Diversity of Southeast Asian games market makes physical presence essential, claims Gameloft

Gameloft has stressed the importance of establishing a base in the Southeast Asian mobile market, claiming the sheer diversity of the games in the mobile market means a physical presence is key.

The advice was dished out by Gameloft's senior VP of publishing Gonzague de Vallois during Casual Connect Asia in Singapore, with de Vallois detailing his firm's experiences in the reason to Millennial Media's Lichi Wu.

Going east

As stated, de Vallois and Wu's discussion concluded that Southeast Asia is one of the mobile market's most exciting regions right now making up 20 percent of Gameloft's business as things stand but one the publisher has learned requires a regional office.

More general advice came in the form of a note that publishers should always listen to their fans de Vallois admitting Gameloft is 'continuously' learning from its fanbase when it doesn't execute games well specifically in relation to the implementation of free-to-play elements.

Understanding consumer behaviour when it comes to smartphone and tablet use is also key.

Both parties pushed forward the notion that games are an active experience, differing from the passive experience television is generally understood to be.

You can read more details of de Vallois and Wu's findings on Millennial Media's website.