Hisense.” Eric says the advantage of this, is to thinking about the “whole eco-system, rather than a piecemeal approach” to attacking the market.
Of course making a strong game is only the first part of the story. The other important part of a successful game is its distribution strategy. For Gameloft, hitting the key channels of handset manufacturers like Samsung, Nokia, Huawei and App Stores like Apple, Android, Windows is equally important. From a business development perspective, Gameloft attacks the market from both an external and internal angle. Externally, the company builds strong relationships with app store managers by providing regular updates about games and new releases to sync in with promo plans to get “top deck placement”. Internally, the company uses digital marketing promotions and has discovered that since China is so price sensitive “revenue earned from price discounts over holiday periods is greater than getting top deck placement in an app store”
As a well established gaming company, Gameloft has defined a diversified pricing strategy to deliver strong cash flow. On one end, “freemium” games allow players to download for free and buy upgrades or In App Purchase (IAP) items for a fee. “China gamers are so price-sensitive that the trend is going towards freemium,” says Tan, a trend backed up by research from App Annie stating freemium revenue has increased 25 times since last year on iOS. “Paymium” is a hybrid model where players first pay to download and also have the option to buy upgrades or IAP goods which offers “attractive and instant cash flow”. On the other end of the scale is the more traditional premium model where you For other developers looking to take advantage have to pay to play. of the enormous gaming market in China, Tan According to Tan, “Every four years seem to be a had some valuable insights to take notice of. breakthrough” for Gameloft. He explained that First, ‘localize’ games down to cultural elements, in 1999/2000, Gameloft started with a deal with graphics and language. Second, take advantage Nokia for one project; in 2003/2004 the com- of open channels that dominate traffic like pany branched out into Java games and opened Tencent, UCWeb and 360, since these platforms new offices around the world; in 2007/2008 have the largest pool of active gamers who are Apple App Store delivered exponential revenue willing to pay. Lastly, although iOS will be a growth and in 2011/2012, the gaming world has cash cow, “We are only at the tip of the iceberg moved towards a trend of social and freemium when it comes to Android” and Tan thinks that games. Throughout all these phases, Gameloft it’s worth prioritizing resources that way. has “maneuvered successfully to adapt to these As a true Gameloft man, Tan admitted his fatrends and opportunities.” vorite game is the Asphalt Racing series and Tan was very proud when talking about the says it’s simply “part of the job.” A dream come company’s differentiating ability to partner true for any gamer! with movie studios and said it’s what they “do best.” Through exclusive partnerships, they Jason Lim is an have made hit games like Ice Age Village with Australian-born tech Fox; Batman: The Dark Knight Rises with Warner writer with technode. Bros and Spider Man with Sony. Although these com and helps peomovie studios have millions of dollars to spend ple find housing in on games and their own gaming resources, Beijing with his star“Time after time, they come back to us and tup koombah.com that’s a sign of approval that we make great games,” says Tan.
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