In a move to switch industries, Rakuten – the tech company that was first operating on the ecommerce front, has now moved on to making games for mobile called R Games.
Rakuten is not doing this alone however, and have partnered with US-based gaming startup Blackstorm. The kind of games that the duo will be making are HTML5 based, this means compatibility across all platforms and OSes as well as the comfort of being launched from different apps. This way, they will not require any download or installation and can be played from almost any source on the phone.
R Games has launched up to 15 titles, among which will include classical revamps of Pac-Man and Space Invaders. R Games is also looking to include third-party game developers on their platform for promotion. The company revealed a great plan of action for players to join in and collaborate. Users will be able to compete with each other and also work together in order to solve challenges. Fulfilling certain objectives will unlock super points in Rakuten’s loyalty program which can be used as currency in order to spend on in-app purchases.
Since Blackstorm has an affinity for HTML5 games, it seemed like an obvious partner for Rakuten to tie up with. They are planning on not being confined to the spaces of the app stores for various platforms, but are more into the “post app store” trend that sees distribution of apps along a larger scale than what is currently available.
The advantage of having an HTML5 based application processing code is better than those that are made for specific platforms like Android or iOS. There is no need to port, nor will there be any hiccups in running the games themselves across any device. This is why the tie-up between the two companies will see development of apps that go beyond just games but also a means to access certain apps that can be started from a browser or an application, retaining the same qualities as that of a downloaded app. A good example for this is how users on Messenger can easily play the basketball mini-game.
The future of apps could be more involved with links and websites and other apps as opposed to being in an app store and R Games feels like this is the road that it should be treading. HTML5 has its uses but it may be too soon still to think beyond app stores, at least for now.
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