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Exclusivity has long been a battleground in the console sector, but now the smartphone giants are getting in on the act.
That’s according to The Wall Street Journal, which reports that both companies have been aggressively courting developers to try and secure exclusive titles for iOS and Android.
Apple sees the strategy as a key part in its efforts to fend off the rising popularity of Android, which now boasts the larger market share, but crucially continues to generate far less revenue than Apple’s marketplace.
Amazon’s recent entry into the market via Fire TV – and possible Fire smartphone – has thrust the online retail giant into the fray, too.
The reward for going exclusive or agreeing to at least a period of exclusivity? Promotion, mainly, which in the high-numbers competitive world of smartphone gaming is no small matter.
Titles such as Plants vs Zombies 2 and Cut the Rope 2 are apparently two examples of games that agreed to a period of iOS exclusivity in return for prominent positioning in the App Store.
For Apple, the push to secure exclusive games challenges a long-standing policy of leaving decisions about which apps its App Store promotes to an ‘editorial team’ that tests the software, without taking business considerations into account,” the site says.
As Android’s influence has grown, Apple’s editorial team has been factoring in exclusivity to a greater degree after it deems an app to be attractive, according to people familiar with the process. The editorial team also will give greater consideration to titles recommended by its developer-relations staff, they said.”
