Apple Watch will soon be available, can you lift the tide of smart watch games?

According to foreign media reports, smart watches recently in Google and Apple, led by the two giants have become more and more hot, first a large wave of Android Wear smart watch on the list, followed by Apple Watch is also about to be sold, coupled with the appearance of various products at CES, Time smart watches have become the science and technology industry, and mobile developers have begun to explore the potential of wearable games.

Six to start is one of them, the mobile game developer in 2011 on the Kickstarter platform on the public launch of the mobile phone fitness game "zombie Run" (Zombies, run!), The paid game then has a cumulative download of about 1 million times on the iOS and Android platforms. Six to start CEO Adrian Han (Adrian Hon), speaking at the London PG connects conference, said that while he was optimistic about smart watch games and wearable games, But he also feels that wearable gaming is not as profitable as mobile phones and tablet games.

"I just want to remind everyone to stay calm," "When we developed zombie run three years ago, we didn't have a hot smart watch or wearable device like Google glasses, but we were treating smartphones as wearable devices," says Adrian. Because a lot of people were tying smartphones to their arms and running, so the phone was like a large smart watch, and if people put on headphones then they could interact with the game and the experiential media. ”

Today, several vendors, including Samsung, LG and Motorola, have launched Android Wear smart watches; Apple has also released its own Apple Watch and launched its own SDK for developers, while Google has unveiled a distinctive wearable device-Google glasses.

Adrian then mentions the snub to Android Wear devices and Google glasses. "Frankly speaking, Android Wear devices don't have a lot of users, and that's not a big market right now," he said. "Many Android Wear devices are not priced, which makes me very worried about the future of the platform, and you can buy LG's smart watch at 70 or 80 pounds. The retail price of the store is as high as 150 or 200 pounds, which is clearly not a good omen. ”

Google Glasses: Wearable equipment that is not worth paying attention to

Adrian believes that consumer demand for Android Wear smart watches has not yet emerged, although he acknowledges that one of the reasons for this may be that no heavyweight application can attract the attention of the user.

"Take Google Glasses for example, battery endurance, the type of input, the high cost and the limited use of the scene are all problems that the device needs to overcome," said Adrian, "which is a rather interesting experimental device, but it is completely out of the ordinary consumer, and this device may continue to be popular for 5-10 of years, But for developers, there is no need to put it in a very important position, because consumers currently do not see this too advanced equipment purchase value. ”

Six to start believes that Apple Watch will succeed in the future and drive sales of Android Wear devices, so it is now exploring the potential of smart watch application markets. The most important challenge for smart watch developers, says Adrian, is to think first about what type of input is used on these devices before developing a smart watch app, especially how to attract users not to use a larger screen smartphone.

"Be sure to figure out under what circumstances people will use smart watches, for example, when moving, on the road, during a workout, or when you don't want to carry a cell phone," said Adrian, "We also have new input and output methods for smart watches (such as buttons and screens). ”

Take fitness applications and games, for example, to take advantage of the innate advantages of smart watches--which can be worn on the user's wrist, which, in contrast, can only be held in hand, in a pocket or tied to an arm. "With the help of health-care applications, we can learn when people are doing push-ups, high jump, skipping rope or running, and having smart watches, all of which can be very handy," he said. "said Adrian.

A lot of problems need to be solved

Adrian also warns developers that even if future smart watches are recognized by consumers, there are many challenges at the app store level. "It's hard to focus on the little screen of the watch when people are moving, let alone running," he said. If you're not bothered to look at your phone screen while you're walking, you probably don't want to look at the smart watch screen, and if you stare at the watch screen, it's likely to be unsafe, "he said." So for developers, it's important to think about this. After all, we don't want users to put themselves in danger by using our apps. ”

So what happens when people are static? Adrian thinks people will be more inclined to use smartphones this time. "If people are static, why don't they choose a bigger screen?" he said. The phone will still be the first choice for people to get information, "he said.

Adrian points out that battery endurance may be an obstacle to the application and gaming of smart watches, but it may not be a big problem if users develop a habit of a day. In contrast, limited hardware configuration and functionality will be a major constraint on smart watch applications. "If you look at Apple's Watch SDK, you'll find it hard for developers to make large applications or games based on this device," says Adrian, "you can do some work on notification tweets and settings, but most smart watches are hard to operate independently of their phone connections, So developers should also take this into account when developing smart watch applications. ”

Smart watch game users hard to scale

Adrian also hopes to express his views on developers who have developed sustainable income through smart watch games. "I think more than 50% of the players are not interested in smart watch games, after all, the price of smart watches is not low, Apple watch is priced at $350, and some good Android Wear watches are priced at more than 200 dollars," he said. At the same time everyone has a smart phone, so many players do not need to be in the game need to buy smart watches. This is the current reality, as for smart watch games, especially those free games can be recognized by the players, is still unknown. ”

Even so, Adrian still thinks there will be plenty of developers exploring the potential of this new market, including six to Start, but Adrian warns developers to be prepared for a "protracted war" and failure. "I think it will take years for the market to figure out where the opportunities are," he said, "so the idea that a smart watch is the next gold Digger is unfounded, at least we don't yet know whether users will be willing to pay for smart watch apps." ”