Interview

PG Connects speaker spotlight: Perry Tam, Storm8

Looking to make the most of a $10 billion market

PG Connects speaker spotlight: Perry Tam, Storm8

It's just weeks to go before Pocket Gamer Connects 2014.

Our first conference will be held in London on 20-21 January - you can find out more details here.

So to whet your appetite, we're finding out more about some of our speakers.

Perry Tam is CEO and co-founder of Storm8, the leading mobile social gaming network and developer which has had more than 600 million total game downloads across 200 million devices.

Prior to Storm8, Perry worked as an engineer at Facebook, where he led the payments team that architected Facebook Credits.

Pocket Gamer: What do you think has been the most significant event for mobile games during 2013?

Perry Tam: It's been a very exciting year for the mobile gaming industry overall and for Storm8. One of the most significant events for the mobile gaming industry was the market's exponential growth and increased interest in the space.

Some of Storm8's biggest headlines this year include: our expansion into third-party publishing with the launch of Storm8 Publishing, surpassing more than 50 million monthly active users, and holding 6 top 100 grossing games in the App Store for 2013.

What do you think will be the biggest challenges and opportunities in 2014?

There will be huge opportunities for expanding internationally. I also think that we'll see new mobile gaming genres emerge.

How will indie developers fare? Any advice?

2014 is going to be an exciting year for the industry, including indies. As our market continues to grow, it'll open more doors and opportunities for everyone in the ecosystem.

My advice to those launching new games is to not be distracted by market forces outside of their control. Focus on your product and work hard to make it the best and most exciting game that you can. Working with partners is also going to be very crucial.

With increased competition, indies need to rise above the challenge of discovery. Exploring ways to effectively work with top notch partners is important.

How big do you think the East-meets-West opportunity is, and which markets are you most excited about in 2014?

Both the East and West offer big opportunities. Reports predict more than $5 billion mobile game revenue for Japan, China and Korea for 2013. Western Europe and North America combined have similar figures.

The data shows that there's an upside for companies to double their revenues by simply expanding their presence in other markets.

What are you expecting to learn from attending Pocket Gamer Connects?

I'm looking forward to hearing first-hand best practices for tackling different markets and also understanding how we might all be able to work together.

What were your favourite mobile games of 2013?

Farm Story 2 was one of my favorite games this year from our TeamLava brand. The 3D graphics in the game are just so true-to-life that it brings a really immersive experience to the player.

Finally, what's your New Year's resolution and what resolution would you enforce on the industry?

More partnerships to create bigger and better games!


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.