2012 in review: Janis Zech, SponsorPay

iPad mini will define a new era of gaming devices

As we consider the trends of the past 12 months and look forward to the next 12 months, we've asked the great and the good in the mobile gaming industry for their opinions.

Janis Zech is co-founder and chief revenue officer of mobile and web gaming user acquisition and monetisation outfit SponsorPay.

Pocket Gamer: What do you think was the most significant event for the mobile games industry in 2012?

Janis Zech: To me the most significant event was the launch of the iPad mini as it's potentially the optimal mobile gaming device, even if we haven't fully yet realised it.

Its smaller size makes it more accessible to some target groups, e.g. children, whereas its lower price taps into new buyers such as mainstream consumers. And the sales estimations prove it: released in November, analysts estimate that 2-2.5 million were sold in the first three days with predictions up to nearly 50 million shipments targeted in 2013.

I'm expecting that iPad mini will define a new era of ultimate gaming devices, and will result in strong competition from companies such as Samsung and Google etc boosting sales for 'mini-pads' in 2013 and making it a mass-media device.

What was the most significant event for SponsorPay?

Our most significant event has been more of a process - to become a leading mobile ad platform helping developers to drive user acquisition and monetisation via video, install and engagement ads across iOS and Android at scale.

I'm most proud of our team and partners as well as of the products we've built in 2012. Obviously I am thrilled about 2013 as we have lots of cool stuff coming up!

What was your favourite mobile game of the year?

Temple Run - I absolutely love that game.

And overall, I've been impressed with the increase in quality - CSR Racing is a great example from my point of view - and with the boost in overall monetisation across both iOS and Android, I'm excited about 2013!

What do you predict will be the most important trends in 2013?

• The mobile games market will further consolidate, but we won't see any dominant mobile game player in 2013 just yet.
• Product costs and cycles will rise, user acquisition will become more performance-based and overall revenues per game will continue to increase (top 5 grossing games will make significantly more revenues than in 2012).
• Freemium will be used beyond games - communication, social, music, video and photo apps will start adopting the freemium model.
• The mobile ad industry will grow rapidly and we'll see more brand and local-based ads showing strong results, laying the ground for continued growth in 2014.
• The question of how to measure performance for mobile advertising will finally get solved with new metrics and a unified view on the consumer's cross-platform behaviour.

What's your New Year's resolution and what resolution would you suggest for the industry?

My New Year's resolution is to attract even more great people to help the company grow to the next level and have fun while doing so!

For the industry, I hope the focus on creating high quality and fun freemium games having built-in monetisation, users acquisition will continue and push the games industry to the next level.

Thanks to Janis for his time.

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