Interview

StormBASIC on embracing PSP Minis and supporting iPhone 3GS

The most difficult thing for an indie is the decision

StormBASIC on embracing PSP Minis and supporting iPhone 3GS
The big trend for developers over the summer has been the shifting from pure iPhone development to the consideration of the new digital download platforms of portable consoles such as Sony's PSP, and to a lesser extent, Nintendo's DSiWare.

One such outfit taking iPhone titles over to PSP Minis is Spanish developer StormBASIC.

We caught up with CEO Fernando Sanchez to find out his thinking behind the switch, as well as how the company would be dealing with the myriad of potential channel in future.

Pocket Gamer: When did you hear about PSP Minis and why is it an attractive option for StormBASIC?

Fernando Sanchez: We heard about the PSP Minis games category in May 2009, and we found it very attractive, because it was one of the first gaming e-stores managed directly by one of the big guys in the conventional videogame market - Sony.

It's a clear step forward in terms of digital distribution, provides a lot of support for independent developers, as well as clear synergies in terms of product development, certification processes, and sales and marketing operations with other platforms and e-stores. We already have a lot of experience with Apple's App Store.

Why do you think your match four game DynoGems will work well on PSP?

There aren't too many similar games to DynoGems available on the PSP store at the moment, in terms of being casual, easy to play, addictive, fun, and it's already doing very well  in other platforms.

How different do you think the PSP Minis audience is compared to the iPhone audience?

In my opinion, and this is just a theory as I don't have any figures from PSP Minis yet as DynoGems will be released at the end of November, but the PSP Minis' audience is much more heterogeneous and more specifically a gaming audience whereas the iPhone audience is casual and has an age range more like 30 to 50 years. I think the PSP Minis audience is about younger, core gamers.

What was the most difficult thing to handle in terms of converting DynoGems to PSP?

The most difficult thing for an independent developer is the decision. We have limited resources and need to maximise the different activities we do, so a new platform is always a great challenge. However, we are fully convinced and committed to PSP's success.

How did DynoGems perform on the App Store, and what do you think about the future of the App Store?

DynoGems is doing very well in Europe, especially in countries such as the UK, France, and Germany. It's also doing well in some APAC territories such as Australia and Japan. We've had previous experience with our iPhone games 7 Days Apocalypse (Zombie Hunter) and Crash: The Most Stupid Race. We're very proud that our games are accepted in one of the most competitive markets - the Japanese market.

In terms of the number of games and their prices, Apple has created a tremendous market and what's clear to us is that a game's quality is the most important thing if you want to sell on the App Store.

You really need to invest in product quality. It is the most competitive segment in any consumer market, and innovative concepts, technical integration and gameplay are mandatory if you want to sell a lot of copies of your game. Of course, this should also be reflected in the price of games: something we expect will increase in future.

Do you think you'll be bringing future games to iPhone and PSP, and what about DSiWare and other mobile platforms such as Android?

Yes, this Christmas we will be launching two more games for iPhone - Alien Invaders 2 - a retro arcade with multiplayer Bluetooth and our most ambitious game for 2009 - Tehra: Dark Warrior. This will include a special version utilising all the potential of the iPhone 3GS, including great graphics and animations, all set within a fantastic adventure staring our beautiful heroine Tehra

In terms of PSP, we will be announcing our future releases soon. We're really happy with our roadmap.

We've not decided anything about DSiWare or Android yet, but we'd like to be developing for them in the medium term.

Thanks to Fernando for his time.

You can keep up to date with StormBASIC at its website and via Twitter.

Contributing Editor

A Pocket Gamer co-founder, Jon is Contributing Editor at PG.biz which means he acts like a slightly confused uncle who's forgotten where he's left his glasses. As well as letters and cameras, he likes imaginary numbers and legumes.