Asia 2014Video Coverage

Raymond Wong: Mentoring for the Future | Casual Connect Video

June 4, 2014 — by Catherine Quinton

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Asia 2014Video Coverage

Raymond Wong: Mentoring for the Future | Casual Connect Video

June 4, 2014 — by Catherine Quinton

“One thing we find really consistent across is that when you push out something, you definitely have to change things,” Raymond Wong said during Casual Connect Asia 2014. “Users, customers, expect change, and a little bit at a time, so that they know that there are things moving, they know that the community is moving, and they know that the game is moving along.”

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Ten years ago, Raymond Wong became general manager of Tecmo Koei Singapore to start the Singapore office of the company, and he says it has been an amazing journey that has him learning new things every day. He points out that Singapore is still relatively new in the games arena, so he sees his role as one of mentoring and growing a talent pipeline, not only for the company, but also for the industry throughout the country, eventually creating appealing products and services for the world marketplace. Of his work with Tecmo Koei, he says, “It definitely helps that I worked in a variety of technical, business, and management positions in different industries prior to this one. But it is a huge challenge, and I am still improvising along the way.”




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Raymond Wong, Senior Vice President, Tecmo Koei Singapore Pte Ltd

A Curious Person

Raymond considers himself a curious person who enjoys learning about the world, so he loves to travel and to pick up new languages. And he is trying to brush up his skills in photography.

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Raymond considers himself a curious person who enjoys learning about the world, but he still finds time for games

But his attraction to games has him playing on a daily basis. His latest craze is 2048. Two others he plays every day are Words with Friends and Outwitters. These are both intellectual games; one is turn-based and the other fast-paced, and both give him the adrenaline rush he enjoys.







Raymond’s favorite platform to play on is mobile, although he does play console games; he is happy with both his Xbox 360 and PS3 (but is not purchasing either Xbox One or PS4 yet). He appreciates free-to-play games because he can engage and disengage easily without worrying over whether he can finish the game. But he admits, “I hate it when I can’t pull away from some of these games at times despite having more important things to do.”

When Raymond bought his first smartphone and tablet, he discovered he was spending more time on them than on any other device. It was then that his view of his company and its products changed as he realized, “A new wave was upon us!”

And Tecmo Koei must respond to this transformation in the games space. He states, “We are slowly diverting more and more resources to make better games on these platforms and also trying to understand the social economics created by such games.”

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“It definitely helps that I worked in a variety of technical, business, and management positions in different industries prior to this one. But it is a huge challenge, and I am still improvising along the way.”

More Powerful Phones

In the next few years, Raymond expects the games industry to see phones acting more like consoles with abilities better for 3D, as well as the ability to project and share onto larger screens for group play. But he emphasizes, “Whatever the changes, these are still merely technological advances. The key point is still to make better games.”




 

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Catherine Quinton

Catherine Quinton

Catherine Quinton is a staff writer for www.gamesauce.org. Catherine loves her hobby farm, long walks in the country and reading great novels.

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