MLB At Bat for WP 8

arrowrand

New member
Dec 13, 2012
142
0
0
Visit site
There was an At Bat app for WP last year. I hope at least they give us that one.
I was told no Windows Phone app at all, but At Bat 13 is due to be released sometime today. We should know soon enough.

Now, I won't buy the one for WP at $14.99. I will just use the free version they give to subscribers on Andorid/iOS on my tablet and ipod touch.
There's the problem for WP right there. MLB.tv is a part of MLB, but it has to be profitable on its own to remain available. If there's no money to be made, they have little incentive to make an app.

The first year that At Bat was available for Android it didn't even have live audio streaming. MLB Advanced Media said that Android owners were cheap ****s and they didn't think enough people would buy the paid version to make it pay.

They were wrong about that one, but it was a fairly heavily covered topic in the Android world just a few years ago, and it goes to show their mindset when it comes to platform support.

Maybe the person in charge of getting developers to create apps over at Microsoft is not a baseball fan.
Or maybe WP doesn't have the strength to twist arms into making apps for WP. MLB wants to make money, if there were money to be made here, they'd be here.
 

Travis Petersen

New member
Feb 14, 2013
12
0
0
Visit site
Where the "money to be made" has to fall on Microsoft's side. If they can't prove to the us that they will bring us the apps we want then we have invested in a failed ecosystem. Its simple.

Microsoft NEEDS to start making apps like this a priority. I don't care about Instagram but I saw a sale fail in front of my eyes because a young girl who thought the 8x looked cool asked if they have Instagram. I could care less about app count. But high profile apps need to come to Windows Phone sooner rather than later.
 

jhoff80

New member
Apr 27, 2003
1,415
0
0
Visit site
I mean... they must realize the importance of stuff like this (or at least, one of their divisions does). They pushed last year and finally got MLB.tv on the 360.
 

spaulagain

New member
Apr 27, 2012
1,356
0
0
Visit site
Where the "money to be made" has to fall on Microsoft's side. If they can't prove to the us that they will bring us the apps we want then we have invested in a failed ecosystem. Its simple.

Microsoft NEEDS to start making apps like this a priority. I don't care about Instagram but I saw a sale fail in front of my eyes because a young girl who thought the 8x looked cool asked if they have Instagram. I could care less about app count. But high profile apps need to come to Windows Phone sooner rather than later.


Uhh, no. Microsoft can't force companies to make apps. Even paying them is not enough. These companies have to continue to support the apps even after the initial release, where does that funding come from?

Its simple, WP has to have a significant market share for a company/developer to invest in making an app.

It will get there, I'm hoping that the ease of developing for W8 and WP8 at the same time will slowly draw more apps and users. But it takes time. Developing for 2 platforms is already a large investment, let alone 3 or 4.
 

spaulagain

New member
Apr 27, 2012
1,356
0
0
Visit site
MSFT should basically PAY for these apps. Guarantee the revenue.

Missing apps like this is just killing the platform


Killing it? Really? Its the fastest growing platform right now. Its not going to 20% market share and have all apps over night.

Some of you guys just don't know what it takes for apps that only produce a couple bucks a download.
 

red grenadine

New member
Nov 27, 2010
558
2
0
Visit site
Killing it? Really? Its the fastest growing platform right now. Its not going to 20% market share and have all apps over night.

Some of you guys just don't know what it takes for apps that only produce a couple bucks a download.

On a percentage basis, sure it is the fastest growing platform out right now. But you are talking growth on a minute base. Selling 2 phones when you sold 1 last year is 100% growth. On a unit growth basis? We're not even close.

I've been on the platform since launch in November 2010. It's been 2.5 years and we still don't have Pandora. Or Mint.com. Or a non-beta gimped Skype. Or a Starbucks app. Or a TD Ameritrade app. Scottrade. Fidelity. Wall Street Journal. Economist. Sports Illustrated. Hulu. Instagram has already been beaten to death.

What does it take for apps that produce a couple bucks? We're not talking about that. We're talking about MSFT fixing a huge, gaping hole in the platform that is dissuading users from adopting it. The platform needs app parity (for at least the key guys mentioned above), and it needs it now.
 

arrowrand

New member
Dec 13, 2012
142
0
0
Visit site
At Bat is released. Android, iPhone only. Blackberry Z10 coming by opening day.
Sent from my Nokia Lumia 822 using Board Express Pro
 

ccmoo

New member
Feb 21, 2013
2
0
0
Visit site
Yep, this is a bummer for me, too. I understand it's a chicken-egg sort of thing - Microsoft needs devs to produce apps, and devs need enough WP8 users to show it's worthwhile financially. But the reality is - this has me again rethinking my WP8 purchase. I love my Nokia 920, but I don't love missing a handful of apps that are most important to me. So when renewal time comes, I act the same way as MLB or MSFT or devs, which is to decide if it's worth my while. Microsoft needs to think hard about if it wants to change that for its subscriber base. It can, through partnerships (read: $) that make it worthwhile for devs and orgs like MLB. A commercial with Gwen Stefani is fun, but does it really move the needle?
 

Keith Wallace

New member
Nov 8, 2012
3,179
0
0
Visit site
What a load of crap. The whole "Windows Phone needs subscribers" thing was plausible, until I saw that BB10 is getting this. What is the current marketshare of BB10? 1%? LESS?!

The answer to how this gets fixed is money. Someone said that there needs to be a guaranteed revenue stream because of long-term maintenance, and that is true. That's EASILY fixed with an annual subsidy. For example, say it costs $5,000 to keep the platform working each year. Guarantee $10,000 in revenue, regardless of subscriber count. That tells the developer (in this case, MLB) that there will ALWAYS be money to make in the platform.

Sorry, but once I see that BB10 is getting stuff, the excuses are out the window. I know that the OS is something of an Android copycat, so ports are probably really easy, but Microsoft has SO MUCH MONEY to throw at the platform and grow it that they DO OWE US such things. It's bad enough that the company that makes the best-selling console in the United States is being outdone on the gaming front by a freaking phone manufacturer (Nokia) as it is. Other than commercials with people I care nothing about (I didn't care about Gwen Stefani when she was actually relevant, let alone now), how is Microsoft committing to the platform? I'm not asking for apps to be released right here and now, but a roadmap, or even name-dropping stuff that is in-development would suffice.
 

lacrimal_punctum

New member
Feb 22, 2013
1
0
0
Visit site
It's important to note that last year we didn't get MLB At Bat until Opening Day. However, last year it was actually listed on the At Bat homepage saying coming Opening Day. This year? Nothing. At this point, I don't even care if it's just an updated version of last years app I just need something.
 

Travis Petersen

New member
Feb 14, 2013
12
0
0
Visit site
If blackberry gets the app and we don't.... I don't know man. This is getting ridiculous and it is hard to continue cheerleading when I'm even getting frustrated. I know there is maintenance of the app and there needs to be devs on the team but can't Microsoft do ANYTHING? Some have indicated that it Microsoft doesn't support the format. If that's the case then can't Microsoft be working on that?

Can we sign a petition? Can we donate to MLB or Microsoft? Can Microsoft do anything other than sit and watch as Blackberry!?!? gets major apps before them?
 

Travis Petersen

New member
Feb 14, 2013
12
0
0
Visit site
Also. Is there anything on MLB developing for Windows 8? Wasn't Windows 8 going to bring more incentive to create apps and in turn make those apps easier to port?
 

jhoff80

New member
Apr 27, 2003
1,415
0
0
Visit site
Nope, no word on that either. At least on Windows 8, you could just view it in the browser though. On Windows RT, just like Windows Phone, it sounds like there won't be any option.
 

Keith Wallace

New member
Nov 8, 2012
3,179
0
0
Visit site
I wonder if Microsoft could literally just start hiring developers to get this stuff done. You know, hire a 5-man team of guys to make an MLB app, get a 5-man team to make an Instagram app, and so on. Basically hire about 100 developers and let companies borrow them, if they legitimately cannot convince the developers to make stuff themselves.
 

Members online

Forum statistics

Threads
322,903
Messages
2,242,868
Members
428,004
Latest member
hetb