With the Dash series being one of the most popular in casual games, US publisher PlayFirst was always likely to be successful on iPhone too

Yet with only eight to date releases, its approach has demonstrated a commitment to high quality and high priced games in an environment characterised by numerous and cheap. 

We caught up with its general manager of mobile, Chris Williams, to find out why it had chosen this approach, and how opportunities such as freemium and new platforms might change this.

Pocket Gamer: The Dash series has been very successful on PC. Why do you think it's also been successful on iPhone?

Chris Williams: With over eight million downloads to date and the four Dash games consistently in or around the Top 100 games in terms of revenue, Dash is arguably the most successful gaming franchise to date on the App Store.

Brand recognition and proven gameplay are obviously part of this, but equally important is the fact that we have enhanced all of the games to be native to the iOS platforms and continuously update and improve them.

Players get a gaming experience that feels built for their device, which leads to strong engagement and retention. Our average session lengths are over 20 minutes and 60 percent of our users are still playing the games 30 days after they download them.

You mentioned play times are longer than expected. Is this something you've built into the gameplay, or just how people play the games?

The Dash games have a well refined compulsion loop and a game structure that makes people to want to progress to the next level regardless of the platform.

We were surprised by the session lengths on the iOS devices until we talked to consumers and realised that they aren't just playing these games in the traditional three to five minute mobile 'bus stop' play patterns. Instead, they are sitting down for 'me time' gaming when they are at home and are much more deeply engaged.

How do you decide which games to bring onto iOS?

We focus on quality over quantity since we know that a small portfolio of highly successful games is superior to a large portfolio of games that only perform moderately. It takes time to ensure the gameplay feels polished and so we don't rush the development.

In Hotel Dash, our most recent release on iPhone, we wanted to deliver and innovative twist on the Dash gameplay by orienting the game vertically on the device and incorporating elevators into the challenge.

Players need to strategise more carefully about what items they put on the service cart and the sequencing of how they deliver them based on the level layout and elevator location. If you don't plan ahead before you get on the elevator, you might end up on the wrong floor, or with too many of one thing and not enough of another.

The extra effort paid off as the game has an average user review rating of five stars and has been in the Top 20 since launch.

What's your view concerning pricing on the App Store?

The Dash games are a premium gaming experience that offer strong characters, great stories, and hours of engagement, so they are priced from $2.99-$4.99. This is a little bit less than our PC pricing but considered at the high end of the spectrum for iOS games.

Without an established brand it is difficult to remain high in the App Store charts at a higher price point, so I understand why there is a lot of pressure for developers to sell their games for $0.99.

Do you have any plans for freemium mobile games?

While we don't have any specific announcements, we are looking at all business models for our games going forward and believe freemium is an exciting way to engage a large user base of consumers while getting potentially meaningful revenue from a small percentage of them.

However, we also know from experience you don't have to be a free game to make money off virtual goods since we successfully sell restaurants for in-app purchase within Diner Dash to people who want more levels.

The smartphone market is expanding quickly, so what's the PlayFirst strategy for devices such as Android and Windows Phone 7?

PlayFirst has a history of delivering our games to consumers wherever they want to play.

As the app stores on these new platforms become viable and have an active consumer base willing to pay for high quality content, we will certainly be there with our hit franchises.

What's PlayFirst's strategy in terms of how it develops mobile games?

We have a philosophy of live teams that work on the games on an ongoing basis and so the games are never considered finished.

We are always looking at the latest features of the devices and the iOS for how to add to and improve them. We may work with external developers on the initial development of a game but after launch the development typically comes in-house so we can quickly iterate.

Thanks to Chris for his time.You can see what PlayFirst gets up to next on its website.