FACEBOOK ENTERS THE CHAT
Far from being the only new player to enter the
gaming world in recent years, Facebook is also
set to boost its interest in the market. Although
the company has ofered social gaming
experiences for a number of years - remember,
its platform was the pioneer behind titles such
as Candy Crush and Farmville - the company
conirmed in July that it was to launch a new
gaming platform of its own. Facebook Gaming
won’t be available on the App Store due to
cloud gaming limitations from Apple, but it will
be available via a progressive web app so that
users can access engaging, attention-grabbing
games from the Safari web browser.
Speaking to The Verge at the launch of the
new platform, Facebook’s vice president of
gaming, Vivek Sharma, said that Apple’s game
streaming limitations have hampered their
eforts, but added that it “game to the same
conclusion as others” like Microsoft that it
made sense to launch via a web app instead.
“We’ve come to the same conclusion as others:
web apps are the only option for streaming
cloud games on iOS at the moment. As many
have pointed out, Apple’s policy to ‘allow’ cloud
games on the App Store doesn’t allow for much
at all. Apple’s requirement for each cloud game
to have its own page, go through review, and
appear in search listings defeats the purpose
of cloud gaming. These roadblocks mean
players are prevented from discovering games,
playing cross-device, and accessing new games
natively; even for those who aren’t using the
latest and most expensive devices.”
The criticism follows Microsoft’s launch of the