iPhone development is on the rise as Nintendo fights for developer attention.
In the past year, only 30 percent of console developers have been actively working on Wii games, down from 42 percent in 2008, according to a recent survey conducted by Game Developer Research.
The survey consisted of 55 questions, and was submitted to 814 developers via Game Developer Magazine, Gamasutra, and the Game Developer's Conference. The results were compiled into a 100-page report that featured many statistics about game developers, including the following:
- Of all game developers, more than 70 percent were working on a PC, Mac, or Browser based game. 41 percent reported working on a console game.
- 69 percent of console developers were working on an Xbox 360 game, compared to 61 percent on Playstation 3 and 40 percent on Wii.
- 25 percent of developers were working on games for mobile platforms.
- Of the mobile developers, almost 75 percent were working on games for iPhone OS. Less than half of this percentage was working on either a Nintendo DS or Sony PSP game.
- Developers working for smaller teams of 50 employees or fewer grew by 7 percent in the past year. Likewise, the number of developers working for large teams of 500 or more fell by 2 percent.
According to the survey, "ease of development" and "market penetration" were the leading factors in choosing which platform to develop for, along with the skill sets of their team, the ability to easily port to multiple platforms, and the cost of development materials.
The full report is available for purchase from Game Developer Research for $2495. More data from the survey will be revealed in the next issue of Game Developers Magazine.