'Operators strangle content' says India Games boss

Mobile phone carriers are crucial to a games success, and if developers don't co-operate they can only expect their products to fail.

That's the stark warning from India Games' senior vice-president Sean Malatesta, speaking at the Mobile Entertainment Summit 2006.

"This is an operators world, if you don't cooperate they strangle it, they strangle music, they strangle games, they strangle everything," said Malatesta.

However, partnering with mobile carriers does not mean products are guaranteed success argued Malatesta. Indeed, it just marks the first step in a difficult marketing exercise.

"You have to be smart about it," said Malatesta. "You live and die with the carriers or without them."

"I'm probably 90 per cent selling with the carriers, but even when I get on there I've got to do everything I can to get people to buy within the stores. If the games don't sell well and fast, they get removed," he revealed.