Obviously, as a videogame that simulates a jigsaw, Jigsaw Guru Free is a fairly predictable experience. The player chooses their image, the difficulty of their puzzle (from three different piece amounts) and then begins to correctly assemble the picture. Where Jigsaw Guru Free makes strides towards being worthy of attention is in that of the extra garnish: a layer of additional features that go beyond what would normally be expected of a free jigsaw puzzle app. From a well presented leaderboard to the series of help options available in-game, Jigsaw Guru Free is a comprehensive jigsaw puzzle package.
Making a welcome debut on Windows Phone 7, Fairy Engine’s launch of Jigsaw Guru hasn’t exactly been plain sailing. A delay resulting in missing the UK launch or the new handheld gaming format, and then little commercial reaction with the US roll-out, Jigsaw Guru has been a hard sell. But this hasn’t dampened the developer’s spirits it seems, as Fairy Engine is prepared to continue supporting the platform.
Despite consistently ranking highly in the top selling paid games for the Puzzle & Trivia category on the Zune Marketplace, Fairy Engine LLC’s Jigsaw Guru has reportedly suffered from less-than-impressive sales since its release shortly after the European launch of the Windows Phone 7 format. Fairy Engine has since released an advertisement supported version, entitled Jigsaw Guru Free, but has also contacted Electronic Theatre to discuss the issue.
WP7 just doesn't have the numbers to be a viable development platform. I guess the early movers were tempted by Microsoft money, or thought there would be no competition.
Even if the 1.5 million shipped equated to sold, the numbers are still tiny compared to iOS, Android, RIM or sinking Symbian.
But as we've seen with the 360, Microsoft are usually in it for the long haul. Give it another 18 months, and we'll see what's happening.