Retail and downloads are the same

The reliance of traditional publishers on bricks and mortar business has left them powerless to fend off the advances of the growing advances of the social and browser game sector, according to Zattikka CEO Tim Chaney.

They can’t do so much; they are bricks and mortar businesses that need retail,” Chaney told MCV in an exclusive interview. Going to download is the same thing. Users don’t want a ‘learn, shop, pay and wait and then play’ experience. The internet was bound to disrupt that.”

However, Chaney did praise the likes of EA and Disney for their recent acquisitions in the sector.

The EA acquisition of Playfish was smart,” he added. They wised up in the 12 months after they lashed out on studios like Pandemic. Although, a lot of the original Playfish people’s CVs are on the street. EA are not natural integrators.

Disney will do a better job with Playdom. Some Zynga teams are out as well – such as the ones just signed up by MTV. Which brings us full circle back to video games development fraternity, maybe it’s OK if you’re working on Call of Duty or Starcraft 2 or Sonic and Mario at the Olympics, but most aren’t and that wounded, anxious development resource is falling into our hands.”


To read Chaney’s full interview with MCV, click here.