OpenFeint, the mobile social network division of Japan’s Gree, is announcing a Game Channel today that will help users discover new game apps on Android mobile devices.
Amid the ever-expanding sea of mobile games, it’s getting a lot harder to find the good ones. So discovery platforms are multiplying to give users better advice, social discovery, and more viral ways to find games.
Previously, OpenFeint’s Game Channel was available only on iOS (Apple’s iPhone, iPod and iPad devices). Heyzap launched its own discovery-focused game check-in app earlier this year and updated the app yesterday with new platform features.
Game Channel features Free Game of the Day, Featured Games, Premier Games, and Curated Game Lists. The channel also highlights games based on common themes, and it will include promotional opportunities for free-to-play game makers.
“We learned a lot about discovery on Android with our Spotlight app and with Game Channel on iOS,” said Eros Resmini, senior vice president of marketing and developer relations.
OpenFeint’s software development kit is used in 7,000 games that reach 128 million users. Its rival, DeNA/Ngmoco, is reportedly struggling with the beta test of its Mobage mobile social network on Android, although Ngmoco says that the beta test results are still preliminary. Gree bought OpenFeint for $104 million earlier this year. OpenFeint founder Jason Citron recently left and was replaced by the head of Gree International, Naoki Aoyagi.