Evaluating mobile game prospects – perspective of a game publisher
by Petri Hallikainen, Virpi Kristiina Tuunainen, Janne Vihinen
International Journal of Management and Decision Making (IJMDM), Vol. 11, No. 2, 2010

Abstract: The mobile gaming industry is undergoing a transformation from SMS based games to downloadable and multi media card (MMC) games. The game developers do not have the same financial resources for developing new services as a few years ago. Current development budgets are much lower and mobile game developers have to concentrate development activities to games which can generate revenue. In this paper, we examine the key decision making criteria for new game selection of a mobile game publisher and propose a tentative framework for the evaluation of new mobile product prospects in the game and entertainment industry. The preferences for the criteria are derived by applying the principles of the analytic hierarchy process method. We took the results of the chief executive officer's interview as the basis for the analysis on how the company chooses between competing new game initiatives, but we also interviewed the chief technology officer and a producer in the company to achieve a better understanding on why some criteria are more important than others. The results show that the case company emphasises expected profit and volume more than risk factors in decision making, although they also search for proven game concepts and rely on seasonal products with low risk of not having enough sales volume.

Online publication date: Tue, 14-Sep-2010

The full text of this article is only available to individual subscribers or to users at subscribing institutions.

 
Existing subscribers:
Go to Inderscience Online Journals to access the Full Text of this article.

Pay per view:
If you are not a subscriber and you just want to read the full contents of this article, buy online access here.

Complimentary Subscribers, Editors or Members of the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Management and Decision Making (IJMDM):
Login with your Inderscience username and password:

Username:        Password:          Forgotten your password?

Want to subscribe?
A subscription gives you complete access to all articles in the current issue, as well as to all articles in the previous three years (where applicable). See our Orders page to subscribe.

If you still need assistance, please email subs@inderscience.com