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VCs keen to cut operators out of the mobile games loop

So says Fishlabs boss Michael Schade

VCs keen to cut operators out of the mobile games loop
Venture capitalists are looking to invest in mobile games companies, but mobile operators are proving a stumbling block, says Fishlabs CEO Michael Schade.

"Four weeks ago I was in San Francisco at the Mobile VentureBeat conference, and VCs were saying that anything with mobile is hot, but only if the mobile operators are not involved," he says.

"They were saying they wouldn't invest in a company where another entity is ultimately deciding whether they're going to make money at all."

Such thinking is doubtless driven by the success of Apple's iPhone App Store, with several VC funds already set up to purely fund iPhone developers.

"Mobile gaming is hot with them for two reasons," says Schade. "The first is mobile games that have social community aspects, and the second is core gaming, bringing a high-end gaming experience so that mobiles can eat into the DS and PSP market."

For more on Fishlabs' strategy, including Schade's thoughts on the iPhone, and his company's innovative scheme to use mobile game pirates as a distribution channel, stand by for our full interview to be published early next week.
Contributing Editor

Stuart is a freelance journalist and blogger who's been getting paid to write stuff since 1998. In that time, he's focused on topics ranging from Sega's Dreamcast console to robots. That's what you call versatility. (Or a short attention span.)