Mobile Games Industry Zeitgeist — 2014
1. What do you think was the most significant news event for the mobile games industry in 2014?
As we reach the end of the year it’s clear that 2014 has seen a solid continuation of many of the key trends that emerged in 2013. It’s clear that that the free-to-play model remains dominant and the amount of people who are debating its prevalence or purpose are starting to dwindle. Conversation has moved on from whether it is the right model to the best way that the model is implemented — good free to play game design is paramount to the future of the model.
The dominance of free-to-play games means more free content and fewer sessions per day for gamers — that is unless you can really captivate players with amazing content. For us at Game Insight we never take players for granted. It’s not only the case of competing with other games for player’s attention, but also with messaging and social networking where users spend huge amount of their time.
As expected, we’ve also seen new iterations of mobile operating systems — iOS 8, Android 5 and Windows 8.1 that have been extremely impressive and have moved the user experience forward by a significant leap. At the same time, device manufacturers have improved the performance of mobiles and tablets. Huge-screens coupled with retina full-HD displays means that they can now run full, uncompromised 3D console-quality graphics. Cross-platform gaming is becoming the norm and players expect to have that by default.
As far as key events of the year are concerned, one can’t ignore Microsoft’s acquisition of Mojang as well as the success of Flappy Bird, the Kim Kardashian game and the rise of Hearthstone that exemplifies cross-platform gaming and strength of the brand built over decades.
We’ve been seeing some great traction for Windows and Windows Phones in 2014 and I truly believe that Windows is ready to move into the front-row in the coming year with Windows 10 defining the platform. In terms of technologies, besides low-level API’s like Metal, which brings unparalleled performance to Apple devices, we’ve observed new trends in browsers pushing standards to the limits. As browser plugins are being deprecated, WebGL is finally mature enough for a lot of games, and 2015 will unveil it’s power for real cross-platform, single code-base gaming. We’ve been surprised by Android micro-consoles coming out of the underground and into the mainstream, reborn as Amazon Fire TV and Android TV. We can’t wait for more consumer devices to roll out next year — we might finally see mainstream adoption of “play on the go, get home, play on the couch” that has been “the next big thing” for years.
2. How/Did your business focus change in 2014 and what was the most significant event for your company in 2014?
2014 has also been a landmark year for Game Insight: we’re now 5 years old with more than 250 million registered players and over 45 games released! Until now, we’ve traditionally focused on sim/tycoon and hidden object games such as Tribez & Castlez, Sunshine Bay, Transport Empire, Maritime Kingdom and Paradise Island 2. Now, we’re broadening our focus to include more mid-core titles such as Cloud Raiders and expand into core 3D gaming with X-Mercs.
As the roots of our founders and our core team lie with MMO, browser-based persistent games, and console gaming, we’re really excited to expand into that area and have announce 5 brand new ambitious 3D titles including X-Mercs: Invasion which is coming in early 2015. Most of these titles will have a lot of online features with PvP, chats, leader boards and rankings. We realise how important community is to our players and how vital it is to excite and hold players’ attention.
At Game Insight, we continue to develop our approach to managing our games as non-stop experiences (or as some unimaginatively call them — ’Games as a Service’ or GaaS). From growing our player communities by millions of players, to rolling out a raft of seasonal events and content updates this year, giving out endless prizes to players and reinventing our marketing approach with storytelling — we’ve pioneered a lot of new stuff this year that’s being picked up and imitated by other developers. It’s been a truly fun year to push boundaries in each and every area out there.
3. What was your favourite mobile game of the year? Why?
I’ve been really surprised and addicted to tiny games like Flappy Bird and Timberman. My favorite game of the year is actually a bite-sized experience called Top Tank, but I’ve been excited about Boson X, Disco Zoo, Annoying Cab, Crossy Road and obviously our own games too.
4. What do you predict will be the most important markets (geographically) for your games in 2015?
In terms of territories for mobile games in 2015, we see continuing growth in the US, Europe and Eastern Europe as well as tremendous growth in MENA and emerging countries like India and Vietnam, especially on Windows platforms. We’ll be making a push in Asia in 2015 — we’ve seen our games performing with amazing results in all of the countries in this region and we will be looking to establish partnerships with top industry players to adapt games locally.
5. What do you predict will be the most important trends for the mobile games industry in 2015?
Phablets (or “oversized phones”) will redefine the limits of gaming and will allow developers to create deeper, richer experiences that have been reserved for tablets — meaning deeper, uncompromised gameplay on-the-go, more space to fit stuff for tactical-styled games and games that rely on heavier user interfaces.
Technically, WebGL will re-define the approach to cross-platform game development, opening doors for mobile developers to come back to desktop via no-plugin, instant-on in-browser approach. This, along with micro-consoles such as Android TV will provide alternative ways to experience games both on-the-go and in their full, 24-to-60 inch glory, be it on desktop, or on TV. The annual device refresh cycle will continue to expand the horizons of high-quality 3D games and bring them to hundreds of millions of devices.
6. On a personal level, what’s your New Year’s resolution and what resolution would you enforce on the industry?
Let’s keep pushing player experience to the new heights by raising the bar both on accessibility of user experience, wow-factor of the titles, delighting players with giveaways and really immersing them into persistent experiences!
