German developer and publisher HandyGames is happy to be one of the veterans of the mobile gaming scene.
It worked hard in the days of Java to fit into the carrier world, but now is flourishing in the free game environment on iOS and Android. Particularly in the case of the latter, where it's announced a milestone download total.
We caught up with CEO Christopher Kassulke to get his view on how the industry was changing.
Pocket Gamer: How surprised were you to get 25 million downloads on Google Play?
Christopher Kassulke: We aren't really surprised. We are just happy to communicate such a great milestone. HandyGames also passed the five million downloads of our blockbuster Clouds & Sheep some days ago.
But our success isn't based on one single hit. It's a sustainable business with several products in the portfolio which perform very well. The 25 million downloads are just the beginning. We see how fast we are growing on all platforms and Google Play is a good place for us to be.
Is Google Play your fastest growing platform?
Android is a strong, interesting and very fast growing platform. Just to be clear - Android is more than Google Play! We mentioned already this year is the year 'beyond mobile' and we see our games showing up on all kind of screens.
Thanks to our friends from Bluestacks, you can also play our Android games on PC - and I mean this is really awesome.
Last November, you said you were doing 300 million ad-impressions a month. How has that changed?
As soon we reach the next milestone you'll be one of the first to hear...
Advertisement is a sustainable and a serious part of our business. HandyGames has a long history in free games starting in 2006. That's longer than most mobile companies have existed. You can call us early adopters for free mobile games. We are already working on the next big things in that area.
With you supporting multiple platforms - Android, iOS, PlayBook, Amazon, Asha etc - how does that change the size and structure of your development teams?
I am honoured to work in such a great environment with so many passionate colleagues. Everything works agile here at HandyGames, so we can react very fast on new trends and platforms with our scrum teams.
The market is changing very fast - so do we. We develop on the platforms our consumers have in their hands and like to play with. We will always be where the market is.
Do you expect to be releasing more new IP or focusing on the existing franchises you have?
The focus of HandyGames is a good mixture of existing franchises and creating new innovative IPs. What is more important as old or new IPs is the fact that it is an own IP.
We were very limited on the old JavaME platform in several ways. I still remember the 64kb size limit. Now we don't have those barriers any more and we can provide gameplay and content what gamers want to play.
What's the plan for your next big game Townsmen?
We are releasing Townsmen simultaneously for Android and iOS. Perhaps we will see the game on other platforms as well. It is always important for us to get reach, provide a great gaming experience and have a sustainable business model in place.
Some platforms aren't able to offer that in the moment.
We will provide all kind of monetisation methods which are used and accepted by our consumers. The first official gameplay video we released shows how awesome the game will be. I'm sure it will hit the zeitgeist.
Thanks to Christopher for his time.
Interview
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.
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