Week in Views - Apple back themselves bigstyle, Clash bags Haaland and dreams come true at King
- The PocketGamer.biz team share their thoughts and go that little bit deeper on some of the more interesting things that have happened in mobile gaming in the past week
The games industry moves quickly and while stories may come and go there are some that we just can't let go of…
So, to give those particularly thorny topics a further going over we've created a weekly digest where the members of the PocketGamer.biz team share their thoughts and go that little bit deeper on some of the more interesting things that have happened in mobile gaming in the past week.
Daniel Griffiths
Apple's AI plans trigger $110 billion stock buyback despite declining sales
Apple's latest results were - all told - a lot better than some had previously imagined. While handset sales were down in all important China, Tim Cook and the boys were able to spin it that in "mainland" China sales were actually up. Neat.
And while iPad results looked a little lame, of course the timing couldn't be worse on the iPad front with Apple all set to launch new lines next week (and hopefully clear up exactly what IS the difference between an iPad, an iPad Air and an iPad Pro these days - and what accessory pencil and keyboard works with what).
The iPad line up is of course great for gaming and perhaps most famous as Apple's longest-lasting, no-need-to-upgrade product with devices from five or more years ago working perfectly well and still delivering the goods. (If 'the goods' involves watching YouTube and playing Mini Motorways.)
Hey, they were even brave enough to mention Vision Pro… While saying very little else.
But most notable of course was the massive AI elephant in the room and the fact that Apple have big plans that they can't talk about. No change there then, but their moves to up their share dividend and buy back $110 billion of their own stock in advance of their next big WWDC reveal shows a company that has something big up its sleeve.
All I can say is if the end result is that Siri can successfully start a timer and pause my music next time I'm up to my ears in DIY it'll be worth every penny.
Paige Cook
Man City and Norway striker Erling Haaland joins Clash of Clans
You would think Supercell is too busy focusing on the soft launch and soon-to-be global release of Squad Busters to have any other big news dropping, but nope! They’ve announced that the first ever real person is making their way into Brawl Stars as a character. Who is it? Man City striker Erling Haaland of course…
My first thought about this was, well, why him? I can’t say I’m a big football fan, but I know he’s a huge star player; even still, there are plenty of sports stars or celebrities out there, some who have worked with Supercell before to promote games, so why do we now see the leap of someone actually joining the game?
Apparently Haaland approached Supercell as a fan of the game, so it's a win-win situation, and surely he won’t be the only one. They’ve opened the door into new territory now, and I’d be surprised if this is a one time only thing; why not bring other people into the game or even other characters from other media? Plenty of games are doing this, and it’s a brilliant marketing plan. It gives current players something new to work toward, and if you’re a fan of whomever they’re adding to the game, it’s highly likely to engage that player or even create new ones.
I think it’s a great announcement and another showcase of how gaming is collaborating more with other media and entertainment and attracting some of the world's biggest stars. Now, all we have to ask is, who’s next?
Aaron Astle
King’s Paula Ingvar: a games industry journey from "I’m not worthy!" to Candy Crush Soda’s VP of product
During my time in Sweden last month, I had the chance to sit down and chat with Candy Crush Soda’s VP of product Paula Ingvar, whose journey has been an immense one. After all, in the past decade Ingvar’s career trajectory has changed from being a traffic engineer playing Candy Crush Soda for fun, to a key member of King’s squad in charge of Soda’s product teams.
She’s quite literally lept up the ranks despite self-doubts a decade ago, when she thought she wouldn’t be “worthy” of working at King. Yet here she is topping the tree.
Of course, this Week in Views segment is only a taster of our full interview, so be sure to check out the full story above.
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