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Developing Wireless Games. From Idea to the Marketplace. Oliver Miao, CEO Centerscore. Developing Wireless Games Presentation. Geared towards those with little knowledge of wireless games Help you make an informed decision about the wireless games market
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Developing Wireless Games From Idea to the Marketplace Oliver Miao, CEO Centerscore
Developing Wireless Games Presentation • Geared towards those with little knowledge of wireless games • Help you make an informed decision about the wireless games market • Direct questions to omiao@centerscore.com
Speaker Background • Oliver Miao is the CEO of Centerscore, a wireless games developer. • When AT&T launched color, interactive games, Centerscore developed 20% of the titles.
The Hope – Market Expectations Analyst Predictions for Mobile Games • $2.8 billion in 2006 – In-Stat/MDR • $3.5 billion in 2006 - Informa Media • $4.4 billion in 2006 – Ovum • $9.3 billion in 2008 - Frost and Sullivan • $9 billion in 2010 – Informa Media
The Hope – Market Expectations Why these great expectations? • Potential to reach a broad, diverse, untouched market of non-traditional gamers. • People carry cell phones with them everywhere. • Pacifier phenomena. • Cell phones naturally connect people.
The Idea – Wireless Games • Focus on color, interactive games. • Other types, include text based (WAP) games, messaging (SMS) games, and location based games.
The Idea – Wireless Games Mobile games also follow many traditional game genres • Word and Trivia Games • Puzzle Games • Sports Games • Retro Arcade Games • Action Games
The Idea – Wireless Games The mobile medium also presents new opportunities. • Multi-player games • Location based games
The Enabling Technology The two leading development platforms for games: • J2ME (Java) • Largest global market, used by most carriers • BREW (C++) • Used by Verizon, largest US carrier
The Enabling Technology Other mobile platforms: • Symbian • Supported by majority of manufacturers. • Series 60 reference implemenation. • Dedicated gaming device, N*Gage. • Microsoft Smartphone • mophun • ExEn
The Players The wireless market has matured enough to form its own ecosystem. • Carriers • Manufacturers • Publishers • Developers • Others
The Players - Carriers Major carriers in the US include: • Verizon • AT&T • Cingular • Sprint PCS • Nextel
The Handsets Handsets vary all across the board. Differences include: • Screens – color and size • File size • Memory • Speed • Sound • Other unique APIs
The Handsets – Popular Phones • Samsung A500 • Motorola T720 • Nokia 7210
Getting the Game to Market There are three primary ways to get your games in the hands of US consumers: • Directly through an operator • Through a distributor • Through a publisher • With the help of a manufacturer
Consumer Pricing Companies are experimenting with different pricing models for games: • Unlimited download charge • Limited download charge • Subscription charge • Group subscription charge
Now… • Pre-empt some good questions and talk about the things developers really care about. • The next slides cover both the questions I had and the questions I continually hear from developers now.
Business Model for Developers How do developers make money? • Straight contracting • Advanced Royalties Publishing • Self Publishing
Resources Required What is required to develop a wireless game? • Very small development team. • 3 weeks to 3 months per title.
Getting started If I had to start from scratch right now, I would partner with a major player. • Write J2ME games and work with Nokia. • Write BREW games and work with Qualcomm.
Getting started J2ME Developers – Work with Nokia • Download the J2ME Developer’s Toolkit from Sun’s website. • Download the Nokia Developer’s Toolkit. • Learn by developing a game for the 3650. • Demo the game to Nokia at E3 in mid May.
Getting started BREW Developers – Work with Qualcomm • Plow through signing up to be a BREW developer. • Develop a demo for the Motorola T720. • Demo the game to Qualcomm at BREW Developer’s Conference in late April.
Concluding Remarks As the market is still young, its an exciting opportunity for developers to shape the market place. The number of downloads are already there to support the cost of development.
What’s the Best Way to Distribute a Game? Get different viewpoints at “How to Take Your Mobile Games to Market” session. • Immediately after this session. • 4:30-5:30pm in Room B1 • Featuring Matthew Bellows of Wireless Gaming Review, John Chasey of Iomo, Oliver Miao of Centerscore, Itsuro Yushimoto of Namco