Tilting Point's hiring, Kabam's using dynamic IAP pricing, and soft launches aren't just about Canada

Hot 5 stories

• 5 Redefine publishing with a job at fast-growing Tilting Point

  

  Tilting Point prefers to be called a 'new generation games partner' instead of 'publisher', but whatever you call it, you can't say it's not on the rise in the publishing world.

  At present it's working with Harmonix on the high-profile Apple TV launch title Beat Sports, and it's looking for people to join its team.

  To that end, we asked its President and Co-founder Dan Sherman a few questions about the company and what they're looking for in future employees.

  

• 4 Can Subway Surfers' 1 billion downloads ever be repeated?

  

  After three years of release, Danish developers Kiloo and Sybo Games announced that Subway Surfers had hit 1 billion downloads.

  It's an impressive number, but as the market matures and the app stores begin to over-saturate, it's anyone's guess how many more games will follow in its footsteps.

  So we turned to our Mavens, and asked them:

  • Do you think gaining this sort of mass appeal is something developers can still aim for?

  And while it might be tough, they believe it's entirely possible for another billion-user game to come around.

  

• 3 Glu CEO on why James Bond: World of Espionage is inspired by Game of War's LTV, not GoldenEye 007's gameplay

  

  Think of a games starring James Bond and you'll probably think of first-person shooter. So it seems strange for Glu, who have experience in the genre, to have made a Bond game that is a menu-driven strategy RPG.

  But Glu CEO Niccolo de Masi believes it's just a natural progression of the character and series, which he says has "become darker, more serious and highlighting the ethical dilemmas of espionage."

  It's also down to the platform itself, which handles the chosen genre far better than it would a first-person shooter.

  Despite this, de Masi says, "I understand that not all Bond fans will like the game."

  
  

• 2 Discussing Kabam's use of dynamic IAP pricing in Star Wars: Uprising

  

  Enticing users to make their first purchase in a free-to-play game can be tricky, but asking them to make a second or third might be a step too far for some games.

  To that end, it looks like Kabam is experimenting in Star Wars: Uprising by keeping the most expensive IAPs hidden away, until a user pays for one of the higher-priced IAPs shown to them.

  It's an interesting move, and one we were keen to get our Monetizer Maven's thoughts on. So we asked them:

  • Do you think this sort of UX has any impact in terms of overall monetisation, or is it more of a clever psychological trick to stop some players getting scared the first time they enter the game store?

  Turns out, they see it as an overall very positive step.

  

• 1 So long, Canada: these countries are mobile gaming's next soft launch frontier

  

  While Canada and Australia have been the leading places for developers to soft-launch, thanks to their predominantly English-speaking population and similar culture to larger Western countries, they're becoming comparatively more expensive to launch in.

  For the young indie looking to test out their game but without the funding to warrant a soft-launch in these countries, it might be best to look elsewhere.

  

  Thankfully there's plenty of options to suit various needs, whether you're look for a market that matches up culturally to the big hitters, like Ireland, or you just need a lot of users, like India.