wraggster
February 12th, 2014, 19:52
Booming Clash of Clans developer Supercell plans to release a third game next month called Boom Beach. It's apparently already soft-launched in Canada and Australia, and is a top-five grossing iPhone game in both countries, reported Gamasutra (http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/210595/Supercell_reveals_latest_fiscal_figures_defends_fr eetoplay_model.php#.UvtspETMgCI.twitter).Supercell announced its intentions during an astonishing annual earnings report. Consider that Supercell began life in 2010 with the help of a loan from the Finnish government, and built Hay Day and Clash of Clans with teams of half-a-dozen each.Now look at the 2012 numbers: $101m revenue, $51m operating income (Financial Times (http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/24f7dc08-93c7-11e3-a0e1-00144feab7de.html#axzz2t6nHvqHJ)). And then look at the 2013 numbers: $689m GAAP revenue, $322m EBITA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation), according to Gamasutra."You need to create a game that people play for years"
Illka Paananen
You could buy a house with an on-site horse for that kind of money!Apparently a hacker revealed earlier this week that Supercell was raking in more than $5m a day.How? Micro-transactions of course; time-saving, progress-boosting payouts surrounding every aspect of what Dan Whitehead called a "tissue thin" game (http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2013-04-13-saturday-soapbox-the-high-cost-of-free-to-play), in Clash of Clans' case.How is it that Supercell is so successful? "It is both simple and incredibly hard," explained CEO and co-founder Illka Paananen, reported the Financial Times (http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/24f7dc08-93c7-11e3-a0e1-00144feab7de.html#axzz2t6nHvqHJ). "You need to create a fun game. You need to create a game that people play for years, not months, and those people have to play a lot." He did later say that "I don't think you should devote your life to playing games".On the topic of some players spending a fortune on the game, he added (via Gamasutra): "It's no secret that some players spend substantial amounts of money on these games. But I wouldn't say the vast majority of revenue comes from them. These people usually come from an investment banker or lawyer background, and they spend a lot of money on golf courses and so on. I've asked them, 'Why do you spend so much money on these games?' And they say, 'People spend money on golf, I spend money on Clash of Clans.'"Supercell announced itself with a bang last year by selling - for $1.5bn - just over half of the company to Japanese Puzzle & Dragons maker GungHo. That meant Supercell was valued at $3bn.GungHo, incidentally, raked in revenues of $1.6bn and operating profits of $900m in 2013.Someone's doing well, aren't they?
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2014-02-12-clash-of-clans-dev-releasing-new-game-next-month
Illka Paananen
You could buy a house with an on-site horse for that kind of money!Apparently a hacker revealed earlier this week that Supercell was raking in more than $5m a day.How? Micro-transactions of course; time-saving, progress-boosting payouts surrounding every aspect of what Dan Whitehead called a "tissue thin" game (http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2013-04-13-saturday-soapbox-the-high-cost-of-free-to-play), in Clash of Clans' case.How is it that Supercell is so successful? "It is both simple and incredibly hard," explained CEO and co-founder Illka Paananen, reported the Financial Times (http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/24f7dc08-93c7-11e3-a0e1-00144feab7de.html#axzz2t6nHvqHJ). "You need to create a fun game. You need to create a game that people play for years, not months, and those people have to play a lot." He did later say that "I don't think you should devote your life to playing games".On the topic of some players spending a fortune on the game, he added (via Gamasutra): "It's no secret that some players spend substantial amounts of money on these games. But I wouldn't say the vast majority of revenue comes from them. These people usually come from an investment banker or lawyer background, and they spend a lot of money on golf courses and so on. I've asked them, 'Why do you spend so much money on these games?' And they say, 'People spend money on golf, I spend money on Clash of Clans.'"Supercell announced itself with a bang last year by selling - for $1.5bn - just over half of the company to Japanese Puzzle & Dragons maker GungHo. That meant Supercell was valued at $3bn.GungHo, incidentally, raked in revenues of $1.6bn and operating profits of $900m in 2013.Someone's doing well, aren't they?
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2014-02-12-clash-of-clans-dev-releasing-new-game-next-month