Today we have an interview with Mark Ettle from CobraMobile, the developers behind the successful iBomber series
Q. Tell us a bit about your company?
A. Cobra Mobile is a premier developer and publisher of digitally delivered games content for iOS, Apple Mac, Android, Mobile,Roku, PC and Steam Powered platforms.
Cobra’s hit games include, the awesome iBomber series, the thrilling Low Grav Racer series, Storm in a Teacup, Fore!,Mouse About, Numba and many, many more. Cobra Mobile are based in (sunny!) Dundee, Scotland.
Q. How did you come up with the idea for the iBomber series?
A. The iBomber series started with the original iBomber. Because of the success we had with the first game we naturally created a sequel but after iBomber 2 we decided to stay in the iBomber world we had created but expand this gaming world into other game genre’s which was very successful with the iBomber Defense range of games we created, both of which we’re BAFTA nominated.
Q. Can you give us a brief review of each game? Would you suggest play the games in any particular order?
A. I think it’s best to go start to finish. I’d always start with the original iBomber (based in the Pacific). Once you have mastered that then move on up to iBomber 2 which extends the action from the Pacific to all over Europe, from Africa to the Alps and also introduces new game mechanics and weapons to rain down on the enemy.
Once you completed this tour of duty, iBomber Defense should be your first port of call, where the iBomber world meets with intense arcade strategy and tower Defense gameplay. iBomber Defense continued iBomber 2’s tour of Europe and then with iBomber Defense Pacific we returned to the Pacific to win the war. iBomber Defense Pacific took the the fun, enjoyment and strategy of iBomber Defense and just made everything bigger, better and added tons of new elements to make for a game which is really hard to put down once you start.
Q. What if any future plans do you have for the series?
A. We have created 5 iBomber games so far, we always have a list of new places and idea’s where we can take the brand and this year we’re taking it Android in a new way and launching iBomber in China. We won’t see any new iBomber games until 2014 as we’re simply tied up with a load of new games that we want to bring to the market this year so we don’t
get stuck trench and can have a bit of fun and stretch our creative wings.
Q. How does one decide on a price point for an app?
A. We look at several factors, the product, development cost (yip, these things cost money to make), audience, etc. We also ask ourselves, would we pay for this, should it be $2.99 or 99c. If it is free how do we look to make a return on it. We do find that if you make the right App, people will pay for it. Obviously there is the whole on-going freemium discussion and we’re looking at how we make a product that fits that market and works as a product people can enjoy.
Q. What do think about the freemium model for apps?
A. It’s very interesting and a viable business model for certain types of apps. It isn’t however a catch all and I think we’ve seen a rush to freemium-ise everything without much thought for the user (or in many cases the brand).
Q. Do you plan to port any of your games to Android or other systems?
A. We started seriously looking at Android last year. We waiting until there was a big enough marketplace, there was a decent swell of good handsets and tablets and alot of the OS issues we’re being addressed. Android is starting to do very well and the new Android devices are really getting there but I’m still surprised at the volume of Android users that don’t update there OS.
Other systems, we already support PC, Mac and Linux through direct sales, Steam, Amazon and Kiss Digital. We also do a load of great games for Roku, Roku is a great TV streaming platform which has allowed us to enter the living/family room games space.
Q. Where do you see mobile gaming going in the next few years?
A. Mobile is going to consolidate. Apple will still be the best place in town with Android coming up close. Android will have more users, devices in the marketplace but that doesn’t mean more paying or loyal users however. There will be other mobile platforms of course but these guys are finding it tough to compete and offer a viable alternative so getting more than a few percent market share is always going to be tough.
I think we will also see mobile and tablet computing merge more with the living room/TV space, we’ve seen attempts to merge everything into one experience but I think that’s the way it’s going, mobile and tablet we’re once seen as the third screen, there now the first, and everything else is competing and trying to integrate to become number two.
Thanks again to Mark for taking the time to do some q&a with us and thanks for adding some neat games on the Android and iOS platforms. Can’t wait to see what CobraMobile has for us in the future.
