Gree ‘sorry’ for handling of OpenFeint closure

Gree has said it is sorry for its handling of the closure of OpenFeint and for putting developers in what it admitted was a tough situation.

Speaking to PocketGamer, SVP of marketing and developer relations Eros Resmini said the firm had originally planned to give developers a full year to mirgrate to a new platform, having initially announced the planned shutdown earlier in the year.

Gree recently made the decision to close OpenFeint on December 14th, an announcement it only made earlier this month, causing anger amongst many developers who had made games for the platform.

Any developers who do not migrate are set to lose all information and unsecured player data afterthe closure, and all network calls will be nonfunctional.

Resmini claimed that many developers did not leave despite revealing its plans months ago, and that OpenFeint had continued to grow at an “unmanageable pace” during the last six months, forcing the company to give a shorter window for games to be taken off the platform.

“First of all, I want to personally apologise to developers that we’ve put in this tough situation,” said Resmini.

“It was a very difficult for me to hear about all the frustrations and pain this has caused the developers who’ve supported OpenFeint, and we’re acutely aware that this is the least ideal time.

“We know that it is a challenge but hope developers can adjust under short notice and will be here to help them as much as possible every step of the way.”

Due to a combination of factors, including a higher than expected number of games, he added: “The antiquated OpenFeint servers can’t take the anticipated load going into the holiday season and we don’t have the ability to change that without significant investments.

“We felt it was best to give developers a chance to remove OpenFeint and avoid what were inevitably going to be poor experiences for players during peak season.”

Gree hopes that developers will now move their titles to its new and upcoming Gree platform, despite lacking some features already available in OpenFeint.

Resmini admitted however that the mobile gaming outfit would have to rebuild trust with some developers due to some of the anger the decision has caused.