Interview

Casual gamers play multiple games at once making cross-promotion key, says King.com's Alex Dale

Satisfy their appetite

Casual gamers play multiple games at once making cross-promotion key, says King.com's Alex Dale
We've already heard today from Todd Heringer, VP of studios at Breaktime, who suggested developers working on casual games shouldn't skimp on complexity – casual gamers can take it.

But how do you reach those gamers in the first place?

According to King.com CMO Alex Dale - which enjoyed much success on Facebook before making a move on iOS - it's important to note that casual gamers tend to play several games at the same time, meaning if your cross-promote your games, they're more likely to pick up the trail.

We caught up with Dale to further probe his mind, following the launch of the firm's most recent hit on iOS, Candy Crush Saga.

Pocket Gamer: Candy Crush Saga for iOS has immediately shot into higher chart positions than Bubble Witch Saga managed. Why do you think the game's proving more popular with players?

Alex Dale: Because the game is both super sweet and tastily challenging.

Seriously, at King.com we are always seeking to improve our games based on the feedback we receive from our players. Candy Crush Saga on mobile has been designed so that each level presents fresh, fun challenges, ensuring that we're able to provide players with absolutely the maximum enjoyment.

We're rigorous in our games testing and development and we're always looking for that little bit extra to make our games as much fun as possible.


Facebook turned iOS hit Candy Crush Saga

Whether it's the sharp graphics, great gameplay or the ability to sync across platforms we recognise that people have a choice of which games to play. We work to be the best and Candy Crush Saga achieving great chart positions around the world reflects this.

Do you make use of cross-promotion to introduce your existing users to new King.com games?

We have cross-promoted the game from Facebook and from Bubble Witch Saga mobile. So yes, we do use a great deal of cross-promotion.

We have found that focusing on the casual social genre has really helped here - many players play several of our games at the same time.

You've launched both Bubble Witch Saga and Candy Crush Saga on Android. Do you experience problems with piracy and poor monetisation rates on Android, or are these issues overblown?

We are just starting out on Android so it is really too early to say.

How does King.com decide which platforms to launch a game on?

We follow a logical sequence. First, we test the basic game concept on our skill website www.king.com.


Bubble Witch Saga

Then we take the best performing games and turn them into Saga formats for Facebook. And then once we have a good Facebook audience we make them available on mobile and tablet formats, both iOS and Google Play.
Bubble Witch Saga performed particularly well in the iPad charts. Do you subscribe to the 'tablet-first' development philosophy at King.com?

With Bubble Witch Saga and Candy Crush Saga we are providing a single game experience across multiple devices.

You can play on your iPhone on the bus, your tablet in the lounge and your PC during your lunch break. Your progress in the game, your social graph and your virtual goods will be synchronised. Our development philosophy is very much cross-platform.
Thanks to Alex for his time.

Staff Writer

PocketGamer.biz's news editor 2012-2013