Another interview of Han Lian, CEO of mobile games developer BBMF on the mobile gaming market, the company’s recent entry to the Japanese market and it’s growth plan. A few snippets:
Differences between mobile and console games:
According to Lian, even though the mobile game business and video game business sound similar, they are totally different. Mobile games are better compared to the mobile data business, he says.
In the console game business, all the game maker needs to do is to create a good game, he said. Players will buy the game if it is good.
Mobile game makers, however, have to persuade cell phone carriers to put the game on their network. They also have to make the game downloadable and playable--or "port" the game--on various handsets. Otherwise, a customer may never be able to play the game, even if they want to.
Another difference is the price of the games.
Most video game software is priced at 6,000 yen to 7,000 yen per game, with a cartridge for Nintendo Co.'s Game Boy Advance about 3,000 yen. Mobile games, by contrast, sell for just 50 yen to 500 yen.
That means a mobile game company must produce hundreds of games if it is to make money, whereas a video game company needs just one or two hit titles to turn a profit.
Lian says the low prices are not without their advantages, however. Because the prices are so low, mobile gamers can decide to buy games on a whim, he said. Players can opt to buy a certain mobile game just because he or she likes the character that appears in it, he added.
The different nature of the market may also mean specialized developers have better prospects than existing video game companies.
According to Lian, producing a video game requires 30 to 40 top engineers in a process much like producing a movie. Making high-salaried engineers work on porting cheap games into different mobile platforms would not be cost-effective, he argues.
"In Japan, it's very expensive to make many games on many platforms and to go all over the world," he said.
BBMF’s competitive advantage:
In fact, the high cost of production in Japan may also favor BBMF's business, with the company aiming to keep costs low using a game lab in China to develop its software. Using the lab, which the company says is the largest of its kind in the world, BBMF can produce a game at 5 percent of the cost of Japanese developers.
In August, BBMF formed a strategic alliance with Atlus Co., a developer of PlayStation titles including "Megami Tensei." Under the deal, Atlus bought 2.2 percent of BBMF for 1.1 million dollars, with BBMF taking responsibility for converting Atlus' video game titles into mobile games.
Related:
: Interview with Chinese game developer BBFM
