Interviews

PG Connects speaker spotlight: Joel Breton, 505 Games

'Stop copying and start innovating'

PG Connects speaker spotlight: Joel Breton, 505 Games
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| 505 Games News

It's just days - or a weekend, really - to go before Pocket Gamer Connects 2014.

So to whet your appetite, we're finding out more about some of our speakers.

Joel Breton is currently the SVP of mobile games at 505 Games. He's also a game creator that's launched more than 100 games on more than 25 game platforms.

505 Games launched hit mobile games like Terraria, Battle Islands, and Knight Storm in 2013 and they have a big things in store for 2014 with a total 20 more mobile games planned.

Pocket Gamer: What do you think have been the biggest headlines/significant events for mobile games during 2013? Joel Breton: The iOS platform now has a larger installed base than the top 3 selling game consoles of all time - combined! The PS2 at 156 Million, Nintendo DS at 155 million and Nintendo Wii at 100 million achieved an impressive combined installed base of 411 million consoles.

Apple is about to double that tally with over 780 million iOS devices sold - 80 million in the last 3 months alone.

If you add Android's 1 billion plus installed base, we are addressing a global audience for smartphone/tablet games of at least 1.8 billion.

What do you think will be the biggest challenges/opportunities for the mobile game industry in 2014?

I think we have just scratched the surface of what we can achieve with mobile games as far as innovative entertainment.

When I think about GPS games, augmented reality games, always connected global multiplayer games, Bluetooth multiplayer, there are so many wide open fields for us to explore and innovate with mobile games.

What about indie developers in particular, is it going to be a tough year or an exciting one for indies? What piece of advice would you give to people launching new games?

I think this will be an incredible year for indies. I look to the indies to innovate and press into the new territories that mobile games have opened up to a massive global audience.

I do think that indies will want to connect with a strong publisher that can help launch their games and get the visibility and audience that is needed to achieve success.

If indies want to self-publish - they certainly have the tools and ability to do that, but I think it will continue to be very difficult to get noticed with the massive budgets being spent to acquire users by the companies that have already achieved scale on mobile platforms.

There's a strong trend of East meeting West with US/European publishers looking to make headway in the rapidly expanding markets of Japan, Korea and China and vice versa. How big do you think this opportunity is and which markets are you most excited about in 2014?

Its very exciting to see what is happening in Japan, Korea, China. We are publishing our games in those booming markets and will continue to do so this year.

There is also plenty of excitement in the emerging gaming markets like Turkey, Russia, Brazil. We are seeing excellent results in these emerging markets and plan to continue to localize and launch our games across the globe.

What are the takeaways you hope to discover from attending Pocket Gamer Connects?

I'm always excited by discovering innovative game concepts, and I will be looking for development teams that have come up with an innovative game concept for mobile platforms.

We are actively partnering with development teams that we feel are doing new and interesting concepts. Let's face it, the mobile world has probably seen enough infinite runner games for the moment.

If a team comes up with an innovation there, I would be interested to review that for a publishing partnership.

What was your favourite mobile game of the year?

Battle Islands, Our WW2 themed tower offense game, is a real joy to play and battle against all of the other island owners across the world.

Joe Danger is a really fantastic mobile game that I enjoy playing as I fly around the world.

The Chess.com mobile game is an awesome multiplayer chess game and community that allows me to play the best game of all time, anytime I want, with players from across the globe. These 3 games are mobile gaming at its finest in my view.

And finally, what's your New Year's resolution and what resolution would you enforce on the industry?

My new year’s resolution is to play hard, work harder, and entertain millions of gamers in 2014. We've got a head start on that mission in 2013, and plan to continue into 2014.

The resolution I would like to force on the industry is to stop copying so much and start innovating more. Find a genre you love and then find a way to innovate the gameplay in that genre.

That is where the magical mobile gaming experiences will appear this year.

Matthew Diener
Matthew Diener
Representing the former colonies, Matt keeps the Pocket Gamer news feed updated when sleepy Europeans are sleeping. As a frustrated journalist, diehard gamer and recovering MMO addict, this is pretty much his dream job.