When most new platforms launch, their stores tend to be filled with hastily cobbled together ports of titles from rival systems and, if they're lucky, a few first-party or paid for exclusives.

It's rare that an established publisher will look to debut a brand new game on a new marketplace before it makes a move on its more popular rivals.

However, that's exactly the strategy Liverpool-based Thumbstar – the publisher and service provider established by brothers Martin and Gareth Edmondson of Ubisoft Reflections fame – adopted with its debut first-party release The Adorables, hitting Windows 8 before iOS and Android.

So why target Windows 8 first? And how is life on the burgeoning marketplace? We caught up with marketing director Phil Brannelly to find out if developers are winning with Windows.

Pocket Gamer: We notice that your first in-house release The Adorables launched on Windows 8 before iOS and Android. What attracted you to Microsoft's new OS?

Phil Brannelly: Yeah. Our mission is to develop games cross platform wherever possible and Microsoft was very supportive very early on in the development process to optimise our first first party title on the Windows 8 platform.

We wanted to give The Adorables the best possible chance in terms of discovery initially and with the increased potential of getting featured, with fewer apps and being first to market, we liked the idea of launching first on desktop, and following on with a mobile version on all operating systems.

How are you finding the submission process, and the Store itself? Is it easy to get discovered?

We haven’t experienced any problems at all and were lucky enough to have the game featured so in terms of discovery it was half the job done.

And what can you say about downloads? One developer has recently claimed his Windows RT app is generating £52 a week. How do you feel about the performance of your apps to date?

It's early days for the platform without a doubt but being first to market there has certainly helped and we are pleased with the results to date.

We do have a long term strategy with The Adorables over time and we're working to build the user base as we go along and launch on other operating systems.

Do you see the Windows RT and Windows 8 marketplaces as a united front, or – from a developer's perspective – are they separate entities?

At the end of the day the consumer will see only one app option to download, so very much a united front.



However, from a developers perspective they are two builds of the game - something we have to consider in terms of resources.

The same developer bemoaned Microsoft for not featuring its game, claiming it has been "consigned to the garbage bin" as a result. Is it up to Microsoft to promote individual titles?

Nothing is different from Apple or Google in this case, or even bricks and mortar retail shops.

The reality is that there is only so much feature or window space. It’s how the developer or publisher positions and supports the game, covering all marketing bases, and producing a high production value game that people want to play.

Marketing is such an important part of getting your game into the hands of gamers. If you don't have that expertise in your company it’s worth considering partnering with a publisher.

What plans do you have for Windows 8 in the future? Microsoft has made much of developers using it as a launchpad to then move titles onto Windows Phone 8. Is this a strategy you buy into?

Yeah, we'd back Microsoft up on that based on Thumbstar's experience.



The tools we use in-house allow us to cater for cross-platform games so we are keeping the strategy of first to market there also and working hard to establish our game on Windows 8 as a whole.

What do you see as Windows 8's role in the market?

It's another opportunity for developers and publishers to bring their apps to market, and one can never underestimate the might of Microsoft.


Thanks to Phil for his time.