Casual Mobile Games Market Currently Underserved
Casual Games Association, Amsterdam - 8 February 2008: Speaking at the Casual Games Association's 'Casual Connect' Conference in Amsterdam yesterday, Don Ryan, of Oberon Media, tackled the topic of cross-platform convergence in 2008. He cited the casual genre on mobile which, while a growing phenomenon, is currently the biggest gap in the mobile market, currently under-served by the industry's key stakeholders in comparison to the online market.
Speaking for the first time in his new role as SVP of Publishing across mobile, online and iTV, Ryan highlighted that the key challenge to growing the mobile games market is effectively marketing to casual consumers, given the various constraints of the mobile deck, as well as the characteristics of the casual buyer. He explained the biggest opportunity for the market in the year ahead is the untapped demand for casual content - particularly among female mobile gamers and that carriers and handset manufacturers need to help realise this growth potential.
Laying out the company's vision to better serve the mobile games audience, in particular the female audience, with a broader selection of truly casual games, Ryan explained how Oberon is uniquely positioned to drive progress in the adoption of casual games in mobile with its industry-leading online, mobile and iTV publishing businesses, and its professional services offering. By leveraging brands and audiences across multiple platforms and delivering the "best of breed" online practices to the mobile world, Oberon aims to create more consumer-friendly and effective gaming experiences.
Ryan outlined how the old challenges will remain the same in 2008, with carrier domination of the distribution channel; increasingly fragmented handset "platforms"; and licensed brands dominating carrier, OEM, and consumer mindsets. However, Ryan is optimistic about future growth, pointing to 3G penetration nearing the 'tipping point' where viral marketing will take effect; the halo effect of iPhone and N-Gage on content downloads; all-you-can-eat data packages increasing and the marketing of those initiatives, and carriers embracing more convergence opportunities. Oberon Media aims to maximise synergies across the gaming platforms and position itself as the front-runner in the convergence play through its creative, trail blazing solutions gaining traction.
Casual games industry veteran Don Ryan last month took over responsibility for Oberon's mobile publishing activities. Former General Manager of Microsoft Game Studios and director of the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences, Ryan oversaw the publication of hundreds of downloadable games under the Microsoft "Casual Games" label and is widely credited with bringing casual games to the masses and establishing the strong foothold that those products now have in the entertainment software industry.
About Oberon Media
Oberon Media, the world's leading multi-platform casual-games company, is the first company to deliver global, integrated casual-games solutions across online, mobile and interactive TV platforms, following its recent acquisitions of I-play and PixelPlay, respective leaders in the mobile games and iTV casual games markets.
The Oberon Game Center platform is the industry standard and has been adopted by some of the world's largest corporations including Microsoft, Comcast, Verizon, Electronic Arts, France Telecom and NHN. The platform combines casual-game content, merchandizing and features to fulfill each partner's specific needs. Oberon Media's publishing arm works with the industry's best, award-winning game developers to produce the top-selling casual games, which can be played in more than a dozen languages across online, mobile, console and iTV platforms.
Founded in 2003, Oberon Media is headquartered in New York with offices across North America, Europe and Asia, and is backed by Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Oak Investment Partners and Lehman Brothers.
For more information visit: http://www.oberon-media.com
Contact:
Anna Brog
I-play / Oberon Media
+ 44 (0 7787 561 352
anna.brog@iplay.com
anna.brog@oberon-media.com