slides & audio (44 MB)
Eastern Europe and Russia have long played a key role in creating great casual games, but lately the sheer amount and quality of content in the region has exploded, not just on PC but across all key casual games platforms. Ron Powers explores the past, present and future of casual games creation in this important region, focusing on the key challenges and opportunities in this new era of cross-platform, global reach.
A co-founder of GameHouse, Ron Powers is truly one of the fathers of the casual games industry as we know it. While this does make him very old, he claims to have the strength of ten men and the ability to see around corners. He attributes his longevity and strength to a strict diet of vodka and salo.
Delivered at Casual Connect Kyiv, 17 October 2007
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Ron Powers (email)
Ron was one of the three principals behind GameHouse and created some of the first key strategic relationships with MSN, AOL, EA, Shockwave, and RealNetworks. Ultimately, these partnerships became the conduit by which all other casual game developers would distribute their titles. In addition to establishing this early distribution network with the industry’s largest portals, Ron was also responsible for creating the publishing business for GameHouse. He created relationships with the leading casual game developers and negotiated agreements that ranged from acquisition of key titles to pure distribution.
Here is what Ron has to say:
As a person who’s been in the Casual games space for almost 7 years, I have seen a lot of changes. The industry has grown up a lot, but I believe it is still in its infancy or at least early adolescent stage. The Casual Games business is far from saturated and there is an incredible need for stronger leadership and more cohesive thinking about “where we go from here”. As the business continues to grow I see more consolidation, the need for differentiation within the distribution channels, consumer’s appetite for greater innovation, and the “deals” are going to get much more complex. I believe Oberon is poised to do great things for its partners in all of these areas. The key to Oberon’s success is to continue diversifying services, creating partnerships that yield innovative and new content/environments, and an unrelenting focus on core competencies. As VP of Business Development for Content at Oberon, I look forward to rising to those challenges and reengaging with the Casual Game Industry.
