“We don’t look to dictate the model or the mechanic or a lot of that,” says Matt McMahon during a panel at Casual Connect USA. “We will try to add some subject matter expertise because we’ll see what broad swaths of the market are doing, but we are going with a partner hopefully to leverage their expertise on the platform.”
Matt McMahon, the vice president of mobile for Fox Digital Entertainment, came to the games industry from the mobile side. He was, and continues to be, “incredibly excited about the immense power and potential of world-wide connectivity right in your pocket.”
He claims the best part of the mobile games industry is working with such a diverse range of smart partners all over the globe. He also loves how democratized the industry is. The constant innovation keeps him interested in the industry, although it keeps him on his toes!
Award-Winning Hits
Today, McMahon drives the licensing, production, distribution, publishing, and marketing of digital products, games, and apps for Fox films and television series. His particular focus is on application platforms such as Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android. He has brought more than 45 apps to market, producing best-selling and award-winning games such as Family Guy: The Quest for Stuff, The Simpsons Tapped Out, Angry Birds Rio, Ice Age Village, Avatar, Glee Karaoke and Predators.
One of the most exciting highlights to his career was building a unique and mutually beneficial partnership with Rovio for the first Rio film, Angry Birds Rio. A more recent highlight occurred only a few weeks ago when they had two games in the Top Ten Grossing category.
Driving Revenue Through Apps
In McMahon’s current role of running the Games & Apps group representing Fox Films and Television Properties, his main goal is build a new revenue stream for their properties on smartphones and tablets using the apps platforms. Games are the primary focus, although they also handle other digital product development.
He actually started in Digital Marketing for Fox’s Main Theatrical Marketing Group. For a few years, he found it great fun, but he has always considered himself more a product person than a marketing person.
The next important trend in the games industry, according to McMahon, will be connected TV gaming with the phone and tablet as the hub. And people will realize that games are not just games. They are the next generation of content, IP, and brand creation, and they reach consumers more directly than any other platform.
When McMahon is not working, he makes a conscious effort to unplug from devices, although he admits it is difficult to separate himself from Twitter and Instagram. He spends as much time as possible on the beach. And, of course, he spends time gaming. Lately, he has been playing playing Threes and Boom Beach, and intends to put time into Hearthstone. He plays almost exclusively on his iPhone and iPad, and no longer owns a console. He prefers iOS to Android, saying, “Apple does such an elegant job with UI and with the multiple platform device ecosystem.”
The Dominance Of Mobile
Perhaps nothing shows the dominance of mobile more clearly to him than his recent experience in Tokyo. He had not been there for a number of years, but when he returned, he discovered behavior on the subway, which he feels is a great litmus test, had totally changed. He saw, “Tons of smartphones, with most people either on LINE or in games.”
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