5 reasons for the success of Finnish games on iPad
Forbes magazine published a small note explaining the reasons for the success of Finnish mobile games for iPad. After the games Oceanhorn, Angry Birds Star Wars 2 and several Supercell projects took the first place in the list of the most popular iOS tablet games in the United States, many began to think about the secret of Finnish entertainment.
Forbes employees approached the issue with all seriousness. They interviewed ten Japanese, Chinese and American mobile entertainment experts at Slush 2013, which ironically took place in Helsinki. Here’s what the experts said about the Finnish games.
Outstanding virtual styleFinnish games leave a great impression.
They are distinguished by high-quality and expressive graphic and sound design. Badland evokes acute nostalgia for Japanese portable games and creates super-detailed surreal worlds that look like oil paintings.
Working with AppleFinns are focused on Apple and often local games receive support in the store from the company.
Developers are well aware of exactly what applications Apple likes: detailed, graphically perfect designs that emphasize the iPad’s capabilities. Games should also have interesting and unique game elements.
TestingFinns finish projects for months before they become widely available.
Some conduct tests throughout the year in markets like New Zealand or Canada. They adjust the mechanics, adapt the graphics, the loading time, calculate the income in detail. Many large Japanese mobile companies like GungHo and Colopl make interesting games, but due to the lack of a competent testing system, they cannot properly prepare games for a global release.
Flexible pricing modelWith the advent of the free-to-play model, Finns continue to sell games for money and earn millions from it.
For example, Frogmind put a $4 price tag on Badland in order not to spoil the game with in-app purchases that could destroy the overall console atmosphere of entertainment. FDG Entertainment valued Oceanhorn at $9. Although the entire industry is rapidly moving towards free-to-play, there is always room for premium products.
Upgrade and expansion of existing gamesRovio has become one of the pioneers in the development of numerous upgrades for games.
In 2010, the company started releasing Angry Birds levels at an amazing rate. Supercell has planned an abyss of add-ons for Clash of Clans and Hay Day, which made these games so successful. Americans are slower. Electronic Arts, for example, lost a lot on Plants Vs. Zombies 2 due to a stable wave of content updates. Zynga killed Draw Something without coming up with a system for constantly updating the project.
