Let the Games (Conferences) Begin!
Ahhh... the days are getting longer, weather is warming up and birds are chirping once again. This can only mean one thing: 'tis the season for game conferences!
Hot on the heels of this week's GDC in San Francisco, Beijing's own Global Mobile Game Congress (GMGC) will kick off from March 26-27th and bring together some of the biggest names in mobile gaming.
Maxim de Wit, Director of International at Beijing-based GMGC, took time this week to shed some light on what's happening in mobile gaming.
1 - What are the hottest topics in mobile gaming this year?
The effect that more widespread adoption of 4G will have on the mobile games market is definitely front-of-mind. Especially for those studios itching to rollout mobile versions of multiplayer games that require higher connection speeds and access to online game servers from handheld game consoles, 4G is big.
Another hot topic is smart TVs. Connected TVs represent a whole new opportunity for game developers to invade the living room. They're not 'mobile' devices in the strictest sense, but they'll definitely occupy a seat in the device mix as the model of a persistent universal account across different devices matures.
King has been a leader and reaped the benefits of minding cross-platform persistence, for example by allowing Candy Crush players to login, play and auto-save their current status and game on iOS, and then pick up again when they start playing again on Facebook.
2 - How does Apple's $32 million settlement of the IAP lawsuit affect game studios and monetization strategy?
The settlement really affects the app stores more than the game studios, as they're the party responsible for providing a secure and foolproof transaction technology, to ensure children cannot make in-app purchases without their parents’ approval and other activity.
Las year, Apple set aside $100 million for in-app purchase refunds, so even when you add in the January settlement it's really a fraction of the App Store’s $10 billion in 2013 sales. The whole story has brought important issues surrounding mobile transactions into the public sphere, but we really don't see it having a significant effect on the in-app purchase business model.
3 - Everyone's talking about WhatsApp, LINE, WeChat, Viber... How is the rise of messaging apps changing the mobile gaming landscape?
One word: Discovery. Messaging apps like LINE, Kakao Talk and WeChat are changing the way new games get marketed and discovered. They're essentially creating a surging new acquisition channel for mobile game studios (and really any mobile app businesses).
The social nature of messaging apps is really exciting, because they have the viral potential to push games to the top of the charts enhance the experience for games with strong social features. Here in China, two great early examples of games that have leveraged WeChat to this effect are the endless runner Gunz Dash (天天酷跑), and Guitar-Hero-like Jiezou Dashi (节奏大师).
4 - This is the second year for GMGC, what will be different this year from 2013?
In 2013, GMGC took a lead in uniting the domestic Chinese mobile gaming ecosystem by organizing events, summits and dinners to stimulate networking, collaboration and discussions on the future of the industry. We've learned a lot and it's been really rewarding to play our part in the fantastic community of game developers, artists, entrepreneurs, investors and executives here in China.
This year, our focus is to expand our platform and really serve as a bridge for foreign companies to explore China as among the world's most exciting gaming markets, by finding the right local partners. We're also preparing to organize events in Southeast Asia for companies to connect and explore opportunities in those burgeoning markets.