Facebook's strategy for Instant Games, Ilkka Paananen on Supercell's success, and EA's mobile revenues take a hit
We are deep into financials season, the most enjoyable time of the year when publicly-listed mobile games studios declare how much revenue they've generated, and we pore over it in search of interesting information.
Of particular interest to our readers was a dip in EA's revenues, which led to our article on the subject being the most read of last week.
Second on our Hot Five is a talk from Supercell CEO Ilkka Paananen on the success of the developer, along with some interesting stats on just how well it's really doing.
Influencers, Instant Games and implications
Third up is a look at MZ's most recent influencer campaign for Final Fantasy XV: A New Empire with Instagram star Alexis Ren, who has scored millions of views for the game's trailers.
And finally, we look back on Facebook Instant Game's first year to work out where it's heading, and Ukranian developer Elyland gets into trouble with Niantic for similarities between Draconius Go and Pokemon GO.
Click the link below to find out more about the stories that caught our reader's attention during last week.
#5: Ukranian developer Elyland reportedly in trouble with Niantic over similarities between Draconius Go and Pokemon GO
More Info
Ukranian developer Elyland reportedly in trouble with Niantic over similarities between Draconius Go and Pokemon GO »Well it had to happen eventually - Pokemon GO has been so ridiculously successful that it was bound to generate a few games that take a lot of inspiration from it.
That's what Niantic is allegedly accusing Ukranian developer Elyland of doing in its game Draconius Go, which features location-based and AR-powered creature collecting and battling.
The thing is, Elyland doesn't seem that fussed by the allegations.
"When we developed this game, we consulted leading world-class lawyers, and we are 100% certain that Niantic's claim is unjustified. Niantic's reaction shows that they consider us as a serious rival," said Andriy Semenyuk, Founder and CEO of Elyland.
"By doing so, they actually prove that our product is better. In just one year, our Ukrainian team has managed to do more than Niantic, with all their billions of income. And we are proud of our results. Our graphic is unique and better quality than in any other AR games."
#4: One year on: What is Facebook's strategy with Instant Games for Messenger?
More Info
One year on: What is Facebook's strategy with Instant Games for Messenger? »It's been almost a year since Facebook launched its Instant Games platform, and its transformed quite a bit since those first few days of casual fun.
Now that the company is trialling monetisation on the gaming service, we decided to look back on its past and consider where it might be heading in the future.
"One of the reasons that chat apps like WeChat are so influential in Asia is that they offer enough functionality – of which games are a key part – to engage users for hours at a time," argued Matt Suckley.
"Indeed, Facebook's crusade over the past two years has been not just to boost Messenger's monthly active users, but also to increase the amount of time those users are spending. Instant Games is just one part of this."
#3: How is MZ’s marketing campaign with influencer Alexis Ren working out for Final Fantasy XV: A New Empire?
More Info
How is MZ’s marketing campaign with influencer Alexis Ren working out for Final Fantasy XV: A New Empire? »Did you know that Steel Media recently launched a new website? It's true! It's called InfluencerUpdate.biz, and as you may have guessed, it covers the world of influencers.
There's sometimes a bit of crossover in the worlds of mobile and influencers of course, hence why we borrowed one of the new site's articles on MZ's marketing campaign with Alexis Ren.
Ren has appeared in a string of ads for Final Fantasy XV: A New Empire for the developer, and generated millions of views on Instagram.
One trailer posted on August 25th has scored 3.6 million views to date, another on September 22nd has had over 1.4 million so far.
#2: The huge stats behind Supercell’s explosive success
More Info
The huge stats behind Supercell’s explosive success »Supercell is a developer that requires no introduction, and its games speak for themselves - what else is there to say?
Turns out Ilkka Paananen has plenty of words on the company of which he is the CEO, and used a lot of them in a recent Wired Live talk about the studio's impressive growth.
Clash of Clans has been by far the biggest hit for the developer, with 1,813 days in the top grossing rankings.
Hay Day meanwhile has spent 884 days in the top grossing charts, Boom Beach 616 and Clash Royale 558. And that's just the start of a wealth of interesting stats from the big cheese.
#1: EA mobile revenues dip to $158 million as FIFA Mobile scores 113 million downloads
More Info
EA mobile revenues dip to $158 million as FIFA Mobile scores 113 million downloads »EA is known for making lots of games and lots of money, though sometimes its revenues can take a bit of a hit.
Such was the case in its latest financials, where its mobile revenues fell slightly to $158 million despite the continued success of a handful of its games.
Both Madden NFL Mobile and Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes continued to do the numbers, but FIFA Mobile was the real star of the show in its last quarter.
The game has now scored 113 million downloads since launching, and is gearing up for an enormous update that will bring it into the current real-world season of football.