Coming soon: Verizon Games Portal for Android devices
Verizon will soon begin preloading its devices with Games Portal, a hybrid marketplace and social games network.
Announced today, Verizon's Android devices will soon come loaded with a new Games Portal, a standalone app marketplace for games (separate from Google Play) combined with a social network similar to Apple's Game Center.
Powered by PlayPhone, an experienced builder of gaming networks, Verizon's Games Portal figures to be an attractive marketplace for developers. The platform not only offers distribution to millions of Verizon customers, but it also allows these customers to take advantage of direct carrier billing, a low-friction option that could result in more games-based purchases. What's more, since Android doesn't (yet?) have a built-in gaming platform to rival Apple's Games Center, the market seems ripe for the release of just such a network. But again, this is only for Verizon customers for now.