Locojoy spoke about his success in the Chinese market

The current year has been extremely successful for Beijing-based developer Locojoy. Having survived several difficult years, the company released the I AM MT card strategy, based on the famous anime, which, in turn, was created based on World Of Warcraft.

Since then, the title has not left the first place of the Chinese box office top iOS.

The co-founder and CEO of Locojoy, Shanhu Xing, told how the company achieved success, as well as about the reasons for choosing iOS over Android.

How was Locojoy created?

The company was founded in May 2011 by a small group of experienced developers. By that time, each team member had worked for at least 6 years in the industry.

In the first year, we released a new online title every 2 months, but they were not successful. None of them crossed the threshold of $100 thousand in annual income. Things were not going well, and we were thinking about closing the company.

In the second half of 2012, we switched our attention to creating card strategies. Everything changed when I AM MT came out. Since January 2013, we have become developers of one of the most profitable games on the Apple App Store in China.

Why did you decide to develop mobile games?

They are constantly with you, they can be launched anywhere and anytime. We like the feeling that users experience thanks to this.

Tell us about your first games.

These were Gold Miner OL, Dog and Cat, Speed Birds, Cow and Write Something.

They did not bring much commercial benefit, the total income was about $ 150 thousand.

What inspired you to create I AM MT: Card Battle?

The source of ideas were games that entertained us when we were younger: Dungeons and Dragons and Might and Magic.

In addition, we wanted to create a challenging game for which players need to use their mind to defeat enemies and other players. We wanted them to think, because just using the same cards in all the dungeons is not interesting.

In China, the title has been developing extremely well since its release. Was this success expected, and what are its reasons?

We foresaw that the game would attract attention, but, of course, we did not expect that it would hold the first position for 6 months.

The first users are fans of the anime I AM MT and fans of World of Warcraft. As the popularity of the game grew, its fans united into a huge community with their own culture.

How is MT: Wrath of Ator related to I AM MT: Card Battle?

MT: Wrath of Ator is an updated version of I AM MT: Card Battle.

Thinking about the new name, we wanted to make it more understandable for players outside of China, many of them have not heard anything about the anime that formed the basis of the game.

iOS attracts your attention more than Android. Why?

There are more than 30 Android app stores in China. And for everyone it is necessary to integrate their SDK, which significantly increases the amount of work.

Therefore, we first launched our games on iOS, received feedback from users, and then decided whether to port them to Android and other platforms.

Which market is more important to you: Chinese or international?

We want to develop both in the domestic and international arena. But due to the fact that our experience is more connected with the Chinese market, our efforts to conquer the foreign market are less successful so far.

What do you think is the biggest challenge for developers in China?

Firstly, innovation, since most Chinese companies are engaged in copying. In terms of new ideas, they lag far behind North American and European companies.

Secondly, the speed of adaptation to new technologies. Chinese companies are at a disadvantage in terms of geography and communication. Making connections is a very complex process in which we still have a lot to learn.

Source: www.pocketgamer.biz