Game Developer Research debuted the results of its
State of iPhone Game Development report.
The report uses iPhone App Store data and an anonymous
survey of almost 150 current iPhone developers. Metrics have revealed a trend towards longer development cycles
for iPhone games currently in production.
For example, the number of games with 1-3 month development cycles
among survey respondents dropped from 61% of completed projects to 41%
of in-development projects. In a related trend, the number of games
with 4-6 month development cycles rose from 25% (completed) to 47% (in
development).
The survey also hinted at upcoming changes in popular iPhone game
genres. The majority of developers are still working on projects in the
extremely popular puzzle and word game genre (53%), but that's somewhat
decreased from 62% who've worked on completed puzzle and word games.
Other uncommon game genres are also expected to increase in number
as apps get more sophisticated, with the 11% of respondents having
worked on completed strategy games, but 15% planning strategy titles,
and 11% already done on projects in the story-heavy adventure game
genre, with 21% planning such titles.
For more freely available information, including a full table of
contents, or to purchase the complete State of iPhone Development 2009
report, please visit the official Game Developer Research website at
http://www.gamedevresearch.com/.