You may have already heard of a company called Exent and their unique take on Android Gaming, but if not here’s a quick refresher course. Back in 2011 the company launched an all you can eat game subscription service for Android phones which is similar in theory to Netflix where a monthly fee of $4.99 got subscribers unlimited usage of all the games on their “GameTanium” platform.
Because it operated outside of Google’s Play Store, the app needed to be installed directly from their website which caused a problem for a lot of AT&T consumers, because those devices have had their non-Market app downloads disabled at a firmware level. Nonetheless the fledgling outfit was able to offer upwards of 200 game titles by the end of that year. The service has proven invaluable to smaller developers who instead of just offering “lite” versions of their games in the Play Store for free, they can now get their full versions out to the masses via the subscription service, allowing for consumers to further purchase the title down the road.
Then at last year’s Mobile World Congress the company extended their reach into Android tablets by releasing an optimized version of their app for the larger screens. To make the service even better they now offered GameTanium titles cross-platform, meaning that if you were in the middle of a game on your smartphone, you could now pick up right where you left off on your tablet should you choose to do so.
Now just one year later the GameTanium service has come full circle as Exent has now offered the subscription gaming service for smartTVs. Furthermore, they added the ability to control the action on your television by using your Android powered device as a game controller. The cross-platform scenario also applies to the new medium where a player can start a game on their phone or tablet and pick it up on their television or vice versa.
According to Zvi Levgoren, chief executive at Exent “We remain focused on delivering a revolutionary, all-you-can-play subscription games service that supports anytime, anywhere game play. Our GameTanium for TV service represents the next evolution of that vision and a tremendous opportunity for mobile operators, as it enables them to keeps their customers actively engaged whether they are on the go or relaxing on the couch at home.”
GameTanium has extended their reach to include both manufacturers like Lenovo and Asus, as well as carriers including Verizon, AIS, Telmex, and CenturyLink. Their most recent partnership with Deutsche Telekom will bring the service to Poland.
Anyone out there using this service? Curious how the gamers out there like this way of doing things. Developers, has GameTanium helped out your sales? Let us know in the comments.