Korean UA trends, "view-to-play", and the sustainability of Fallout Shelter

A glance at last week's top stories

• 5 What can the mobile games industry learn from Fallout Shelter's success?

  

  In the wake of Fallout Shelter's success, we asked our Mobile Mavens what - if anything - the industry could learn from it. A blip soon to be forgotten, or something to be studied closely by others?

  The power of the brand was the straightforward answer, and one that came up time and time again, but there were other proposed factors from our band of experts: strong App Store presence, high quality, and authenticity to the lore of the francshise were all posited.

  Regardless, it was generally agreed upon that a number of factors came together to make Fallout Shelter such a success - and, as such, that we're unlikely to see another of its kind anytime soon.
  

   

  
  

• 4 One year and $120 million later, is Kim Kardashian: Hollywood still top grossing?

  

  A year on, we cast the focus of our Charticle onto Kim Kardashian: Hollywood to see how it's endured - and on a worldwide scale.

  Despite finding significant success, we found that its worldwide success was limited by its rather narrow global appeal - Australia, Canada, the UK and the US are the only regions in which the game has found serious traction, with non English-speaking markets less receptive.

  However, in its core regions it continues to monetise strongly, making the the top 50 grossing in the UK and US and the top 70 in Australia and Canada.

  
  

• 3 Why Helsinki start-up Futureplay is going ad-first but not ad-only

  

  Having previously covered Futureplay Games as the Helsinki-based start-up dream team with a "view-to-play" vision, we were keen to get in touch with fomer Rovio EVP and Futureplay CEO to learn more about the specifics.

  "We'll have a balance between ads and IAPs, depending on the game and genre, but being ad-focused will allow us to be more generous," he told us.

  He also observed the higher rate of growth in ad-based revenues over IAP, and that players are becoming more and more receptive - accustomed, even - to watching ads in lieu of spending.

  
  

• 2 The 4 marketing trends shaking up the Korean mobile games market

  

  Byungjo Kim, mobile business department director of Nasmedia, lent us his expertise to run down 4 major trends currently dominating the mobile games industry in Korea.

  There are a couple of misconceptions, or perhaps simply outdated assumptions about the region, that are helpfully dispelled here. For starters, Kakao's no longer the be-all and end-all for Korean success.

  Furthermore, the IP - while in the past holding seemingly little influence over a game's success - is now becoming an increasingly significant part of the Korean industry, with exisiting gaming and cartoon IPs aiding the initial UA phase.

  
  

• 1 Why the immediate success of Fallout Shelter can't be sustained

  

  And, in at number 1, we're back to mulling over the Fallout Shelter situation. This time, we cast aside how it happened and move on to how long it can continue for - is its current rate of success sustainable?

  Largely, the consensus of our Monetizer Mavens pointed towards 'no'. The primary reason given for this was that Fallout Shelter simply doesn't seem built to hold the interests of the player over the long-term, with not enough content to support keen fans.

  And while the reveal was rightly heralded as a Bethesda masterstoke, it was also suggested that it created a hyperactive but unsustainable buzz around the game - very much a short-term affair for many hardcore Fallout fans.