Pocket Gamer Connects London 2019 will take place on January 21st to 22nd. To give you a taste of what to expect, we'll regularly be publishing interviews with the speakers at the show.
For more details on PGC London and to book a ticket, head to the website here.
In today's Speaker Spotlight we're talking to Heaven Wu, chief marketing officer at Century Game, formerly known as DianDian Interactive Holding.
Wu is chief marketing officer of Century Game, responsible for global marketing and M&A. Wu has over eight years experience in the games industry.
At Pocket Gamer Connects London 2019 he'll be presenting a talk entitled: A new opportunity for casual gaming in China and in the West.
PocketGamer.biz: Can you tell us a bit about the company?
Heaven Wu: Century Game, formerly known as DianDian Interactive Holding, was founded in August 2010. It has offices in Beijing, Shanghai and San Francisco with more than 300 employees from over 20 countries and has eight self-developed studios.
Since its inception in 2010, the company has released a number of popular Facebook Canvas Games, including Family Farm, Royal Story and Happy Acres.
In 2013, Century Game launched its mobile gaming initiative, developing Family Farm Seaside. As an experienced and trusted publisher, Century Game helped KingsGroup to publish King of Avalon and Guns of Glory.
What does your role entail?
I'm in charge of marketing and M&A.
Why did you want to work in the games industry?
To provide the best content for gamers across the globe.
What advice would you give to anyone looking to get into it?
From casual to core game categories, the in-app purchase and ad monetisation business models are very clear now and developers need to care more about gameplay and game quality.
What are your thoughts on the industry in the last 12 months?
The Chinese market is growing slowly due to the ISBN issue, so all the Chinese developers are going to go overseas in 2019.
More and more games are using big IP for leverage in user acquisition. Development costs meanwhile have risen a lot during the last 12 months because of increased competition.
What major trends do you predict in the next 12 months?
There are a lot of Chinese developers, from casual to core, that will go overseas.
The user acquisition cost will continue to increase for core games. The good news however is the eCPM of ad monetisation will be higher, so it's a very good time to be in the casual games space.
How has the games industry changed since you first started?
Smartphone shipping numbers are growing slowly in Tier-One countries, but it's very high in India, Brazil and Africa. Payment infrastructure in developing countries is growing quickly and that helps IAP-focused products a lot.
Which part of the Pocket Gamer Connects London event are you most looking forward to and why?
Meeting games developers and looking for publishing, investment and M&A opportunities.
Find out more about Pocket Gamer Connects London 2019 on the website.
