In this latest interview on GamesOnDeck, we talk to Paul Maglione, President of Vivendi Games Mobile, about the company's history, the challenges of translating mobile games development, and the future of the company and the industry.
Games On Deck: Why did Vivendi Games decide get into the mobile space?
Paul Maglione: Vivendi, as a corporation, is perhaps unique among entertainment companies in having a strong telecommunications arm represented by leading mobile network companies SFR in France and Maroc Telecom in Morocco. It is thus well positioned to bring mobile entertainment into the core of its forward strategy; something that Universal Music started some time ago - it is now the leading mobile entertainment company in the music space - and which Vivendi Games set in motion in 2005, with the decision to set up a powerful mobile games publishing unit with a mandate to become one of the industry leaders in a relatively short timeframe.
GOD: Can you explain Vivendi Games Mobile's history?
PM: In-house development of mobile games started in 2004 from our Paris studio, with the games reaching carriers via external distribution partners. We developed about nine games which were sold in this way before announcing the creation of a formal publishing unit in March 2006 and the shift to direct distribution of titles from Vivendi Games Mobile to carriers. Today we have extensive direct distribution with all major carriers in North America and Europe, and are ramping up direct distribution in other parts of the world, both via carriers and specialised mobile entertainment portals.
GOD: Do you develop titles in house, or with external developers?
PM: We develop about half of our titles in-house, and the other half with a small number of trusted external developers with whom we have a long history of partnership. This helps us keep our quality levels high, as recognised by the ratings and awards our titles receive. It also makes for a stable and familiar development environment which helps make porting easier and more predictable and allows us to support more handsets (about 800 at present).
Surviving High School '07
GOD: The Vivendi Games Mobile catalogue features a lot of licensed titles and ports, but also a number of original IP. What do you see as the future of mobile games?
PM: Clearly mobile gaming has not had its "platform-specific breakout hit" yet, so by definition that will have to come from original IP and the publisher which nails that will win big. We thus have a respectable number of original IP titles in our 2007 roadmap, one of which - Surviving High School 2007 - is a very innovative title featuring fresh story lines uploaded over-the-air into the game every couple of weeks and which is already in the top sellers list on Verizon Wireless.
GOD: What are the advantages and disadvantages of translating console and PC titles to mobile phones?
PM: The advantages are undoubtedly brand awareness - something we enjoy with our Crash Bandicoot, Spyro the Dragon or Leisure Suit Larry mobile game titles - and the synergistic marketing effects of cross-promotion between the console or PC title and the mobile game. The disadvantages, for highly realistic console/PC action titles in any case, is a certain expectation level by the consumer as to the title's graphics and sound, which obviously can't be fully delivered on a much smaller device. The key is to identify and focus on the gameplay consistent with that console/PC franchise which best suits the mobile phone, and to make that mobile friendly gameplay as compelling and as fun as it can be.
