What a year for FISHLABS! All of our mobile games were showered with awards. German and international online magazines gave top marks by the score to Powerboat Challenge™, Rally Master Pro™, Gladiator – The Mobile Game, and Snowboard Hero™. As a result, FISHLABS led the international charts for the best mobile games in 2008. Not bad for a small company with just 30 employees. Naturally, we were tremendously pleased with all of this recognition and are very proud of it.
Unfortunately, none of this guarantees that high quality and innovation will earn back the expenses of the costly production of such mobile games on the open market, to say nothing of making a profit – the purpose of every professional company. There are a number of diverse reasons for this:
- Even high-quality mobile games are offered at a relatively low price
- Mobile network operators keep at least 50 % of the revenue
- Distributors help themselves to up to 25 % of the end-user price for the more or less simple task of passing on the mobile game
- Mobile games are marketed like ring tones – the name of a mobile game is the only distinguishing feature, the customer only learns about quality and innovation after the purchase
- There is no effective copy protection for mobile games. They are downloaded illegally over the Internet in huge numbers – there are roughly ten times as many illegal downloads of our mobile games as legal (and that is just those that we are aware of)
All of this would not be so serious if these problems had not been known for years. Unfortunately, almost nothing has changed in this regard, and we do not expect there to be fundamental changes in the market for mobile games in the future. Mind you, by this we only mean the market for mobile games which are sold by network operators and Internet portals.
New sales channels for mobile games
In 2009, FISHLABS will rigorously pursue other methods. Above all, we will, for the time being, not develop any new Java mobile games for sale via network operators and Internet portals.
With the long-awaited sequel to our best-known mobile game, the space shooter and trade simulator Galaxy on Fire™, we will rely entirely on the new marketing concept which we successfully introduced with Rally Master Pro™: Galaxy on Fire™ 2 will be available for free download directly from our website and a few selected partners. Anyone who wants to can download the game to their PC to save the mobile transmission costs. In any case, Galaxy on Fire™ 2 can be played for a few hours (!) absolutely free. Only in the later course of the game must the game be unlocked for 100,000 myFISHLABS credits. In western countries, the purchase of a myFISHLABS Credits Gold Package for 5.97 Euros is enough for this. We have also taken great care that myFISHLABS Credits are priced lower in emerging markets in accordance with their purchasing power and that the most important payment systems of each country are available.
Copy protection for mobile games with extra benefits
In order to adequately protect Galaxy on Fire™ 2 against piracy after the free playing period, the mobile game uses an online connection to our OCEAN™ server to check whether the individual player is authorised to use the paid premium area of Galaxy on Fire™ 2. This check occurs only once per game session and the one-time 10 KB data transfer is minimal, in order to keep the cost to the player as low as possible. The game security data are kept in the phone’s memory until the game is ended. Thus, Galaxy on Fire™ 2 will even work in the underground, so long as there has been a brief connection to the OCEAN™ server beforehand.
Of course, honest users consider copy protection to be an imposition. Why should honest buyers have to accept difficulties or even extra costs for a product they have paid for in full? The answer is simple: because this product and other like it in the future will not exist if it is too easy to obtain a free (illegal) version and the manufacturer cannot make a profit from their product.
But our copy protection also has its good side: above all, download fees do not apply. Depending on the mobile phone contract, that could be up to 15 Euros for a large mobile game like Galaxy on Fire™ 2. Furthermore, we offer up to two cross upgrades. Thus, players can start playing Galaxy on Fire™ 2 on one mobile and keep playing even after changing to another model from a different manufacturer (!) for the second time. The saved games are stored on the OCEAN™ server with every authorisation and loaded as needed. Even without changing mobiles, this is a useful function, for example when your mobile receives a firmware update. And at the same time, all premium players are entered in the international high scores table.
We can’t wait to see how Galaxy on Fire™ 2 and the new sales concept are received in the market. Even if data flat rates have not yet been widely established and we will probably lose some users in the short-term, online connectivity in mobile games is the future and FISHLABS is always one of the leaders!
With that in mind, game on and a successful 2009!
Tags: award, download, Fishlabs, free, Galaxy on Fire, Games, Gladiator, java, Mobile, myFISHLABS, Ocean, online, powerboat, Server
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I have read this post. This is very much true. I run a part time internet marketing business
I have been collecting many material on internet marketing and checking out Jeff Paul’s
internet marketing tactics. I hope that we can keep each other’s contacts so I can
discuss my problems Even I own a blog account. I will mention your post in my blog.
I believe that there is a major paradigm shift going on right now in mobile application development and distribution, away from manufacturers and operators to the iPhone and maybe Android and to the corresponding new distribution channels.
If manufacturers and mobile operators won’t offer much better access to their millions of customers, they will lose a large part of the developer community and with it a lot of money via application sales.
http://orbster.com/blogs/GeorgsBlog/2009/01/07/1231360620000.html
Good luck Fishlabs!!!
Do you have any plans to release Galaxy on Fire 2 on the iPhone? Or the first one for that matter? I see you’ve been porting your other games to iPhone. I’m not sure if your copy protection will work on the iPhone, with its tough restrictions on the way apps operate. I’d love to play this game and from the sounds of people on toucharcade.com and other iPhone gaming sites, a deep good space-sim would welcome.
Well, of course we like to see our hits on iPhone too. We started with our more simple games as time to market was a matter and we knew we had to learn a lot in the beginning.
So stay tuned, you will see also our top titles on iPhone coming in the next months…
I’m thinking of producing a mobile game that I had developed years ago for the atari and amiga platforms which never got finished due to their demise and the birth of the PC.
I have looked into how I would be able to sell the finished game and must admit I was gob smacked. Your entirely right I don’t believe company’s like yours with excellent games get a fair deal.
When you consider how much is spent on mobile games you would think Amazon, Google, Microsoft etc would have cornered the market place with a new portal.
I hope your strategy for 2009 works you deserve it for the excellent games you have to offer.
This is a very interesting and honest artical.
Do you think that 3d games for iPhone can make profit?
Apple is giving 75% of revenue, compared to the paltry 25% when distributing via mobile operators.
You will never defeat piracy fishlabs!
This is what keeps your industry rolling…
A foolish move indeed
@Mr.Maxwell:
“Piracy keeps the industry rolling” ? What a load of crap. Not enough units are sold because everyone thinks its much easier to download the good stuff from rapidshare or p2p networks. Its really simple, if no one buys the games, no one produces games or tries to advance the medium. I see an interesting parallel in the PC Game industry, where more and more developers are shifting towards consoles like xbox360 or ps3. That’s because they are way too easy to copy. How can anyone make a profit and keep on producing titles for such a platform ? I know guys who never ever bought an original copy of a game. That can’t be right. Just my two cents.
Mr Maxwell if games were not pirated they would be a lot cheaper to buy!
Hello.
I can give You one advice.
Do not give anyone not-connected version. Anyone. Even to press.
I think it will help You a lot…
And good luck in 2009!
One is well-known: I will buy Your games legally, from Your website, becouse I have respect for Your work, You are what is rolling mobile gaming industry, not Gameloft, not EA. You, FISHLABS.
Regards!
I canceled my phone’s 3G and don’t want to reactivate just for this game. Many phones cannot connect to the internet, as people use prepaid cards too.
Would it be possible to port this game to the App Store? It looks beautiful on a 240 X 320, imagine how it would look in the iPhone and iTouch. It would inconvenience users a lot less too, having to unlock this and that and all that. Your trial version could be a ‘lite’ app. You’re produced several excellent titles for the platform already, and I think a quality dogfighting game with the long-term play of GoF would be a huge hit on the app store. I really missed GoF when I put my phone aside as a gaming platform. And I don’t see many games on the App store with such persistent gameplay. So please, please, please, port this game to the App store.
Does that mean each time we load the game it will cost us GPRS charges from our service provider JUST to check if our game is legal. That will lose a lot of customers…
The root cause of this problem does not lie in piracy, low operators’ payout or high distributors’s share … but rather it lies in Fishlab’s approach (a myopic one).
Fishlab must stop seeing themselves as JUST a mobile game developer/publisher, rather as a mobile game company with each of its titles as distinct mobile game BRANDS which display passion and enthusiasm as any PS3 or Xbox game.
Fishlab can buck the slowing trend remodelling into a branded product house just like big brands such as Coca Cola, Xbox etc and start treating operators as distribution channels like a Supermarket. Content providers shoud not be seen as the key distribution channel this is the easy way out. Just the way Coca Cola does an excellent job in marketing/advertising and Aldi does an equally great job in stocking coca cola and pulling the crowd to its retail outlets, Fishlab should strive to establish each of its title as a brand by doing enough marketing around it, and expect operators to allow Fishlabs access to its user traffic. Here portal placement is paramount.
This article is a grim description of an industry with yet so much potential it just needs to be looked at differently. Simply put: make a product attractive and as easily accessible to a customer as possible and they will flock to it in droves!
Content may be king but marketing is the emperor. My question to Fishlabs is: why be a mere king if you can be an emperor? It’s yours for the taking!
I don’t think you can avoid piracy – they’ll always figure out a method to get their hands on your games for free. Instead you should be looking into ways of utilizing the massive traffic your pirated games get.
At the moment we have a new model based on the premises that piracy sets up.
Well，I am a “fishlabs player” from China,and I am looking forward to playing your G.O.F2 now.
But there is still a problem now.As you say,you will make G.O.F2 a “paid game”,just like some mobile game manufactures in China.But those Chinese manufactures just asking for a payment as 2RMB,not 6Euro.At present,Chinese Mobile phone user will pay less than 60RMB in using mobile phone(except some business men).Playing G.O.F2 with paying 60RMB(If 1Euro can change 10RMB) means that they coula’t use mobile phone for a month ot they’ll pay more.Most Chinese prefer playing free games to playing your G.O.F2.And the others?They will change your into a free data so they could play it without paying money,and that is what you don’t what to see,right?
So I have a advice.As I said,almost everyone in China won’t play a game while paying 6Euro.But if they only have to pay 20RMB?Then some of the player will think “It seems that I can afford 20RMB.G.O.F2 is a perfect game,it worth more than 20RMB!”.Then both the players and your game-makers will be happy–you can still make money!
I know it may seem unfair to the European players–Why we should pay much?But it is because of European countries are developed,but the asian countries are not(except Japan).If China is a developed country now,6 Euro won’t be a big sum to Chinese,too.
Absolutely,I will still support Fishlabs,whether you reduce the fee or not.But I really hope you can make a low-fee-edition for the Asian countries,that is good for you(more people will choose the low-fee-edition).
Surely,6Euro seems quite profitable for Europeans,but it is too high for Chinese.
PS:Please forgive the grammer mistakes,because I’m not good at speaking English.
don’t worry, you’ll have your faithful supporters, fishlabs!
that’s right, and as a good mobile game,it’s not expensive at all.i am a player in china.and i don’t have paypal number.but i wanna play this game for full,but i even don’t know how to pay for it…in westen country they can pay for it through sms,but we can not.
could you do something for us,we just need a simple way to pay for this wonderful game…
ps:sorry for my pool english.
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