Marco DeMiroz, President and CEO of PlayFirst, began his career in the games industry more than ten years ago as an executive at a 3D game studio. However, he left the industry for some time, but returned to it when he joined PlayFirst near the end of 2011. Although he runs the company, he emphasizes that it is a team effort, saying, “We are all partners working to build an awesome game company.”
Serving up Success
And awesome it is! PlayFirst is a leading mobile games company aiming at the family and friends audience. They are committed to providing compelling experiences that fully engage the players. The best known of their games is Diner Dash, an action-packed time management game which became a megahit with over 700 million downloads. It has been followed by a series of other popular Dash games. Their games portfolio also includes Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 and Diner Dash Rush.
Faith, Games, and Linkin Park
Outwardly, DeMiroz appears to be a typical man who enjoys playing with his kids, watching and playing soccer or relaxing to rock music, especially Linkin Park. But his other free-time activity, playing mobile games, gives a clue to the passion that allows him to lead his team and continue building the company’s success.
He emphasizes that every moment in his previous work experience has come together to bring him to this stage in his career. But the path has not been without obstacles and challenges. One of the most difficult times occurred when he was unemployed and ended up carrying sandbags in the rain at a construction site. Through this grim experience, he began developing the faith that things would get better, until now he describes himself as an optimist.
Back Home with SmartTV
The future of the games industry for the next several years, according to DeMiroz, revolves around smart phones. PlayFirst has gone from 4M to 15M+ monthly active users in two years across iOS and Android. He sees them becoming ubiquitous, until they empower people all over the world. And he expects that we will see the convergence of home entertainment, phones, and other content distribution devices. At PlayFirst, they are investigating SmartTV initiatives as they realign toward these new trends.
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