For most mobile game developers, time spent building in-house monetization solutions is time you could be spending improving your game — at least according to Spiros Christakopoulos in a Casual Connect USA 2015 panel. “At the end of the day, you’re either making a game, or you’re building an ad network, right? You have to make your choice,” Spiros said. “So I think if you’re a developer, you’re better off optimizing your game — there are so many things you can do rather than to build something that’s already been built.” For more insights from Spiros and other mobile advertising experts, check out the video below.
Spiros Christakopoulos is responsible for user acquisition and all marketing related data infrastructure for Sega networks, Sega’s mobile division in the West. He came to the games industry after a successful career in finance and trading, experience which has been unexpectedly useful. In both professions, return on investment is the essential metric so, as he says, “the approach and mentality for achieving success is similar.” However, he admits that playing games makes working for Sega much more fun compared to finance.
Making an Impact
Although he doesn’t consider himself a serious gamer, he has been playing many games from childhood. He decided to focus his career on mobile games because it seemed like a great opportunity to become involved in a rapidly growing industry; it was his chance to make a real impact. He emphasizes, “It’s amazing to feel like you can have a positive effect, even if it’s very small, on thousands or millions of people by making their lives a bit more fun.”
The time that brought him the greatest satisfaction occurred long before his games career. When he was nineteen, his father’s business suffered a serious setback. He joined with his father and brother to pivot the company, setting it on a successful path for the next decade. He relates, “Although the scale was small, I’m most proud of it because the personal stakes were high and the degree of difficulty was greater because we were not doing business in a highly developed country.”
Spiros’ first step into the games industry was at TinyCo, an innovative and successful mobile games startup that created games he still enjoys. The people there went to great lengths to teach him everything he needed to know about mobile gaming, and he remembers it as a great start where he made lifelong friends.
Global Challenges
His current work with Sega brings with it the challenges of a global company, listed in the Tokyo stock exchange with studios all over the world. Coordinating with everyone and informing and including all the key stakeholders across multiple time zones is particularly demanding. So far Spiros has found the most effective way to reduce the workload and keep everyone updated has been building automated and very detailed information systems.
Spiros insists that the ability to adapt to new technologies has given Sega a competitive advantage. Although it requires both time for research and money to implement so far they have found the effort well worth it.
Using Analytics to Acquire and Retain Users
The most challenging aspect of game analytics that Spiros encounters is user adoption. Scaling and unifying systems across the many different studios adds additional complications. He finds it crucial to listen to people, share information and especially to accept and incorporate their feedback.
Finding effective methods for user retention differs on a game-by-game basis. However, he does emphasize, “In general we have found that having a strong IP in a game has proven to be an unsung retention hero.” Spiros is seeing users increasingly demanding quality in games. He points out, “If a game does not look and play beautifully, users will leave immediately.”
He expects the next few years to bring the merging of mobile and console games. There are already console-like experiences on mobile. As technological advances continue to emerge and as developers and marketers continue to iterate on how to best use the devices, the merge will continue.
Spiros tells us he is now spending all his free time preparing for his upcoming wedding. Congratulations on your engagement!
