Mobile Games Awards winners, effective user acquisition, and Aristocrat acquires Big Fish
Last week we held our first ever Mobile Games Awards and while we're not ones to toot our own horns, it has to be said that it was a rousing success.
The full list of our winners was released shortly after the ceremony and it quickly went on to be our most read article of last week.
Second on our Hot Five list is Jon Jordan's study of how Glu Mobile and G5 Entertainment have effectively made big UA investments to grow their respective companies.
Big fish, story time and sweet games
Third up is the news that Aristocrat has closed its $990 million acquisition of Seattle-based mult-iplatform developer Big Fish, just months after it splased $500 million on Plarium.
And finally, we chat to Ludia about what makes its narrative game What's Your Story? special, and Flaregames reveals Sweet Nitro as the first partner in its Flare Accelerator program.
Click the link below to find out more about the stories that caught our reader's attention over the last week.
#5: Flaregames unveils Sweet Nitro as first partner from $21 million accelerator program
More Info
Flaregames unveils Sweet Nitro as first partner from $21 million accelerator program »February 2017 saw Flaregames launch its own incubator program called the Flare Accelerator, which was going to invest funds to help developers validate their games and get them to market.
Last week, the boutique publisher announced that the first partner in the program is Andorra-based team Sweet Nitro and its game Flick Arena.
"They are six guys with some decent experience in their fields and they’ve created this beautiful jewel that just needs a little bit of polishing and a little bit of help, and it can be something that is a really awesome game and has a decent shot at success," said Flaregames CEO Klaas Kersting.
#4: Why Ludia thinks What’s Your Story? can turn a new page in the competitive interactive fiction sector
More Info
Why Ludia thinks What’s Your Story? can turn a new page in the competitive interactive fiction sector »Interactive story apps got big on mobile ever since Pocket Gems launched Episode in 2013, but now everyone's getting in on the action - including Ludia.
The developer has decided to take its inspiration from other sources, however, as the developer's CEO Alex Thabet told us.
For one, it's going all-in on licensed properties, and not just for the traditional female-focused audience, but instead across a broad spectrum of influences.
And it's not allowing user-generated content on the platform either - "we believe our quality will drive value," Thabet explained.
#3: Aristocrat closes $990 million Big Fish acquisition
More Info
Aristocrat closes $990 million Big Fish acquisition »Australian casino firm Aristocrat Leisure has completed its $990 million purchase of Big Fish Games.
The Seattle-based company has a large portfolio of mobile, PC and online titles across genres such as casual and social casino.
The deal comes just months after Aristocrat’s $500 million acquisition of mobile and browser games developer Plarium.
It means the Australian firm has spent nearly $1.5 billion on expanding its operations in the mobile games space since August 2017.
#2: How Glu Mobile and G5 made big UA investments and grew bigger (but Rovio didn’t)
More Info
How Glu Mobile and G5 made big UA investments and grew bigger (but Rovio didn’t) »When launching mobile games in the current market, advertising is essentially everything - if you can't get eyes on your latest release, it's liable to die.
Companies like Glu Mobile and G5 Entertainment have certainly made this work for them, whereas others, like Rovio, don't appear to have done the same. And who best to study this than Jon Jordan, armed with a handful of graphs and some insightful analysis.
"When we compare the three companies’ efficiency in terms of how much increasing their user acquisition spending quarter-on-quarter has grown sales (not an exact science, granted), it looks like Rovio’s UA spending has been the least effective," he writes.
"For example, during 2017 both G5 and Glu Mobile have seen each extra UA dollar spent generate $4 additional of sales, if only for a quarter. Rovio’s best has been $1."
#1: First ever Mobile Games Awards winners revealed
More Info
First ever Mobile Games Awards winners revealed »Our first ever Mobile Games Awards were a rousing success, but as with all awards ceremonies, it's only as good as its winners.
It's a good thing then that every one of our winners was a true titan in their own right and you can find out all the winners right here.
Particular congratulations go to Super Evil Megacorp CEO Kristian Segestrale, who was awarded our Mobile Legend accolade for his services to the mobile games industry.
As for the games themselves, Playdemic's Golf Clash took Game of the Year, while the developers behind Hidden Folks went home with the Best Indie Developer award.