Unlike iPhone users, owners of Android smart phones aren�t tied to a single app store.
On Monday, mobile game publisher Gameloft made 10 of its Android games available directly through its website, bypassing the need to use Google�s Android Market.
The games, which run on Android handsets like the Motorola Droid, HTC Desire and Nexus One, include versions of Ubisoft games like Assassin�s Creed and Tom Clancy�s H.A.W.X. as well as mobile platform hits like Asphalt 5 and Let�s Golf.
Buying games direct from the source requires users to do a little bit of tweaking: In order to grab and install apps and games from outside the Android Market, users must change their phone�s settings to accept downloads from �unknown sources.�
Gameloft vice president of publishing Baudouin Corman told Wired.com in an email that the company feels that Android is still in the �early stages� of game distribution, and that it wants to test multiple avenues to find the optimal system to get consumers their games.
�We have supported Android from the very beginning,� he said, citing the 30 different games that Gameloft has released on the platform so far.
Last year, another Gameloft executive said that the company had �significantly cut (its) investment in Android platforms.� Corman insists that Gameloft is committed to Android phones.
But Google still has a long way to go before Android becomes the gaming gold mine that the iPhone has been.
This isn�t the first time Gameloft has experimented with offering games for Android phones outside of Google�s Android Market. Prior to Monday, a handful of games like Oregon Trail to 1 vs 100 have been available via direct download from Gameloft.
But when I visited Gameloft�s webstore with my Droid, I had a heck of a time figuring out how to pay my three bucks for Oregon Trail. I hope making the payment process more clear is part of Gameloft�s plans.
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