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APPTUTTi marketing manager Aaron Denford on the rise of hypercasual and the genre's longevity

"I'm unsure whether these types of games will continue to dominate or if we see a shift towards games that have more content"

APPTUTTi marketing manager Aaron Denford on the rise of hypercasual and the genre's longevity

APPTUTTi marketing manager Aaron Denford has been a gamer all his life, and regularly watches esports. He has always had a passion for online marketing and social media management. Throughout his time at APPTUTTi he has come to spread the word of publishing mobile apps & games in China, and other unexplored markets.

As part of Pocket Gamer Connects Digital #1, Denford will be giving a talk on publishing apps and games in the Chinese Android market.

We caught up with Denford ahead of the show to find out more about his opinion on the hypercasual market, and what he thinks the next 12 months hold for the games industry.

PocketGamer.biz: Tell us a bit about APPTUTTi.

“Everyone should have access to the world’s largest mobile market."

APPTUTTi is a 24/7 online portal that enables developers to publish mobile apps and games in China. Developers of all sizes can now enter China easier than ever. We offer different partnership options according to the needs and ambitions of developers.

We strive to remain the most efficient and direct way to publish in China. Our easy to use system eliminates any language or cultural barriers that may arise from more traditional publishing platforms.

We give our partners full access to their games performance stats and allow for any time earning withdrawals. Our goal is to bring international creativity to millions of Chinese mobile gamers.

What does your role entail?

As the marketing manager for APPTUTTi I'm responsible for evangelizing our platform to as many mobile game developers as possible.

I work with the vision of reaching the millions of developers that are looking for other markets for their creations and extra revenue income sources. I also work with our local marketing channels to increase the exposure of our partners’ games to the Chinese user audience.

Why did you want to work in the games industry?

The games industry has always been something that has attracted me. The possibility of creative outlets that can be experienced and loved by people around the globe is a really attractive prospect. The people in this industry are also some of the friendliest, hardworking, and inclusive people I have ever had the pleasure of working with.

What advice would you give to anyone looking to get into it?

Defining which part you’d like to work within would be my first suggestion. There are many different ways to enter into the games industry but they might not all be compatible with the individual’s skills and talents.

Once you’ve identified which part of the games industry interests you, it’s a matter of working on your own skills and experience to become an attractive candidate within that field.

Making sure to reach out to those that are already in your segment and becoming part of the conversations that take place in that area can also help increase your visibility to any employers.

What are your thoughts on the industry in the last 12 months?

From my perspective, the rise in hyper-casuals has been prominent since joining an app publisher company. I’m unsure whether these types of games will continue to dominate or if we see a shift towards games that have more content within them and bring a new creative game design to the market.

It’s also been a time of great growth in recent months as a lot of people are staying inside and consuming more content. Again, this may be a short term growth but it’s great to see more people getting into gaming on multiple platforms.

What major trends do you predict in the next 12 months?

I think we will see a lot more visually creative and intensive games as hardware continues to become accessible and increases performance. I also think casual games will become less popular as we see a jump in more mid-core and content-driven games.

Which part of the Connects event are you most looking forward to and why?

My favorite part of any event is interacting with the developers and other members of the gaming industry. I always leave the event with a lot of ideas and knowledge inspired by my interactions.