PocketGamer.biz Podcast

Blockchain gaming: a flash in the frying pan or an auspicious opportunity for the gaming industry? Gaming expert Martine Spaans leans toward the latter. In this episode, our cohosts, Peggy Anne Salz and Brian Baglow, sit down with Martine to discuss this controversial corner of the gaming world. As General Manager of the Dutch Games Association and Founder of Tamalaki Games, Martine sees blockchain gaming as a new chance for many developers — new technology, new audiences, and new rewards. Throughout the episode, the trio discusses the blockchain economy's unique benefits and how Web3 offers a special space for community-building and interoperability. The group also ask existential questions like "What is a game?" and "How do games affect life outside of entertainment?" "I think it's important to move with the market and not stay too stationary for too long," says Martine. "Because in a fast-evolving industry like ours, it's a way of survival." CHAPTER TIMESTAMPS 00:00 - Introductions 03:03 - What is it like to work in games in the Netherlands? 06:35 - The Dutch gaming divide and challenges 09:19 - Martine's rise through the gaming world's ranks 15:32 - The benefits of being your own blockchain game publisher 20:53 - Understanding the difference between gamers and blockchain gamers 23:23 - The critical question: What is a game? 28:56 - Favourite games Q&A with Martine * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  ** Let's Connect ** 👉🏻 Twitter - https://twitter.com/pgbiz  👉🏻 LinkedIn Group - https://www.linkedin.com/groups/144491/  👉🏻 Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/PGbiz  👉🏻 Website - https://www.pocketgamer.biz  Check out more world-class speakers sharing their insights and expertise at one of our events. You can find details of our next event here - https://www.pgconnects.com/next-event

Last week, we discussed the post-privacy world with a data carnivore. This week, we met with an ASO maestro. Claudia Trujillo, ASO expert at Gameloft, sits down with Peggy Anne Salz in this episode to bust myths and explain how she blends art and science to create a symphony of successful paid campaigns. From ASO's effect on UA visibility and performance to its AB test's impact on UA ads, Claudia dispels common misconceptions about the relationship between these acquisition aids. CHAPTER TIMESTAMPS 00:00 - Marketers: It's time to play! 02:20 - Busting ASO myths 09:38 - Surprise! ASO categories can impact UA visibility 13:10 - How to balance UA costs and ASO conversion rates 18:42 - No more brainstorming meetings. Put the data in a dashboard 20:01 - You guessed it, ASO average rating affects UA too 21:38 - Sometimes mistakes are a blessing 24:59 - How Claudia is utilizing AI  27:58 - Where is Claudia headed next? * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  ** Let's Connect ** 👉🏻 Twitter - https://twitter.com/pgbiz  👉🏻 LinkedIn Group - https://www.linkedin.com/groups/144491/  👉🏻 Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/PGbiz  👉🏻 Website - https://www.pocketgamer.biz  Check out more world-class speakers sharing their insights and expertise at one of our events. You can find details of our next event here - https://www.pgconnects.com/next-event

“Targeting is becoming more and more of a problem,” says Piyush Mishra, Head of Growth Marketing At Product Madness, a top-grossing leader in social casino mobile games. The host of his podcast, In The Sandbox with Adam Smart, explains how consumer preference for privacy-centric practices pressures marketers to rethink targeting and embrace contextual clues. Alongside our hosts Peggy Anne Salz and Brian Baglow, Piyush reveals the techniques UA managers can rely on to understand their attribution data and build user data amidst these ongoing changes. Piyush also shares where marketers are failing when it comes to creatives and speculates on the future of UA with AI. CHAPTER TIMESTAMPS 00:00 - Introducing Piyush and his journey into data 05:00 - Major changes for growth marketers and updates to the Privacy Sandbox 09:55 - The two types of UA managers 12:47 - How companies are responding to targeting changes 17:29 - How does creative build user trust? 20:26 - Tips and shortcuts for early-stage developers 24:40 - What is UA without AI? 30:07 - Piyush's current and all-time favourite games and what's next for his podcast * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  ** Let's Connect ** 👉🏻 Twitter - https://twitter.com/pgbiz  👉🏻 LinkedIn Group - https://www.linkedin.com/groups/144491/  👉🏻 Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/PGbiz  👉🏻 Website - https://www.pocketgamer.biz  Check out more world-class speakers sharing their insights and expertise at one of our events. You can find details of our next event here - https://www.pgconnects.com/next-event

According to Kooapps Co-Founder and CEO Chun-Kai (CK) Wang, ad monetisation needs to shift toward a more unified approach. Games need to monetise off ads and in-app purchases. Luckily, maximising the ad side of game revenue is easier than ever with in-app bidding. In this episode of The Groove at 5 O’Clock, Peggy Anne Salz discusses this advanced advertising method with CK and Shobeir Shobeiri, Senior Director of Business Development at Mintegral, an AI-driven global mobile advertising platform. Shobeir reveals how switching from waterfall to in-app bidding lifted ARPDAU by 80% in some regions, while CK breaks down the key components to a killer playable ad. The trio also discuss balancing data and creatives to scale campaigns and what CK thinks is the next big opportunity in mobile gaming. CHAPTER TIMESTAMPS 00:00 - How Shobeir and CK get into The Groove 03:34 - How Kooapps approaches unified monetisation  09:07 - Live ops that involve the community 11:35 - The key components to a killer playable 16:20 - How in-app bidding brought a 40% ARPDAU uplift 18:29 - Finding a creatives campaign that works and the benefits of an opposite approach 24:06 - The best network for testing creatives 27:22 - It's data, data, data 29:26 - Kooapps is going global, and how to find the best region for your campaign 31:34 - The next big thing in mobile gaming * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  ** Let's Connect ** 👉🏻 Twitter - https://twitter.com/pgbiz  👉🏻 LinkedIn Group - https://www.linkedin.com/groups/144491/  👉🏻 Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/PGbiz  👉🏻 Website - https://www.pocketgamer.biz  Check out more world-class speakers sharing their insights and expertise at one of our events. You can find details of our next event here - https://www.pgconnects.com/next-event

Global game developer Outfit7 is reaching new audiences and taking control of its data with its unique approach to A/B testing. In this episode, Peggy Anne Salz meets with Nina Oblak, Outfit7 ASO Team Lead, to discuss how the company uses split testing beyond creatives and content to inform choices at every stage of the game cycle. Owning its data is a big part of Outfit7’s success. With the help of Kayzen, the world’s first mobile in-house bidder™, Outfit7 has total control of its programmatic campaigns. Ryan Goeden, Business Development Lead at Kayzen, joins Peggy and Nina and reveals how Outfit7 and Kayzen partner to reach new users in different genres and the hidden data signals marketers can use to improve their campaigns. CHAPTER TIMESTAMPS 00:00 - Hello to Nina and Ryan 02:58 - Testing a fake app store for AB Testing 07:41 - The skill gap that is separating advertisers 10:21 - Outfit7's split testing routine and how to test on a budget 15:20 - Testing new genres without fully taking the plunge 21:30 - Tricks to getting the most out of your AB testing 25:50 - Using testing for more than just distribution  28:40 - Q&A for Nina and Ryan * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  ** Let's Connect ** 👉🏻 Twitter - https://twitter.com/pgbiz  👉🏻 LinkedIn Group - https://www.linkedin.com/groups/144491/  👉🏻 Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/PGbiz  👉🏻 Website - https://www.pocketgamer.biz  Check out more world-class speakers sharing their insights and expertise at one of our events. You can find details of our next event here - https://www.pgconnects.com/next-event

A hit game doesn’t wait for user feedback until after publishing; a hit game integrates it during development. AppQuantum, a mobile free-to-play game publisher, collects that feedback. Whether through creatives testing, monetisation strategy, or by measuring session time, AppQuantum delivers user input at every stage of a game’s life cycle. In this episode, our cohosts, Peggy Anne Salz and Brian Baglow, sit down with AppQuantum’s Victoria Beliaeva (Head of Bus. Dev. and PR) and Alexey Gavrilov (Marketing Producer) to discuss how the international publisher uses a structural approach to boost games from every genre—from hyper-casual runner games to large-scale live-ops or RPG games. Victoria and Alexey reveal how AppQuantum increased one game’s monthly revenue from thousands to millions and why integrating marketing early in development is the best decision you can make for your game. CHAPTER TIMESTAMPS 00:00 - Welcome Victoria and Alexey 02:39 - Fail small, fail fast, fail cheap 07:36 - How to tell if a game will be a hit 09:35 - What is the next big game feature? 13:24 - Test from the beginning 15:02 - Taking a game from thousands in revenue to millions 18:50 - The casual mobile game market in 2023 22:25 - Victoria and Alex's current and all-time favourite games * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  ** Let's Connect ** 👉🏻 Twitter - https://twitter.com/pgbiz  👉🏻 LinkedIn Group - https://www.linkedin.com/groups/144491/  👉🏻 Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/PGbiz  👉🏻 Website - https://www.pocketgamer.biz  Check out more world-class speakers sharing their insights and expertise at one of our events. You can find details of our next event here - https://www.pgconnects.com/next-event

The PGC team is back from GDC 2023! In this episode, our cohosts, Peggy Anne Salz and Brian Baglow, regroup with Steel Media CEO Chris James and COO Dave Bradley to recap the latest and greatest in the world of gaming. The four discuss a new blockchain ecosystem, how AI is empowering storytellers and reshaping NPC interactions, and if the F2P era is coming to an end. Chris and Dave also share what to expect from PGC Seattle 2023 and reveal a new, unexpected PGC event location. CHAPTER TIMESTAMPS 00:00 - GDC is back! 02:07 - Is the free-to-play era on its last legs? 06:16 - Blockchain games after the hype-curve 08:53 - AI to enhance storytelling 10:55 - VR made a splash at GDC 2023 14:07 - What to expect from PGC Seattle 16:47 - PGC and game events for the rest of 2023 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  ** Let's Connect ** 👉🏻 Twitter - https://twitter.com/pgbiz  👉🏻 LinkedIn Group - https://www.linkedin.com/groups/144491/  👉🏻 Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/PGbiz  👉🏻 Website - https://www.pocketgamer.biz  Check out more world-class speakers sharing their insights and expertise at one of our events. You can find details of our next event here - https://www.pgconnects.com/next-event

Construct 3 is revolutionizing games creation and helping grow a new generation of content creators. Our hosts, Peggy Anne Salz and Brian Baglow, talk about the 2-D, block-based game engine with Construct co-founders Ashley and Tom Gullen. With Construct 3, anyone can build a game. The beginner-friendly design showcases game-making as an art form and an educational tool. The tool has an impressive roster of customers and fans. NASA and Microsoft use it for prototyping, universities to teach programming, and even the Royal Navy relies on it to simulate submarine driving. Ashley and Tom explain the benefits of using a fully web-based engine and how Construct 3 helps indie developers ramp up their publishing revenue. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  ** Let's Connect ** 👉🏻 Twitter - https://twitter.com/pgbiz  👉🏻 LinkedIn Group - https://www.linkedin.com/groups/144491/  👉🏻 Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/PGbiz  👉🏻 Website - https://www.pocketgamer.biz  Check out more world-class speakers sharing their insights and expertise at one of our events. You can find details of our next event here - https://www.pgconnects.com/next-event

There's a hidden universe inside every narrative game just waiting to be discovered. The technology at Charisma has the power to unlock it. Charisma, a plug-ʼnʼ-play platform for creating interactive stories with believable virtual characters, redefines how we play games. In this episode, our hosts, Peggy Anne Salz and Brian Baglow, talk with Charisma Co-founder and CEO Guy Gadney about how Charisma harnesses the power of AI to increase game complexity and allow players to interact with every character. Characters enhanced by Charisma aren't limited to a prewritten dialogue. They can remember your name and your answers to questions and quote you later in gameplay. NPCs come to life in a way that Guy says would be impossible to write without AI technology. You might need a bag of peas for your head after this episode as Peggy, Brian, and Guy get philosophical and ask the world: what role should AI play in games, and what does good AI x human collaboration look like? CHAPTER TIMESTAMPS 00:00 - Hello to Guy Gadney 02:02 - The lampposts at SXSW 05:13 - Using AI to create limitless narrative options 07:27 - Creating an immersive theater in a game 10:05 - Predicting the future of game characters 14:12 - "AI is not gonna take your job, but the people who know how to use AI will" 17:49 - Let's start vertical binging 20:13 - What does good collaboration with AI look like? 26:02 - Bringing your dreams to life...literally 30:57 - Where could AI have been used to improve a narrative game?  33:24 - Where will Charisma be in a year from now? * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  ** Let's Connect ** 👉🏻 Twitter - https://twitter.com/pgbiz  👉🏻 LinkedIn Group - https://www.linkedin.com/groups/144491/  👉🏻 Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/PGbiz  👉🏻 Website - https://www.pocketgamer.biz  Check out more world-class speakers sharing their insights and expertise at one of our events. You can find details of our next event here - https://www.pgconnects.com/next-event

How can publishers boost retention and user acquisition efforts and bring stability to their game all in one step? Teis Anker Mikkelsen says you can have it all by joining Multiscription and offering Unleashd, a cross-publisher subscription service for free-to-play games, to your players. In this on-location chat with our co-host Peggy Anne Salz, Teis explains how his company leverages the “strength in numbers” approach. The Multiscription co-founder and CEO works with publishers across genres, bundling their games into one package under one fee. In addition, Teis says that unifying under one service allows players to explore games they typically wouldn’t download and quickly revisit ones they’ve left, amplifying UA and simplifying retargeting campaigns.  CHAPTER TIMESTAMPS 00:00 - Why use a subscription service for mobile gaming? 02:27 - Easy revenue and easier retargeting with Multiscription 04:27 - How to hook a subscriber and benefits to publishers * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  ** Let's Connect ** 👉🏻 Twitter - https://twitter.com/pgbiz  👉🏻 LinkedIn Group - https://www.linkedin.com/groups/144491/  👉🏻 Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/PGbiz  👉🏻 Website - https://www.pocketgamer.biz  Check out more world-class speakers sharing their insights and expertise at one of our events. You can find details of our next event here - https://www.pgconnects.com/next-event