Can free to play games balance brilliant game design with a fair but effective monetisation system?
Or, are they purely supposed money sucking 'monetisation machines', where design is forfeited to force players into parting with their cash?
It's a debate that rages on within the mobile games industry one you can currently see sprawled all over the pages of PocketGamer.biz, in fact - and in a recent interview with The Guardian, Supercell CEO Ilkka Paananen threw in his two cents.
Great games make money
"The huge irony here is that if the monetisation is not your number one priority, that actually leads to better monetisation," explained Paananen.
"When you prioritise engagement and retention making a great game that people play often and want to play for a long time they are happy to pay. We want to design games that people can theoretically play for years."
Supercell's Clash of Clans
The Supercell man also had some bold words for social game developers who are perhaps becoming overly reliant on analytics.
"There was a time, especially in the social games industry, where people thought you could create great games based on a spreadsheet," concluded Paananen.
"[They thought] that creativity and design wouldn't really matter, because it was all about some maths," says Paananen.
"You can't design fun on a spreadsheet. And if you want to make an industry for the long-term, if you can't create fun games, there's no future."
[Source: The Guardian]
News
What do you call someone who has an unhealthy obsession with video games and Sean Bean? That'd be a 'Chris Kerr'. Chris is one of those deluded souls who actually believes that one day Sean Bean will survive a movie. Poor guy.
Related Articles
News
May 31st, 2024
Week in Views - Squad Busters goes global, broken app stores, and Hill Climb Racing gets the LEGO treatment
News
May 31st, 2024
Mobile Movers: All the latest appointments and job moves from around the industry
Top Stories
News
May 31st, 2024
Week in Views - Squad Busters goes global, broken app stores, and Hill Climb Racing gets the LEGO treatment
News
May 31st, 2024
Mobile Movers: All the latest appointments and job moves from around the industry
Events
Indie Game Fest & Indie Campus 2024 | Europe | May 31st |
Indie Craft K-Game Festival 2024 | Europe | May 31st |
BostonFig Online 2024 | Jun 1st | |
GameSummit Summer 2024 | Jun 1st | |
Gotland Game Conference 2024 | Nordic | Jun 3rd |
Games Mental Health Summit 2024 | Europe | Jun 3rd |
Dev Play Conference 2024 | Europe | Jun 3rd |
Tribeca Games Festival 2024 | North America | Jun 5th |