At least on Android you know what you're getting. Gamers aren't stupid - they know what they want to play and they know what they're looking for. If they search for that in a store, they want to make their own minds up. Not have the highest bidders tell them what game to try out next.

And there are plenty of ways to dig through the games people love without the curation of the stores themselves. Have you forgotten where you work? And there's this thing called The Internet that people can search for things on now.

Look, you can keep your shiny store and its closed walls and restricted access to content that actually tries to make a statement, or parody a well-known game, or, yes, contains some naughty jiggly bits. I want a wide open space to search for whatever the hell I want, whenever the hell I want it.

At least when my face is buried in the trough of Google Play, I agreed to it. The App Store restaurant keeps telling me that everything's fine while a fire rages on behind me, threatening to engulf all the games I ever bought as they become unplayable on newer operating systems and force me to play Mobile bloody Strike.