I’m sure others have discussed this before, but I just wanted to get my thoughts onto “paper.” First, I should note that when I say platforms, I am referring to gaming platforms, specifically gaming platforms in relation to mobile devices. I believe there are a number of factors which contribute to the failure of a platform, but I want to highlight some what I think are the biggest.

NAME

Perhaps this seems really minor, but I think that there is a lot in a name. The i moniker has worked well for Apple. It’s simple, recognizable, somewhat meaningless now but you know what? We all dig it. For whatever reason. It feels better than saying “Zune,” or “Galaxy.” [note: for those of you who do not know, Samsung Galaxy] Both of these may very well have been great devices, but the name screams “I want to be hip.” And it’s hip in the way that wearing a fanny pack is hip.

DESIGN

So many devices are built with this idea that we want sleek and shiny, and they completely ignore the thought of developing something that may have a distinctive flavor. Most MP3 players, tablets (read: iPad rejects), et cetera, end up looking so same-y. Both the operating system and the physical form feel like they’ve been thrown together with scarcely a thought about deviating from the formula. Why not bring us a tablet that looks like something more classical. Ignore this idea that it should look aerodynamic for a bit. It’s not actually going to fly away. I mean, I’m not saying build it like a Walkman, but seriously, maybe you should. Think of how cool the original Game Boy STILL IS.

DEVELOPMENT

One of the things that scares me about this upcoming release of the Sony PlayStation Tablet is that I fear they’re going to keep development fairly closed. Probably the thing that distinguishes marketplaces the most is how freely developers can submit games. The App Store is successful because it accepts basically everything, from the rotten to the golden. If you’re going to manage a successful marketplace, let it feel like a real marketplace! Green Light mostly anything, and let the users decide what lives and what dies. The PlayStation Store suffers from this greatly. There are perhaps 1-3 games released per week on the PS Store, and there’s a good chance that all of the are awful. Additionally, the gems can’t shine amongst all the rubble because there’s no decent way to sort it. TLDR: Let developers put whatever they want up for sale, allow users to sort entire libraries.

WHY WRITE THIS? WHO ARE YOU WRITING TO?

The reason I’m writing this is because I really want to see some break from the homogeneous mobile market we have now. I would love to feel comfortable buying a mobile platform which isn’t Apple made. Yes, I’ve heard that the Android Market is quite robust, but currently I think a fair number of good developers flock to the App Store first. I know this blog is not likely to influence anything, particularly because it’s read by approximately two people and I updated it once a year (so far, on average).

I also don’t want anything to de-throne Apple. I want there to be multiple thrones. I am just bored by the “choices” we have.