i'm wondering, many game develops release more and more games for iPhone/iPod touch and they are very successful by selling them via itunes. But why isn't worms avaible on itunes yet? Worms is a popular game and it's out on other mobile phones, so why not for the iPhone?

Are there any plans tu bringt it out? I'd love to see it in the itunes store and I guess Team17 could make a lot of money with it:)




greetings

Krexx

Yeah, in 2009.

Wow that was a more exact answer than I was expecting - that's great news Spadge :D Am intrigued to see how it'll work on the touchscreen.

Probably something like RIFLE Slugs (http://www.palminfocenter.com/news/4555/review-rifle-slugs/) for the Palm.




But actually fun for more than 3 days.

he can play that while waiting.then.it looks a bit like worms.

he can play that while waiting.then.it looks a bit like worms.
How would it be possible to play that game while waiting? RIFLE Slugs is for PalmOS, not iPhone.

oh.i thought it was.

oh.i thought it was.

for the Palm.

Try to read posts better, minute.

I don't have an Ipod touch but I am considering getting one soon, hopefully it does well on the Ipod touch.

Also:

2009 also brings quite a few Team17 published titles with it and we'll be on with the PR for those in the new year. On a week when Worms for XBLA went back to the top of the weekly chart, on the back of it being discounted to a ridiculous 400pts.

Source: http://spadget17.blogspot.com/2008/11/welcome-to-hellsinki.html

Awesome, I have an iPod touch so I'll definitely buy it ^^.

Wow, really excited about that! I hope it's possible to come out with good controls for it, I find it difficult in my mind to design something to control Worms exclusively in the touchscreen.

Wow, really excited about that! I hope it's possible to come out with good controls for it, I find it difficult in my mind to design something to control Worms exclusively in the touchscreen.
Huh. It shouldn't be that hard. I can come up with enough ways to control it.

Huh. It shouldn't be that hard. I can come up with enough ways to control it.

tut tut, your too modest

Just so you know, the iPhone game "iShoot" has been number 1 in Top 100 paid apps on iTunes for a while now. It's a similar game featuring little tanks, but it's nowhere near the original Worms, or what it could be. And if such a game that reminds me of GORILLA.BAS :) rather than Worms can so so well commercially, then Team17 must be crazy not to jump in.
I mean seriously. If time is running low, you could at least outsource some coding and focus on the artwork; just get this thing out the door ASAP.

Just so you know, the iPhone game "iShoot" has been number 1 in Top 100 paid apps on iTunes for a while now. It's a similar game featuring little tanks, but it's nowhere near the original Worms, or what it could be. And if such a game that reminds me of GORILLA.BAS :) rather than Worms can so so well commercially, then Team17 must be crazy not to jump in.
I'm sorry, did you miss that "we're working on one now" post?

I mean seriously. If time is running low, you could at least outsource some coding and focus on the artwork; just get this thing out the door ASAP.
As a general rule, that would be a very bad idea. Especially as there's no actual reason to release it as soon as they can.

As a general rule, that would be a very bad idea. Especially as there's no actual reason to release it as soon as they can.

There's a bunch of reasons, there's also reasons against, but still, don't be naive.

Fine, no actual good reason to release it as soon as they can.

Fine, no actual good reason to release it as soon as they can.

In what do you base yourself when you want to make a naive comment such as this? Is it the need to talk just to avoid being silent?
There's a bunch of good reasons to release a product at any given month of the year.

iPhone hype? Check
Market growing? Check
Less competition now than after? Check

I'm not saying that it's a good idea to launch it now, February is one of the worst months ever, but there are reasons and good ones too.

I think he means rushing development to get it out the door ASAP is usually a bad idea, as opposed to just releasing when it's done.

In any case they might already be outsourcing it like all other Worms mobile titles.

I think he means rushing development to get it out the door ASAP is usually a bad idea, as opposed to just releasing when it's done.

In any case they might already be outsourcing it like all other Worms mobile titles.

Yes, it's a bad idea overall, however there are good reasons that would support a rush and release, what I'm saying it's that it's not always a bad idea by rule of thumb.

Yes, it's a bad idea overall, however there are good reasons that would support a rush and release, what I'm saying it's that it's not always a bad idea by rule of thumb.
I can't really think of anything that's benefited from being rushed out the door. A few things that spring to mind: Worms3D, the Boeing 787, MobileMe, Leopard, Vista.....

Yes there are good points to having something out the door early, but they are, in pretty much every case, outweighed by the rather large bad points that come from rushing said product through said door.

I can't really think of anything that's benefited from being rushed out the door

Duh, you're a client.

Duh, you're a client.
Exactly, and the client/customer is the person who buys the product in question, and if it's been shoddily made as a result of being rushed to the market sales will be lost and therefore revenue will be lost and profits reduced. Therefore it's more likely to be cost-effective to delay release slightly (*cough*Boeing...*cough*) than try to make a virtually unfeasibly-early release date.

Exactly, and the client/customer is the person who buys the product in question, and if it's been shoddily made as a result of being rushed to the market sales will be lost and therefore revenue will be lost and profits reduced. Therefore it's more likely to be cost-effective to delay release slightly (*cough*Boeing...*cough*) than try to make a virtually unfeasibly-early release date.

I has chocolate in stock, this chocolate is going to get rotten in 10 months, it's september, I'm going to rush printing the boxes and envelopes even if they look crap because I will benefit from selling 100% of my existances in christmas.

Sure if I wait until february and get proper box art or whatever the client will be happier. I don't really care.

For a game, it's more like an under-developed recipe than the packaging, which is comparable to game's packaging. Food with a less-than-great recipe simply does not sell well.

For a game, it's more like an under-developed recipe than the packaging, which is comparable to game's packaging. Food with a less-than-great recipe simply does not sell well.

It's the ****ing same. You launch W:ASO ¡n December and you win more money than if you sell it in February with two more weapons. Unless you make use of a strong advertisment campaign all year long which simply does not happen. Do you really think games are launched when the devs are ready or that there's a date fixed decided after a study? Like I said, stop being naive.

It's the ****ing same. You launch W:ASO ¡n December and you win more money than if you sell it in February with two more weapons. Unless you make use of a strong advertisment campaign all year long which simply does not happen. Do you really think games are launched when the devs are ready or that there's a date fixed decided after a study? Like I said, stop being naive.
You would appear to be unfamiliar with the concept of "testing". The earlier a game is released, the less testing is done and therefore it can be assumed that fewer bugs will have been found and exterminated. A premature release in the videogame industry is often very bad news for that reason - as Team17 have found out, a buggy release will not only harm the sales of that game but it will also harm the sales of your future games since you will have got a bad reputation.

Hence why videogames are rarely rushed out onto the shelves. Same goes for any piece of software really (unless you happen to be Microsoft with Windows XP and Vista or Apple with OSX 10.4 and 10.5...)


Do you really think games are launched ... or that there's a date fixed decided after a study?

That's pretty much exactly how it works. The developers and publishers will analyse how long it will take to develop the game, approximately how much testing will be required, they'll set a time to allow to fix bugs, add a bit of a fudge factor into that and come up with a release date. You might want to look up "Gantt Charts" - they're typically used for such things.

There will also be regular review meetings - carrying out additional studies that the project is on track and if the developers feel it is not on track the publishers will elect to delay the release date. Obviously they'll try to schedule the release date for December rather than February but should bad stuff happen along the way then they'll be forced to delay the release date.

words
I won't go there, my original statement is pretty clear, there are positive reasons for a company to launch a game at any given date, and this has nothing to do with customers.

But let me pick on a little comment of your previous post

Hence why videogames are rarely rushed out onto the shelves

Competition, ideal dates, budget, time... Yeah, no one rushes out products to get them out of the market. Most companies have time to spare after finishing their product. My god...

Quick google for rushed out onto the shelves.

http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/2437/question_of_the_week_responses_.php
http://www.gamefaqs.com/computer/doswin/review/R53235.html
http://www.gamespot.com/ps3/sports/topspin3/show_msgs.php?topic_id=m-1-44364965&pid=942069&page=1

Hey. Guess what? You're not a game developer.

You know, games will only sell if they are made RIGHT. This is because the people who play them WANT good games that aren't rushed together. So why bother about the consumer? Because reputation is a big factor in this industry; games that are crap will give your company a bad name, and oh look! Sales are falling. Games need to be made PROPERLY, and making them PROPERLY takes this little thing we call "time". If you fail to understand the concept of quality, go and work with Microsoft or EA.

Also, you're in the minority of this little dispute. Who do you think is right? A bunch of people who know what they're talking about or you, who can't put together a coherent argument without getting shirty?

Hey, here's a good bit of advice; listen to your elders and your betters.

Oh and another thing: the title of that second article in that post just there? "Gansters 2: Vendetta Review for PC: Another Solid game is Rushed out and Ruined" Next time you try and back up your ideas, use real proof.

You know, games will only sell if they are made RIGHT. And making them PROPERLY takes this little thing we call "time". If you fail to understand the concept of quality, go and work with Microsoft or EA.

Well the fact that you can name two large companies who have a tendency to release rushed products means that you do know that what yakuza says DOES indeed happen in the real world.
And not making it properly doesn't mean it won't sell, and it doesn't mean that the game will be utter crap, just that there will be more noticeable flaws than there'd need to be, and less content than people would expect.
You people also seem to be confusing profitability with quality. Bad quality games can often be profitable, even if they get horrible reviews all over the net. Particularly when released on the right time.

Hey. Guess what? You're not a game developer.

You know, games will only sell if they are made RIGHT. This is because the people who play them WANT good games that aren't rushed together. So why bother about the consumer? Because reputation is a big factor in this industry; games that are crap will give your company a bad name, and oh look! Sales are falling. Games need to be made PROPERLY, and making them PROPERLY takes this little thing we call "time". If you fail to understand the concept of quality, go and work with Microsoft or EA.

Also, you're in the minority of this little dispute. Who do you think is right? A bunch of people who know what they're talking about or you, who can't put together a coherent argument without getting shirty?

Hey, here's a good bit of advice; listen to your elders and your betters.

Oh and another thing: the title of that second article in that post just there? "Gansters 2: Vendetta Review for PC: Another Solid game is Rushed out and Ruined" Next time you try and back up your ideas, use real proof.


"a bunch of people who know what they're talking about starring Plasma and thomasp".

Do you even know what my point was or are you blinded by the hesitation of arguing against me because flavor of the year?

People here never fail to amaze me, from the point "Companies many times rush out games to launch the games on specific months, which all have some degree of benefits for the company" you manage to make up paragraphs and paragraphs on how much you wish to prove me wrong.

"Hey yakuza dude, games are made right to be sold right you idiot argh"

"a bunch of people who know what they're talking about starring Plasma and thomasp".

Do you even know what my point was or are you blinded by the hesitation of arguing against me because flavor of the year?

People here never fail to amaze me, from the point "Companies many times rush out games to launch the games on specific months, which all have some degree of benefits for the company" you manage to make up paragraphs and paragraphs on how much you wish to prove me wrong.

What I've said is based upon my learnings from business, management and marketing related modules studied during my degree. Granted, they are probably "ideal" scenarios, but they certainly seem to be the way companies in this country intend to do business.

"Hey yakuza dude, games are made right to be sold right you idiot argh"

That is surely the goal of any videogame developer? You're going to aim for perfection - granted that is unachievable but you need to set your sights high and then when you fail, analyse and study what went wrong and learn from it. And if you don't learn from it, then your business model is pretty poor :p

What I've said is based upon my learnings from business, management and marketing related modules studied during my degree. Granted, they are probably "ideal" scenarios, but they certainly seem to be the way companies in this country intend to do business.



That is surely the goal of any videogame developer? You're going to aim for perfection - granted that is unachievable but you need to set your sights high and then when you fail, analyse and study what went wrong and learn from it. And if you don't learn from it, then your business model is pretty poor :p

This is all very good, but it is also the third time I would need to ask you to please read what I've said, and not assume I've said something else.
I know companies want to do things right and make games right, make things right, yes we can. My only statement was that everytime a producer wants to rush a game out to the shelves for any given month there are very valid reasons to do so (even if they don't outweight the long term harm), and that it's sometimes agreed between developers and producers as the ideal outcome from an economical point of view (see: christmas launch).

Highfive for the modules bro marketing diplomat here represent yo

I have to agree with Yakuza here.

While there are obviously certain times of the year where there's a tendency for more people spending more money for games, like before (and after) Christmas holidays, there surely is almost no bad time in the year to release a game.
(Birthdays for example are spread out on all days of the year near equally.)

There have been many instances where two publishers released two similar, competing games at the same time of the year, and only one became the blockbuster hit, although the other was as good as or even better than the other.

Would they have released the game a bit earlier, outside of the usual release time frames, history could have been different.

I'd like to see games released consistently all year 'round. In fact, there's an article which touches on this subject in this month's Edge:

Evading the Crunch (Edge #198, p.14-15) (http://www.edge-online.com/magazine/evading-crunch)

And also, just in case it's of interest:
Is iPhone Up to the Challenge? (Edge #198 p.64-67) (http://www.edge-online.com/magazine/is-iphone-up-challenge?page=0%2C1)