Jagex CEO says gameplay works as a ‘short, sharp experience.’
British computer games guru Mark Gerhard, CEO of Jagex, billed as “the Western hemisphere’s leader in Massively Multiplayer Online Browser Games,” yesterday gave Abu Dhabi Media Summit attendees an exclusive sneak preview of the latest Transformers game, Transformers Universe.
One of the prime attractions of such games, Gerhard suggested, is that they offer a short, sharp experience. You don’t need to geekishly spend “four hours” playing them but can fit them round the rest of your professional and domestic life in “far more intense but shorter gameplay sessions.”
Speaking at the “Fireside: Game On” event, the Jagex boss also talked up the benefits of branded content in an increasingly crowded games market.
“As the market gets more saturated, branding becomes more important,” he commented. “In the more congested marketplace, it suddenly gets harder and at that point, brands stand out.”
Gerhard also reflected on the tensions between console-based games and browser games.
“The console providers are a law unto their own,” he said, pointing out there was no “technical reason” why games like Transformers couldn’t be played the Xbox, Wii or other similar devices. “We’ve never achieved any commercial relationship with these guys.”
However, he suggested it was “only a matter of time” until platform owners will be obliged to make their consoles accessible to browsers.
As for the longer term game plan, Gerhard is now targeting aggressively smart TVs as the next platform on which Jagex wares can be enjoyed.
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