Game industry giant Electronic Arts (EA) has teamed with Samsung Electronics to makes progress in the mobile games space. Samsung recently launched its own applications store to rival that of its long-time competitor Apple. The store is still in a fledgling state, but offers a wide variety of applications to consumers using Samsung mobile devices. The company has become heavily interested in mobile games and has been working to bring in more gaming applications to its new store, which has presented Electronic Arts with a very promising opportunity.
100% Indie initiative may attract developers to Samsung platform
EA and Samsung have teamed to launched the 100% Indie initiative, which is meant to attract developers of mobile games to the new Samsung app store. The initiative will provide developers with 100% of the revenue their mobile games generate through Samsung’s platform for their first six months, higher than the typical 30% developers usually get from other platforms. The initiative is scheduled to launch on March 4, 2013.
Higher revenue shares could be very alluring to developers
After the six month period had expired, developers with mobile games on the Samsung platform will give 10% of the revenue their games produce from that point forward to the company, keeping the rest for themselves. The following year, Samsung’s share rises to 20%, with the company’s share capping at 30% after two years. Samsung believes that developers being able to keep a higher share of their revenue, especially during the first six months of the launch of a new game, could be very lucrative to innovative and ambitious independent developers.
Samsung shows strong interest in mobile games publishing
Samsung recently overtook competitor Apple as the world’s largest smart phone seller. With the help of EA, the company may soon establish itself as a leader in the realm of mobile games. While Samsung will not focus on developing mobile games itself, it has a strong interest in acting as a publisher for such games. EA has extensive experience in this field, as the company is one of the largest publishers in the game industry currently.
The past year has seen many highs and lows for the game industry and its various companies
The advent of mobile gaming has had a significant impact on the industry as a whole and has helped spawn trends that are likely to dictate the course of the game industry into the future. With more consumers showing favor for mobile gaming over traditional channels, encouraging developers to focus more on mobile platforms and incorporate new business methods that defy tradition.
Research highlights the prospects of mobile gaming
According to research from Gartner, more than 821 million smart phones and tablets were sold in the U.S. throughout 2012. As the penetration of mobile devices increased, so too did the focus on mobile games. Rovio, developers of the popular Angry Birds franchise, is one of the prime examples of the success that can be found in the mobile gaming space. The developer’s success has encouraged several other development studios to enter into the mobile space. Gartner research suggests that 44% of mobile consumers participate in mobile gaming, creating a significant incentive for game developers to target this audience.
Developers turning to corwdfunding
Crowdfunding is also becoming a popular trend in the game industry, especially where mobile gaming is concerned. Platforms like Kickstarter and IndieGoGo have paved the way for game development studios to tap directly into consumers for financial support. Several developers have used this to great success. Crowdfunding is expected to help provide the mobile gaming space with more momentum into 2013, especially as larger development studios begin making use of such platforms to fund ambitious mobile games.
Problems persist for game industry as a whole
Though the mobile gaming market represents significant opportunities, economic turmoil continues to cause problems throughout the game industry. Recently, major developer THQ filed for bankruptcy after a long period of financial trouble. Larger companies, such as Blizzard Entertainment, Sega, and Electronic Arts, have also reported layoffs in recent months. While many of these setbacks are expected to be rectified in the coming year, the industry is still likely to experience turmoil to some degree in 2013.
