‘We need to take bigger risks’

For someone who pushes his company to open a new floor, it appears that Ilkka Paananen is comfortable.

Not wearing shoes, like anyone else in the office – it’s the Finnish thing that I told – tells me that the mobile game industry needs to be shaken.

“We need greater risks,” says Mr. Bananin, CEO of SuperCell in Finland – a giant in the world of mobile games.

“We have to create new types of game experiences,” he says.

The company already has some of the most successful mobile games that have been released ever; Last year, clans and fighting stars were generated More than one billion dollars Among them.

However, over the past two years, Mr. Paananen has increased the investment “in a large way” in new games, rented more employees and create new game studios.

“We have a lot of very talented and ambitious teams trying to re -imagine what the mobile games might look like, for example, 2030, and I hope I have the answer. I don’t, but you can definitely expect different types of games experiences more than I have seen so far on the mobile phone.”

Mr. Paananen emphasizes the need to innovate with a census; Last year, 60 % of the time spent on mobile phone games were calculated through games that were at least six years old, and only 10 % of the time of play was on the titles that were developed last year.

Without exciting new games, the industry will fight for attention.

He says: “Competition for the free time of people is more strict these days. It does not only compete with other games, but you are competing for social media, music flow, video flow, etc., are all available on your mobile phone.”

He says that one of the reasons why the industry does not get out of the games is the expenses. In the first days, mobile games were simpler and cheaper than making games that are played on keyboards and computers. But not anymore.

“Building games has become much more expensive,” says Bananin.

“The main reason is that the platform [smartphones] It allows you to do the road over 10 years ago 10 years ago. The other thing is that this type of tape is just a higher way in consumer minds. “

SuperCell’s production line stumbles. Squad Busters was launched last year, where it has since faded.

“The truth is that it did not meet our ambition, at least not yet,” Mr. Bananin admits.

In February, Supercell was appointed as the new general manager of Squad Marina.

“The team has really made some bold changes to the game. Of course, he will tell the time,” says Mr. Bananin.

SuperCell followed a different approach with another new game, MOCO.

The monster hunting game was launched in March, but only for those who have an invitation from SuperCell.

“It is difficult to measure what they consider successful with that … he is still calling only and has not really set fire to the world,” says Neil Long, founder and editor of Mobilegamer.biz, who was a video game journalist for more than 20 years.

“Mobile games are a very extreme work, as the successes are really great, but also the failures are really great,” he says.

It refers to the decision last month by ACTIVISION To withdraw a mobile version From her huge game, Call of Duty.

“They spent years developing this game, then they fired, and it did not work, and he died within a year … and for this reason people do not bear the risks, because, as you know, the failures are very clear and expensive.”

It also indicates that the mobile game industry has changed a lot in the years that SuperCell has passed.

There is more competition and some developers choose not to make a large and wonderful launch, instead adjusting games on the movement.

“Maybe the era of the launch of this huge end has ended,” says Mr. Long.

He says: “It is sometimes better to put your game there, then just build it as you go and know what you like the players and do not like it.”

SuperCell gives a lot of independence to the teams that work on new games. Currently, there are 10 of them with games in different stages of development.

One of their guidelines is to create a longevity games.

The question that our teams themselves ask is: “Why do people play this game within five or 10 years? “.

“They like to be in the same category of companies, for example, Nintendo, for example. There has been more than 100 years.”

Mr. Long says at the heart of the success of Supercells is a simple principle.

“They take very complex ideas and make them very easy and accessible, and a kind of cartoon and fun.”

Like many companies, Mr. Paananen hopes to help artificial intelligence stimulate innovation. In SuperCell is used to create new types of games.

“I have seen some internal initial models, but they are very early. I think it will take a few years until someone invents something completely new on this front.

“But it is one of those things that are not the question of whether it will happen. It is a question about when it will happen and who will happen.”

SuperCell also has a male innovation lab in Helsinki. It is an opportunity for the company’s external people to experience SuperCell intellectual property, including its games and characters.

“We mainly gave them a free hand to do what they want, in order to stimulate innovation.

Mr. Bananin says it was a “tremendous success” and the last tongue of Francisco is planned.

“The end result may not be a game, or game I was thinking about it as a Kaaba, but it is a completely different experience that enables it by artificial intelligence.”

Mr. Long says artificial intelligence was useful in specific areas, such as accelerating the development of the game or analyzing the behavior of the player.

But nothing is revolutionary yet.

“Regarding the creation of completely new types of games that we haven’t seen yet. And don’t feel about to happen yet, but we will see.”