In what appears to be an attempt at keeping up with the app market shift in hand-held devices, Amazon recently announced the release of its first set of free games for the Kindle.
Now, customers can download Shuffled Row and Every Word, which basically sound like variations on the same theme. In both games, the goal is to create the largest number of words from the selection at the top. In one of the games, the choice of letters changes as the game progresses. There are timed modes, so here’s to hoping that the response time in the new Kindle has a faster response time than its earlier counterpart.
Though I prefer to read from a physical book, I have used a Kindle, and I do quite enjoy them if all I’m planning to do is read. What’s preventing me from seeing it as a gaming device is that I have a phone with a much larger selection of applications, not to mention the various gaming consoles and multi-platform computer game collection at home. I know why Amazon wants to enter the gaming market, but I’m not certain that the interest in Kindle games will be high enough to convince people who’d otherwise have no interest in an e-reader to buy one. The nice thing is that Amazon has also released their Kindle Development Software Kit, so that would-be Kindle developers can fill in the holes where my Kindle Sudoku and Kindle Crossword puzzles should be.
In the end, I don’t know if I’ll be clambering to buy the next hottest Kindle game. But, on days that I would normally take a book to the park and lay on a blanket, it’ll be nice to punctuate my favorite page-turner with a couple of vocab-boosting brain teasers.
I do not yet own a Kindle, but X-Mass time, I may just gift myself one. I’m more likely now, because of the new lower priced available models, and because of this new approach to provide gaming options to the best e-reader in the industry. As long as the game apps don’t go *too* crazy with advanced animation related games which, (I would fear) install some kind of temp files, s-l-o-w-i-n-g down the performance of the processor, possibly taking away from the reading apps. I also don’t believe color should be introduced to the Kindle. B&W is not only easier on the eyes, but color would take up computing power, memory & would most certainly add to the purchase price. With the obvious exception of color pictures, B&W serves *me* fine for novels, adventure stories & the other fiction/non-fiction reading matter which fills our hearts, minds & imaginations with the love of the printed page… “B”
Can’t wait to see what things creative people come up with for gaming on the Kindle. I know I’m not alone in my interest in seeing Frotz/Z-Machine interactive fiction games like the classic Zork for the Kindle; it seems like a natural fit. 🙂