News "Apple is ahead of digital distribution rivals"

http://www.bit-tech.net/news/gaming/2009/04/21/apple-is-ahead-of-digital-distribution-riv/1

Simon Oliver, the man behind Rolando, says that Sony and Nintendo are miles behind Apple when it comes to digital distribution.

 

Valve is waaay ahead of Apple.

 

I think tiny bit is an understatement . lol

 

Its nice to that a large amount of shovel ware is being directed where it wont bother me.

 

I think everything quote in that article can safely be ignored as largely biased ********.

 

Apple may have a streamlined distribution model, but as for development you're basically screwed as an indie dev unless you have two things:
1) An Intel Mac of some sort
2) extra money to splash around to purchase (1), and the US$500 Apple Developer Membership to even be able to run your own code on your own iPhone!
All fine and dandy for those who have them, for everyone else, Steam and XNA are surely better options (Steam for their distribution model, XNA because it is quite easy)

 

1. All Macs are Intel macs now - and they're not that expensive. A mac mini uses your existing kit - for entry to a non-PC platform its dirt cheap. You can always make a hacintosh for your initial dev.
2. Apple iphone dev license is $99 (£59 in the UK). It lasts for a year, and has to be renewed. However, if you don't want to use any hardware-specific features (accelerometer, GPS, etc.) then the simulator works fine and you don't need to spend the $99. Compared to console license fees, $99 might as well be free - I'm sure its just to weed out any script kiddies who want to send hundreds of rubbish apps at Apple's application process. Still $99 for a system where you make an app, submit it to Apple, and they then handle EVERYTHING. You just worry about marketing (most don't even worry about that). Their cut is also one of the lowest cuts in the industry - 30%.
3. Ye, I know you didn't have a 3rd, but I'm adding one. Programming for the iphone is fun. It has somewhat basic resource-constrained hardware which is always entertaining to work with.

While the guy is biased, he's far from outright wrong. I've been in a similar situation, and the iphone is by far the easiest non-PC development platform to target. Hell, given the somewhat low costs involved, it makes for a fun diversion for us full-time programmers with the potential for your little apps to make you some pocket money on the side.

 

This by about a million times.