Chinese devs focused on the global market, Rami Ismail talks the perfect pitch, and King goes core

Last week's top 5 stories

• 5 With FY14 sales down 27% to $1.2 billion, GREE pivots, switching 700 staff to native games

  

  Last week, Japanese mobile game platform GREE announced its full 2014 financials, revealing that net sales had dropped by 27 percent, while net income was also down, dropping by 5 percent.

  A cause of this downturn in fortunes is the company's inability to deal with the transition of its core Japanese market, which has largely abandoned browser-based mobile web games in favour of native iOS and Android titles.

  GREE has been finding it difficult to compete with other firms such as GungHo and Colopl, who have adapted well: tightening their grip on the Japanese top grossing charts with games like Puzzle & Dragons and Quiz RPG.

  
  

• 4 Taking big steps with tiny games: What Adriel Wallick learned from making 38 games in 38 weeks

  

  When she left her full time job to go indie, Adriel Wallace - better known at the internet's MsMinotaur - knew she wanted to find the opportunity to do her dream job.

  The only problem is, she didn't exactly know how she was going to do that.

  After a chat with her friend Rami Ismail, co-founder of indie outfit Vlambeer, Wallace decided to go on a journey of creative self-discovery and make 38 games in 38 weeks: one of which was her talk at this year's GDC Europe conference.

  "We sort of create this myth in our heads that with enough time and resources that we can, bam, make the next Minecraft or whatever, but you can't just sit down and do that," explained Wallick.

  "These people worked and worked and worked at what they were doing until they could make those games. They tried games for years, they failed, they succeeded, and they had constraints. That was hard to struggle with – this new found knowledge that, 'hey, I don't know what I'm doing'."

  Wallick also revealed that she had to give herself "a weekly deadline", which "served as a way to enforce [herself] to have a solid, attainable goal."

  
  

• 3 80% of Chinese devs will close in 12 months that's why we're 100% international, say Sphinx

  

  With every western developer worth their salt trying to find a way into the Asian markets, you'll probably be surprised to learn that there are some Chinese developers actively trying to escape its confines.

  They view their local market as being too competitive and monopolised, so in order to find success, they have to look elsewhere. They have to go global.

  During a recent chat with Yao 'Ray' Xiaoguang, the CEO of developer Sphinx Entertainment, we found out about the unique set of challenges Chinese developers face when trying to fly the coop.

  "Since 2010, Sphinx Entertainment has only focused on international markets, and they provide 100 percent of our revenue. That's a big difference compared to most Chinese developers," explained Xiaoguang.

  "Most Chinese developers find it very hard to survive in the Chinese market. I think over 80 percent of Chinese game studios will close in next 12 months.

  "There are too many developers in China and too many games are being released every month. There are also limited channels for promoting and publishing games."

  
  

• 2 What a pitch: Rami Ismail on talking to the press, publishers, platform holders and players

  

  Pitching your game to people is a bread and butter skill. It doesn't matter where you are, or who you're pitching too, you should be to sell your game using a 10 second sentence or a 15 minute talk.

  You need to have a pitch for every occassion, and it should be tailored to suit your needs.

  According to Vlambeer's Rami Ismail, who was speaking at this year's GDC Europe conference, if you really want to make a go of it, you must never be afraid to pitch.

  "Pitching is communicating a value proposition in the most effective way," said Ismail.

  "A lot of business people will tell you it's about money, but it doesn't have to be. It basically means you have something that will increase value for both the other party and yourself. It doesn't matter if that's creative, or economical – it just matters that it's value.

  "It's something that anybody can do – not something you need a degree for or be a gifted speaker for. You need to work out what you want to say, practice that, and go with it."

  
  

• 1 King expands to core gaming with $32 million acquisition of Nonstop Games

  

  Following the release of its FY14 Q2 financials, which suggested Candy Crush Saga revenue may have peaked, King has revealed it will be expanding into core gaming.

  King's expansion has already begun, with the firm acquiring Singapore-based developer Nonstop Games, the team behind mobile/Facebook strategy game Heroes of Honor.

  The Candy Crush creator purchased  Nonstop using $6 million in cash, with another $84 million expected to be paid if certain performance criteria are met.

  In a bid to further securing its short-term future, King also laid out a cool $10 million to ensure that "certain employee shareholders" stick around for another year.