Russian mobile publisher HeroCraft has been an enthusiastic launch partner for the Amazon Appstore for Android with seven titles currently available.
Interestingly, these range from paid titles such as Majesty, which is cheaper, if marginally, via Amazon than the official Android Market, to free versions of its games.
We hooked up with sales and marketing director Alexey Sazonov to get his take on the situation.
PocketGamer: Why do you think the Amazon Appstore is important?
Alexey Sazonov: We see this as yet another step up for Google: increased competition and a sizeable new investment in the future of Android.
Does the ability of Amazon to change the price of your games without your permission worry you?
This term in the contract is a formality. I have no doubts that Amazon representatives would want to work closely with us on promotions and price changes.
What features do you hope Amazon will add to its appstore in future?
Right now we're really just waiting for Amazon to go global with the Appstore.
Also having more billing options for end-users would make sense if Amazon wants to reach territories in which it doesn't currently have a large presence with its online store.
More generally, what's your opinion about the opportunities now available within the wider Android ecosystem?
Android's market ecosystem is diverse, and for us that trumps Apple's 'central planning system'. Herocraft already makes over half of its Android revenues on third party marketplaces outside of the official Android Market.
Following Amazon's Appstore launch, we expect to see more big players joining the competition for mobile end-users. Maybe we'll see some second-hand mobile games on eBay in future?
Thanks to Alexey for his time.
You can see HeroCraft's Amazon Appstore portofolio here.
Interview
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.
Top Stories
News
Apr 22nd, 2024
Games Go Green: Major studios join PlanetPlay’s Make Green Tuesday Moves initiative to fight climate change
Feature
Apr 22nd, 2024
Tjodolf Sommestad talks AI, tips for indie devs, and a day in the life of King's president
Feature
Apr 22nd, 2024
Behind the scenes: How to achieve a 30% revenue increase three years after launch
Feature
Apr 22nd, 2024
Hot Five: Earth Day, birthdays, game closures, layoffs and more. Here's what's hot right now…
Events
App Promotion Summit London | Europe | Apr 25th |
Esports Future Summit | Middle East | Apr 27th |
Dubai GameExpo Summit 2024 | Middle East | May 1st |
The MENA Games Industry Awards 2024 | Middle East | May 2nd |
GameDev Atlantic 2024 | May 4th | |
Mobidictum Meetup Berlin May 2024 | Europe | May 7th |
Mobidictum Meetup Tallinn May 2024 | Europe | May 21st |
Israel Mobile Summit 2024 | Middle East | Jun 6th |