It's time to rethink licensed IP, Supercell's startup culture, and Shipyard Games is grateful for Pokemon GO
You may not have heard of Shipyard Games - it's only just recently been set up - but it's already secured $3 million in funding from Supercell and is gearing up to launch an exciting sounding single-player location-based game.
It also believes now is the right time, thanks to the overwhelming success of Pokemon GO, as CEO Andreas Wedenberg told us in our interview with him last week.
Second on our Hot Five list is Ilkka Paananen's talk on how Supercell operates as a collection of small teams, a presentation he gave during last week's RovioCon.
Switching, thinking and acquiring
Third up is the news that Nintendo's Switch is its fastest-selling console of all time, with over 900,000 units sold in the US alone.
And finally, a look at why it may be time to rethink how mobile developers deal with licensed IP, and Appodeal talks about what it plans to do with Corona Labs.
Click the link below to find out more about the stories that caught our readers' attention last week.
#5: Appodeal on its plans for Corona and why more ad companies could enter the game engine fray
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Appodeal on its plans for Corona and why more ad companies could enter the game engine fray »Ad mediation firm Appodeal surprised many when it acquired Corona Labs and its 2D game engine in March.
The deal, the size of which was undisclosed, saw Corona Labs continue to operate as its own entity.
In fact, the only major change introduced by Appodeal so far has been the move to make the Enterprise edition of the Corona SDK available free of charge.
To find out more about the motivations behind the move and Appodeal's long-term ambitions for Corona, PocketGamer.biz reached out to Corona Labs' new CEO Stepan Solovyov.
#4: It's time for a rethink on how mobile games developers deal with licensed IP
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It's time for a rethink on how mobile games developers deal with licensed IP »Licensed IPs can raise a great game idea into something the world will want to play - would Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes really have had Western appeal if not for that license?
But developers are still getting it wrong and making flops with even the biggest names, so MobileGroove's Content Marketing Strategist and Chief Analyst Peggy Anne Salz thinks it's time to rethink how we use licenses.
Just look at Muhammad Ali: Puzzle King, a game that had been in development for over a year, but suffered due it being launched around the time of the boxer's death.
"Users assumed – quite wrongly - that the game was made to exploit Ali’s passing. Downloads dwindled, costs exploded and royalty payments guaranteed to the IP owners spun out of control," wrote Salz.
#3: Nintendo Switch the fastest selling console in the company’s history
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Nintendo Switch the fastest selling console in the company’s history »The Nintendo Switch is a unique proposition, and one that most of us at PocketGamer.biz who haven't already got one are eager to get our hands on.
So is the rest of the world, it appears, as the console sold over 900,000 units in the US in its first month, making it the fastest-selling Nintendo console ever.
Even more interestingly is that flagship game The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild has sold more copies than there are Switch's sold.
Nintendo has apparently chalked this up to people buying both the limited edition and the standard edition of the game - but either way, it means that the game has a 100% attach rate.
#2: Why Supercell built a company of startups, and how it works
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Why Supercell built a company of startups, and how it works »Supercell is one of the biggest mobile games companies in the world, so when its CEO Ilkka Paananen gives a talk, everyone tends to listen.
During RovioCon 2017 in Helsinki, Paananen discussed the reasons behind building a company of startups, and just exactly how it works.
The Supercell approach is to remember that games are a creative process, and not a science, so you should focus on letting developers lead the teams and leave the business side alone.
But as well as this, games have to hit a high bar of quality before they're launched - hence why the company only has four games on the market right now.
#1: "Pokemon GO is a great opportunity for us": Shipyard talks Supercell funding and its location-based game ambitions
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"Pokemon GO is a great opportunity for us": Shipyard talks Supercell funding and its location-based game ambitions »Everyone and their dog started bigging up augmented reality and location-based games once Pokemon GO came out, but there's been very few developers revealing projects that will take it on.
Shipyard Games, however, is planning to do just that, and with years of experience and $3 million from Supercell behind it, its upcoming single-player experience could be something very special.
We chatted to CEO Andreas Wedenberg about the company getting the company started, how it got funding from Supercell, and what its plans are for the future.
"I don’t think there are location-based games and non-location-based games," he told us. "There are only successful games and games that do not succeed as well."
"Using location in a game is one way of making those successful titles."