Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes is a success, mobile monetization is heading for change, and everyone's reflecting on 2015
The year is drawing to a close, and it's a time of reflection for many.
Particularly you readers out there, who have been drawn like moths to the fire of our 2015 in Review articles this week.
However, most popular of all was William Grosso, CEO and co-founder of Scientific Revenue, giving his thoughts on what might change in the world of mobile monetization in 2016.
Second most popular was the reflections of Koh Kim, Co-Head of Business at Mobcrush, who is, predictably, excited about the future of streaming eSports, particularly mobile MOBA Vainglory.
Next up is William Taht, the newly appointed Head of Games at Rovio, who took the time to talk about how great Angry Birds 2 is and ask the industry for, and I quote, "more birds, bigger birds."
And finally, we take a look at how Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes is doing across the world, and we have some more reflections from Storm8's CEO Perry Tam.
So grab yourself a warm drink, have a seat by the fire, and come reminisce with us about 2015.
#5: 2015 in Review: Activision acquiring King was huge market validation, says Storm8's Perry Tam
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2015 in Review: Activision acquiring King was huge market validation, says Storm8's Perry Tam »In the first of our most read retrospectives, Storm8 CEO Perry Tam took the time to look back on 2015, and consider the possibilities of 2016.
He said that "longstanding console game developers entering the mobile games market was a significant development in 2015," pointing to Nintendo's partnership with DeNA and Activision's acquisition of King.
Looking ahead, Tam said that he sees yet more console developers entering the market, and "leading mobile publishers focusing on managing a strong portfolio of games that cater to varying, yet similar, player tastes."
#4: How EA Mobile's Galaxy of Heroes is winning the Star Wars app store battle
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How EA Mobile's Galaxy of Heroes is winning the Star Wars app store battle »We here at PocketGamer.biz are big fans of Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes.
Jon's made a video on just about every aspect of the game. Matt give it his stamp of approval in his role as In-App Purchase Inspector. I think it's alright, too.
And it looks like we're not the only fans of the game, as it's found its way into the top 50 grossing on iPhone in some of the major Western markets.
It's even managed to crack the top 100 in South Korea, and the top 150 in Japan, which is pretty impressive for a Western release.
#3: 2015 in Review: Rovio's new head of games Wilhelm Taht on a big year coming
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2015 in Review: Rovio's new head of games Wilhelm Taht on a big year coming »Wilhelm Taht's having a good end to his year, having recently take on the role of Head of Games at Rovio, so we decided to catch him in a good mood and ask all about 2015 and what he thinks will happen in 2016.
On the subject of changing business focus in 2015, Taht said that Rovio has been "doubling down on our core businesses: media, games and consumer products."
And when it comes to 2016, he predicts that "'modern RPG' will continue to grow in the west as a genre," but that Asia will continute to outpace the rest of the world in terms of growth.
#2: 2015 in Review: Mobcrush's Koh Kim on the rise of mobile streaming and eSports
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2015 in Review: Mobcrush's Koh Kim on the rise of mobile streaming and eSports »Finally in our top 2015 in Review articles, Koh Kim, Co-Head of Business for mobile streaming outlet Mobcrush, gave her thoughts on what has been and what will be.
Looking back at 2015, Kim said that the most interesting thing to happen was that "media consumption by consumers have shifted to mobile, and is more focused on short form content."
Looking ahead, Kim felt that the future is in competitive gaming, saying that eSports "will enable gaming to have the same global reach and engagement as traditional major league sports like soccer or football."
#1: 5 ways in which mobile game monetization will change in 2016
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5 ways in which mobile game monetization will change in 2016 »With the closing of a year, there are two things people love to do: look back at the year that was, and look forward at the year to come.
William Rosso, CEO and co-founder of Scientific Revenue, is in the latter camp, and has been giving some thought to how mobile monetization is going to change in 2016 ahead of his talk on the matter at Pocket Gamer Connects London 2016.
His predictions include a change in pricing tiers for IAPs across different territories, a rise in the use of video ads to drive IAP purchases, and a shift from premium games to an approach more similar to shareware.
