Interview

PerBlue CEO Justin Beck on why Android is driving growth in its location-based MMOG Parallel Kingdom

Faster growth, quicker updates, better ecosystem

PerBlue CEO Justin Beck on why Android is driving growth in its location-based MMOG Parallel Kingdom
Everyone working in the field of location-based gaming agrees it has great potential, but no one's confident enough to say they're certain how to unlock it.

"The problem is most people are very boring in terms of how they move around," says Justin Beck, CEO of PerBlue, the US developer behind free-to-play location-based mobile MMORPG Parallel Kingdom.

The company, which was started by students in Madison, Wisconsin, discovered this first hand when it launched the game in 2008.

It required players to move around in order to progress in the fantasy RPG, but with most players only moving between work, home and perhaps one other location, it was clear the game would have to be reworked to be successful.

Location matters

Since then, Parallel Kingdom has received two significant version upgrades as well as many more content updates.

"We take a macro-location approach now," Beck explains. "We loosely tie gameplay to location, also enabling you to visit your friends wherever they are in the world."

The result, to-date, is over 800,000 downloads of Parallel Kingdom on iOS and Android, with an HTML5 version just launched too.

The company, which was bootstrapped and then gained an initial seed round of $800,000 in September 2010, says it's profitable despite raising its headcount from 13 in 2010 to 35.

Riding the Android rocket

One major reason, according to Beck, is the explosive growth of Android, especially in the US, which accounts for around 75 percent of its audience.

"We used to be 60 percent iOS, but now it's 85 percent Android," he reveals. "I think that market is a more core gaming in terms of Parallel Kingdom being an RPG.

"Android also works well for us in terms of providing better marketing channels for user acquisition and the speed of updates to Android Market. That's much more flexible with respect to experimentation compared to the sometimes two week wait for Apple App Store approval."

All about connections

That's an advantage PerBlue is keen to continue utilising as it looks to roll out new social features before the end of 2011.

"The advantage of running a social network within your game is it's a controlled community, unlike something general such as Facebook," Beck points out.

"We have much more control in terms of the granularity of events we can automatically syndicate. I think we have the opportunity to pioneer social interactions on mobile."

Indeed, another way, PerBlue is tackling this is its ongoing charity drive with UK outfit PlayMob, which allow players to buy limited edition in-game items, gaining unique customisation options for their avatar while donating money to real world causes.

As for the wider issues of the future of location-based gaming, Beck remains optimistic, at least in the medium term.

"As as niche, it's not proven itself to be an awesome place, but I think it's a good place to operate in, especially in terms of coming up with deeper experiences for gamers. The next six to nine months will definitely be interesting."
Thanks to Justin for his time. 

Contributing Editor

A Pocket Gamer co-founder, Jon is Contributing Editor at PG.biz which means he acts like a slightly confused uncle who's forgotten where he's left his glasses. As well as letters and cameras, he likes imaginary numbers and legumes.