Android Gamer Communities Crawl Out of the Woodwork and Raise Corporate Eyebrows
Although the popularity for Android (News - Alert) OS games is dwindling, mobile gaming communities for Android are starting to pop up, rekindling dead fires. Microsoft (News 
- Alert) is planning to release XBox Live applications for Android, making the possibility for a sounder gaming environment on the mobile platform more realistic. Of course, Sony's already made a cross-platform interface that hooks up to the PlayStation 3, but that represents a smaller user base than the gargantuan amount of people using the XBox 360.
Steam also turned its head towards Android, making a gaming interface that would allow you to purchase games without the use of your computer and even have a chat with your friends within the application. The community aspect of Steam also moved into Android, making the OS more pleasant for frequent gamers. However, unofficial versions of the Steam application just disappeared from the Android Market.
It seems that these unofficial Steam versions have been removed totally, even one that was released just a few weeks ago. This kind of thing happens when a corporation would like to establish dominion within a venue. The Steam API so far has helped give rise to the ability to use the Steam interface without the help of any official company release. Now, it seems that the company turned on the Steam-driven bulldozer and demolished everything that poses as an obstacle to its popularity among Android users.
Sony did something suspiciously similar when it released a phone that uses the Android OS, known as Xperia PLAY. Several console emulators - applications that help users play games meant for other consoles within an interface, whether it be a computer or a mobile phone - just went “poof” and weren't found anymore on the Android Market.
Even if corporations seem to be butting in a little too much, it doesn't seem like users will suffocate anytime soon. Qualcomm (News - Alert) has plans to take advantage of the short-range communication protocols implemented in phones to create a P2P sharing application that allows users to stream media and game together in co-op missions through their Android phones.
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Miguel Leiva-Gomez is a professional writer with experience in computer sciences, technology, and gadgets. He has written for multiple technology and travel outlets and owns his own tech blog called The Tech Guy, where he writes educational, informative, and sometimes comedic articles for an audience that is less versed in technology.Edited by
Jennifer Russell
