With games like Word Fu and Rolando, iPhone developer ngmoco is one of the leaders at the forefront of the burgeoning games business on Apple’s ubiquitous device. The success of the App Store seems to be attracting new developers every day, but ngmoco has been there from the start. As the former president of Sega of America and LucasArts (as well as serving in marketing, business and development roles at other game companies), Simon Jeffery has a unique perspective on the vast difference between the traditional video game space and the emerging digital iPhone sector. Jeffery now serves as Chief Publishing Officer at ngmoco, and the[a]listdaily recently caught up with him to discuss strategies for standing out on the busy iPhone marketplace.
[a]list: What advice would you give to any publisher just starting out on the iPhone How can they stand out on the crowded App Store?
Simon Jeffery: We are going through what is possibly the most significant transition since the beginning of gaming. It’s a profound transition, with new economies and business models, new direct customer relationship opportunities, new social dynamics, and new gaming behavior. Our advice is to look forward, look at the newly-emerging monetization models, rather than clinging to what worked in the past.
This is the smile one develops after leaving the console biz for iPhone
Discoverability is a major issue for developers, so the ability for players to bring friends into the game is a huge bonus. Of course, we’d recommend using plus+ to help with that!
[a]list: What are some of the ways you’ve managed to gain so much traction with your iPhone titles?
SJ: We’ve always kept an absolute eye on product quality. That applies for ngmoco games, and partner games within the plus+ network. We’ve learned from experimentation at the early part of the iPhone’s life, and focused on providing as little friction as possible to consumers wanting to download and try one of our games. That is why ngmoco has moved toward the Freemium model – we are pioneering the move toward Free-2-Play with AAA quality gaming experiences.
[a]list: How has the social networking platform “Plus+ Network” been received so far?
SJ: Plus+ has been an enormous success for us. With over 20 million games downloaded so far, and the eye on partner game quality never being dropped, plus+ is now moving toward being a true platform, a service – rather than a social networking platform. Indeed, we fully expect that many social networking options will be featured within the phone development ecosystem itself, which is why the future of plus+ is all about providing monetization and discoverability solutions for developers to give them a competitive performance advantage.
[a]list: How would you categorize marketing of iPhone games versus marketing in the traditional video games space Would ngmoco, for example, ever want to advertise something like Rolando on TV?
SJ: Good marketing in this ecosystem is all about a deep engagement with the actual product – figuring out how the user will react to certain stimuli in game, retaining and monetizing that user, and incentivizing them to bring friends into the experience. Traditional cookie-cutter game marketing has no relevance in this space; we are able to build a relationship directly with millions of customers.
Marketing has to work deeper with game production than before. Community beats advertising. Lastly, in a world of games as services, marketing never stops. It’s not all about launch.
[a]list: How do you anticipate the marketing strategies for iPhone games evolving as this market continues to mature?
SJ: The distinction between the best marketers and the best game producers will begin to blend. Understanding and building product resonance at mass consumer level will become a fused skillset of both roles. Marketing will become less about getting the consumer to download the game, and more about engaging the consumer to play deep into the game.
[a]list: What’s the biggest lesson learned by ngmoco so far in this growing iPhone gaming business?
SJ: To unlearn everything we ever learned before, and always stay ahead of the curve.
[a]list: What does ngmoco think of the iPad How will this new tablet device change the marketing/business approach, if at all?
SJ: The iPad is another game changer. Ngmoco and Freeverse brought 7 iPad titles to market this past weekend, and we have many more planned. The iPad will yet further socialize mobile gaming and accelerate the change from traditional console and laptop gaming toward mobile.
