TechGutter recently reviewed LocoMatrix and a number of interesting points and criticisms were raised which I thought needed challenging. So here goes:
- The £30 price tag for a GPS unit will put people off – maybe put some people off, but others spend far more on other gadgets (Geocachers seem prepared to pay a lot for handhelds). The price of GPS is coming down – the ones that I have been buying recently cost around £25 including postage, and you can now buy them sub £20. The price will continue to fall. Also as I have said elsewhere, there are advantages to a separate unit (as opposed to built in phone) – better accuracy, longer battery life, and you can turn it on and put it in your pocket. As to large groups playing LocoMatrix: it will depend on how much fun the games are. There are plans for games where not everyone needs a gps unit. We are at an early stage still – and hoping that dads (and mums) may enjoy playing games with their children.
- Long time before every phone has GPS. Agreed, but we are not expecting everyone to start playing LocoMatrix today, or even tomorrow.
- Manufacturers will make their own GPS games. Agreed, but our games are cross-manufacturer meaning that you don’t have to have the same make of phone to play with you friends. We see LocoMatrix as more social – where you can compete against rival teams and play games over longer periods of time where the website side of things will come into play. Also, we may be creating games for the manufactures (watch this space!) – and expect to see our platform used by other very soon.
- Levels of games will always be available for free – users will be asked to pay only if they want to compete at the higher levels. It may be that we will have games funded by advertisers – would rather see an Innocent Smoothie than a Big Mac (but that’s another story).
- My quote – “I think this is the next logical stage, rather than manipulating the character on the screen, to go out and become those characters in your own real life adventures” was meant less about creating a real life GTA (this exists quite happily in many areas without LocoMatrix) and was a genuine belief that people could get more fun from playing computer-type games outdoors.
As to who is right – we’ll just have to wait and see. Early days yet.
Hi Richard,
I think its a great idea but there are just so many things standing in the way of this becoming popular.
1) If your a parent playing with your child, would you really buy your kid a handset and gps unit to play against you? or do you share one mobile between you ? If your sharing whoever isnt holding the handset isnt really involved, your just running behind someone, thats why groups of people with one handset between them wouldn’t work.
Phone screens are small and if your not directly in front of it then its going to be as frustrating as watching someone play the Nintendo DS when you want a go.
2) The amount of handsets compatible is so small.
Getting users to download an application to take part in something has always been difficult on its own. But when you exclude so many people it becomes even harder.
For example Java 2D code readers have been around in the UK for years now and can be used on over 350 handsets, however they have never really taken off here. Why? Because they still only cover a small portion of phones available and people a weary of downloading and using applications as they know it will cost loads in data. And with Locomatrix you have to either have a top handset or buy a gps unit. These are massive barriers.
3) Locomatrix for the iPhone. Do you have any plans to develop for the iPhone? Ive already heard of other companies developing GPS games for the iPhone downloadable through the app store. That would be a goldmine. Right there you have millions of users all with the same handset and functionality no extra equipment. But you will have competition in a race to be first to market.
1) Cost of Play: Several possibilities here – will be games that use 1 GPS with multiple phones. But you can be up and running with a second hand phone, GPS unit and a pay-as-you-go SIM for around the price of one computer game for say Xbox (cheap compatible phone on eBay £20, GPS unit £22, free SIM from Orange with £1 per day network connectivity)
Screen Size: Agree it creates limitations both from looking at, and also whilst moving around. We are looking at ways that we can use those limitations rather than let them inhibit.
2) Agree to much of what you are saying and as soon as you get involved in creating games for mobile phones you realise how lucky you were previously when you only had to deal with PCs and Macs.
That being said, people are starting to play LocoMatrix and as time goes by this number will rise – as we have more compatible phones, as phones include GPS, as people start to use other location-based services.
3) Yes, we do have plans for the iPhone – watch this space
Overall, it’s early days and we are quite happy with a slow but steady uptake of what we are doing, and we have quite a few interesting announcements coming up.