What a year for FISHLABS! All of our mobile games were showered with awards. German and international online magazines gave top marks by the score to Powerboat Challenge™, Rally Master Pro™, Gladiator – The Mobile Game, and Snowboard Hero™. As a result, FISHLABS led the international charts for the best mobile games in 2008. Not bad for a small company with just 30 employees. Naturally, we were tremendously pleased with all of this recognition and are very proud of it.

Unfortunately, none of this guarantees that high quality and innovation will earn back the expenses of the costly production of such mobile games on the open market, to say nothing of making a profit – the purpose of every professional company. There are a number of diverse reasons for this:

• Even high-quality mobile games are offered at a relatively low price
• Mobile network operators keep at least 50 % of the revenue
• Distributors help themselves to up to 25 % of the end-user price for the more or less simple task of passing on the mobile game
• Mobile games are marketed like ring tones – the name of a mobile game is the only distinguishing feature, the customer only learns about quality and innovation after the purchase
• There is no effective copy protection for mobile games. They are downloaded illegally over the Internet in huge numbers – there are roughly ten times as many illegal downloads of our mobile games as legal (and that is just those that we are aware of)

All of this would not be so serious if these problems had not been known for years. Unfortunately, almost nothing has changed in this regard, and we do not expect there to be fundamental changes in the market for mobile games in the future. Mind you, by this we only mean the market for mobile games which are sold by network operators and Internet portals.

New sales channels for mobile games

In 2009, FISHLABS will rigorously pursue other methods. Above all, we will, for the time being, not develop any new Java mobile games for sale via network operators and Internet portals.

With the long-awaited sequel to our best-known mobile game, the space shooter and trade simulator Galaxy on Fire™, we will rely entirely on the new marketing concept which we successfully introduced with Rally Master Pro™: Galaxy on Fire™ 2 will be available for free download directly from our website and a few selected partners. Anyone who wants to can download the game to their PC to save the mobile transmission costs. In any case, Galaxy on Fire™ 2 can be played for a few hours (!) absolutely free. Only in the later course of the game must the game be unlocked for 100,000 myFISHLABS credits. In western countries, the purchase of a myFISHLABS Credits Gold Package for 5.97 Euros is enough for this. We have also taken great care that myFISHLABS Credits are priced lower in emerging markets in accordance with their purchasing power and that the most important payment systems of each country are available. 

Copy protection for mobile games with extra benefits

In order to adequately protect Galaxy on Fire™ 2 against piracy after the free playing period, the mobile game uses an online connection to our OCEAN™ server to check whether the individual player is authorised to use the paid premium area of Galaxy on Fire™ 2. This check occurs only once per game session and the one-time 10 KB data transfer is minimal, in order to keep the cost to the player as low as possible. The game security data are kept in the phone’s memory until the game is ended. Thus, Galaxy on Fire™ 2 will even work in the underground, so long as there has been a brief connection to the OCEAN™ server beforehand.

Of course, honest users consider copy protection to be an imposition. Why should honest buyers have to accept difficulties or even extra costs for a product they have paid for in full? The answer is simple: because this product and other like it in the future will not exist if it is too easy to obtain a free (illegal) version and the manufacturer cannot make a profit from their product.

But our copy protection also has its good side: above all, download fees do not apply. Depending on the mobile phone contract, that could be up to 15 Euros for a large mobile game like Galaxy on Fire™ 2. Furthermore, we offer up to two cross upgrades. Thus, players can start playing Galaxy on Fire™ 2 on one mobile and keep playing even after changing to another model from a different manufacturer (!) for the second time. The saved games are stored on the OCEAN™ server with every authorisation and loaded as needed. Even without changing mobiles, this is a useful function, for example when your mobile receives a firmware update. And at the same time, all premium players are entered in the international high scores table.

We can’t wait to see how Galaxy on Fire™ 2 and the new sales concept are received in the market. Even if data flat rates have not yet been widely established and we will probably lose some users in the short-term, online connectivity in mobile games is the future and FISHLABS is always one of the leaders!

With that in mind, game on and a successful 2009!

The Games Convention is just around the corner, and our preparations are in high gear. This time, we will have three booths: you will find our promotion van right inside the entrance in the large glass hall, where our mobile games can be downloaded free to your phone via Bluetooth. Our promotion girls will then show you the way to our main booth G20 in Hall 5.

Sony Ericsson W760i Walkman mobile phone drawing

At our generous booth in Hall 5, you can not only get a first-hand impression of our upcoming games, we will be giving away a super-cool Sony Ericsson W760i Walkman mobile phone every 2 hours. In addition, we will be holding drawings for FISHLABS games packs, each with 5 full versions. That way, you can start playing right away. You should probably just relax on one of the many cube seats at our booth, because our games won’t let go of you so quickly.

First FISHLABS mobile game on Symbian with OpenGL ES

Our business partners will always be able to reach us at the GameCity Hamburg booth F11 in the Business Centre in Hall 2. There we will demonstrate another ‘world premiere’: Powerboat Challenge™ on the Symbian platform with full OpenGL ES hardware rendering. Even with four boats at once, full-throttle graphics, and all of the light, reflection, and water effects switched on, the native game runs at maximum visibility at an unbelievable 30 frames per second in full resolution and landscape format. That is mobile console gaming at its best!

Galaxy on Fire™ 2 gameplay video ready to go

Along with our current mobile games Powerboat Challenge™ and Rally Master Pro™, we will also be showing the release candidate for Gladiator and the first playable version of Galaxy on Fire™ 2, which you have been eagerly awaiting. For those of you who may not be able to travel to the GC, we have put together the very first gameplay video for Galaxy on Fire™ 2.

Of course, this video does not represent the final version of the game. Above all, we still have not fully implemented the head-up display and so we have left it out here. But you can already see what direction the gameplay is going: for example, you are no longer tied to one station, but can fly directly to nearby planets and their stations and move freely between star systems using jump gates.

You can also get an eyeful of the new graphics quality in the sequel in this video – and that even though these are not even the final graphics! You can expect not only gaming highlights, but also visuals that may be unique in the field of mobile games!

Take a close look, and you will discover even more gameplay features: for example, the option of taking control of the turrets yourself. Very handy when you are attacked from behind  or when flying past larger battleships, if you want to take out their guns with targeted fire. Or the new special weapons, such as EMP bursts, which incapacitate your opponents for a brief moment, so you can finish them off. And the nukes are nothing to sneeze at – they’re a real blast! Especially if you have to destroy a real monster ship or too many enemies are after you all at once.

FISHLABS on GCDC Mobile Games Panels

FISHLABS will not only be in the exhibition area of the Games Convention, but will also be taking part in three mobile games panels on Monday during the GCDC:

The State of the European Mobile Games Industry

Abstract: The European mobile games industry has developed its own quality and style that is unique in the world. Europe is also the home of Nokia, Gameloft and high profile international developers such as Ideaworks3D, Fishlabs and Digital Legends. Many European studios (Elkware, Iomo, Haiku, Sumea, etc.) have been bought by Japanese and American studios in the recent past and this is a trend that is likely to continue in the coming years.

Enough reasons to ask ourselves: can we grow the mobile entertainment business ourselves? Can we do our own research and development? How about Financing? Can we improve the European market commercially? Any best practices in the games or media industry?

On or Off Deck: Is there a future for mobile games distribution without the operators?

Abstract: 2008 started with the launch of NGage, the announcement of the Iphone SDK and Google’s Android program. Big companies seem to discover the potential of mobile game distribution, a potential that was already discovered by Jamba, Zed, Buongiorno and Sony Ericsson with Fun and Download. C4M sees a future in the Japanese distribution model based on free games, others are experimenting with distribution via e-mail, virtual item buying and in-game advertising.

This panel of experts will give you an insight in the present and the future of off deck distribution strategies.

Multi Platform Publishing Strategies

Abstract: To be announced.

It took a little longer than expected but right now we are flipping the switch: not only is Rally Master Pro™ finally coming out, we are also starting myFISHLABS, our new community for mobile gamers. And this community will really be something. For one thing, it is, of course, completely free. Register at our website and you can provide a variety of information about yourself. For example, along with your model of mobile phone, hobbies, and so on, you can also enter your favourite FISHLABS mobile games and thus easily find new friends who like the same games. You can send each other messages and even free SMS (we will launch this feature end of August when Games Convention kicks-off). Or go straight to the forum to discuss our mobile games with other gamers. You won’t even have to reregister for that, of course your myFISHLABS account applies to our forum, too.

Credits account for easy payment and big discounts on all mobile games

In addition, all members of myFISHLABS well receive a credits account, which can be used to pay for our mobile Java games quickly and conveniently. That not only makes paying a lot simpler, you will also get a discount of at least 20% on all our mobile Java games, and the more credits you buy, the bigger the discount – up to 50%! But it gets even better. For registering, we will give every new member 20,000 credits. For that, you can even get one of our mobile Java games for free! However, you need to be a little patient for another couple weeks as we will launch this feature end of August, as well.

Mobile Java games with on-line high scores

With myFISHLABS, we want to offer you a platform where you can measure yourself against like-minded gamers. In the future, all of our mobile Java games will have an on-line connection to our FISHLABS server (code name OCEAN™). You can use that to upload your current game stand, like high scores. Rally Master Pro™ is the first mobile Java game where we will offer this new function, and naturally the focus is on the best times for the individual courses. In other games, such as the announced Galaxy on Fire 2, you will be able to upload not just your current score, but entire saved games with all  the information imaginable –  but more on that later.

Finally, upgrades for mobile Java games, too

OCEAN™ can do much more.  For the first time, we can now update our mobile Java games and make additional content available. That has always been important to us, and with Rally Master Pro™ we will completely reinvent the downloading of courses. Naturally, we have made sure that the amount of data to be transferred is kept as small as possible, in order to keep the connection fees low. Thus, for example, all the graphics for the courses are already in the mobile Java game embedded. Only the course route will be downloaded, and that is only a few kilobytes.

Copy protection and try & buy for mobile Java games included

All of this has another pleasant side effect: this version of Rally Master Pro™ is optimally protected against piracy. Therefore, we can offer you the mobile Java game to download for free. The first two courses are free and you can pay for the next seven to the conclusion of the first rally with the free credits from registering for myFISHLABS.

Anyone who hasn’t registered and gets a pirated copy from the Internet can only play the first two courses of Rally Master Pro™. But we are sure that everyone will want to play the whole game and register at myFISHLABS!

However, some features are still in the test phase and we will launch myFISHLABS with all features by the end of July. But we didn’t want to keep you waiting any longer and we launch myFISHLABS with a limited feature set now, so you can download Rally Master Pro™ at no cost right away and play the first nine tracks for free.

So, head straight to myFISHLABS to register and then download our latest mobile Java game Rally Master Pro™ for free!

This was the question and therefore the central topic of the roundtable at the Quo Vadis game developer conference in Berlin last week, which we attended along with representatives from arvato mobile, Jamba, Exit Games, Chromatix , Cipsoft and Exozet.

Download fees and lack of marketing for mobile games

Naturally the well-known points of criticism such as the lack of presentation of mobile games and hidden download fees were brought up immediately. Stefan Blanck, Chromatix’s Managing Director who also moderated the roundtable, stated that these are the same problems as three years ago and that it doesn’t seem that the wireless service providers have any intention of rethinking this. Some of the participants put this into perspective by mentioning that almost every wireless service provider now offers data flat rates, but that most users are not aware of it. In fact, a lot of mobile phone owners still don’t know that they can do more with their phones than just make phone calls, send text messages and take pictures – they can also use them to play games.

We were able to offer some concrete examples of this since we often meet mobile phone owners who didn’t know how to get mobile games onto their phones and that there are even some games preinstalled on their phones. It isn’t surprising, because in many cases the mobile games are hidden deep in the menu. For example, how many end users are aware that “Java World” contains mobile games? Mouth-to-mouth propaganda could really help here, but which mobile games are worth recommending to friends and how can you then easily and quickly get that particular game?

No reward for innovation and quality in mobile games

This is another problem in the mobile games industry – a lot of mobile games are released every week so there is only so much attention that can be generated for each individual game. Therefore most companies prefer to spend a lot of money on known brand names, leaving only a small budget for the development of the actual game. Christian Twellmann, Head of Mobile Games at arvato mobile, which operates the O2 games portal in Germany and the Vodafone games portal in Ireland, explains the situation as follows: “Actually, only three categories of mobile games are sold successfully: innovations, Top 10 and recommendations. With the flood of game titles we get every week, most of the games have disappeared from these categories within four weeks at most and hardly generate any more downloads. The quality of the games barely plays a role. Innovation and quality can hardlycatch on this way.”

Casual gamers or core gamers – which target group ensures growth?

The group’s opinions to this question varied somewhat. Thomas Richter, Head of Games at Jamba, prefers to follow the strategy of introducing new users to the subject with very easy games or applications: “We want to attract new users to mobile applications using social applications such as Partner Tracker in order to then perhaps sell them a very simple game before offering them more complex games.” Matthias Hellmund, Head of Mobile Development at Berlin-based Exozet, added: “To do this, we first have to get rid of the potential users’ fear of expensive subscriptions. Especially in Germany that is still one of the main reasons most people keep away from mobile games.”

Those of us at Fishlabs are convinced that the core gamers are the right target group to develop the market. Like in many other areas, the “early adaptors” are the ones who enjoy trying new things and are also willing to pay for it and overcome technical hurdles. However, the vast majority of mobile games tend to still focus on casual gamers. In particular, core gamers merely roll their eyes at adaptations of console games with a simple game idea, comparatively simple graphics and short gameplay. However, we are convinced that this target group would be willing to pay more for better quality and more depth in the game, while casual gamers tend to be more sensitive to price.

However, the prerequisite for this is that we must finally be able to sell mobile games for more than 5 euros and that the developers’ percentage of the profits needs to be much higher. Instead, mobile games continue to be marketed like ring tones, which is in blatant contradiction to the time and money that is spent developing a mobile game. What is needed is a high-end segment for mobile games and commensurate marketing on the part of the wireless service provider. Especially with the opportunity for publishers and developers to be able to sell additional games or upgrades to the end customers.

Innovative and high quality mobile games through third parties

The roundtable agreed that the industry still has a long way to go. In fact, they expect that third party providers such as Jamba or even new players such as Amazon will do a better job than the wireless service providers. Thomas Richter added, “Of course we are also keeping an eye on this target group and are already offering high quality Symbian mobile games if they are available for a certain phone. However, we don’t advertise the game this way, because the average end customer doesn’t know what “Symbian” is.

We are also convinced that innovative and high quality games should be marketed on the Internet. The Internet allows users to learn more about the game and download a free demo onto their mobile phones. The success of free browser games, in which money is earned by selling in-game items, is paving the way. Access to the game is extremely easy and if the game is well-liked, money is earned through long-term motivation. Quality is the deciding success factor here.

Our summary of the event is: The market for mobile games has not developed much, despite the ever-improving quality of mobile phones, since the wireless service providers are too inflexible to try new marketing methods. In fact, the opposite is true: mobile games with well-known brand names are difficult to market and the pressure to simply adapt old games instead of creating new and better game experiences is continually increasing. The consequence of this is that new channels will established on the Internet. High quality mobile games with more content and the ability to purchase additional in-game contents or services using common payment systems appears to be a promising solution to the problem.

After Powerboat Challenge™ did a whopping 93% score at Airgamer, the leading German mobile games online magazine, our latest mobile racing game also rocked at Mobile Games FAQs with a final score of 94% and a top score of 95% in graphics. The mobile games tester Anannya Sen comments about the mobile game:

“When you first load up the game you will probably notice the stunning graphics. I don’t know how Fishlabs manage to do it, but they really push the capabilities of each handset. On my K800i the graphics were stunning 3D rendered polygons of powerboats, marshes and lakes. The water effects are lovely, as are the lighting effects. This includes reflection and even lens flare and at times I had to remind myself that this was a mobile game.”

The review is quite long and enthusiastic. It describes a variety of positive aspects of the game in detail. Anannya’s final conclusion puts it straight:

„I couldn’t put this game down. Day or night I was wanting to have a quick go, either to get a gold medal whereas previously I had got silver, or to increase my style points on a race I had already won. It was that much fun to play and after completing it with one character, you can play through the game again to upgrade another character. In most games this wouldn’t be too much fun having played the game so much already, but with the stylishness and addictiveness of this game, I am seriously considering doing just that.”

And here are the scores of each category – all above 90%!

Pro:

Contra:

Of course you can download the game directly from us
(at Fishlabs without any extra download fees!):
http://www.fishlabs.net/en/games/racing/powerboat_challenge_3d.php

or, if you prefer to read the full review about Powerboat Challenge™ at Mobile Game FAQs first, follow the link below:
http://www.mobilegamefaqs.com/reviewfull.php?orig=rev&id=928

We are releasing our new 3D mobile game Powerboat Challenge™ somewhat earlier than planned. Starting today, you can get the game for your mobile phone from our website without download fees. Then it’s time to select one of the zany characters with a cool racing boat, and off to the starting line for the first race! Of course, performance will also depend on what sort of mobile phone you are using to play Powerboat Challenge™.

Graphics options also in 3D mobile games

Depending on the performance of the various end devices, mobile games run at differing speeds or in varying quality. In Powerboat Challenge™, the choice is yours. We have taken the quality right to the absolute limit of what is possible for Java mobile games (Java is the programming language that is used for most mobile games). If the game doesn’t run fast enough for you on your mobile phone, you can turn various effects on or off by choosing Options from the main menu and then Graphics. You may be already familiar with this from PC games.

Sufficient performance for 3D mobile games?

Some mobile phones are almost able to match PCs in terms of computing performance. The Nokia N95, for example, has a 3D-chip that allows 3D mobile games to run very well. But for racing games, what matters is high computing power for calculating the 3D physics. This is necessary, for example, to simulate realistic handling of the racing boats. If you have one of the state-of-the-art Sony Ericsson phones, like the K800i, then you are well-equipped. More than just the 3D graphics run very smoothly on those. They also have enough computing power not to lose their oomph even in races against three other boats. Then you can enjoy your Powerboat Challenge™ with all of the water, light, and wave effects.

One final tip: on some mobile phones, Powerboat Challenge™ runs a bit faster if the sound is turned off. So 3D mobile games aren’t quite up to PCs (yet), but you can’t stick a PC in your pocket

Game on!

Your Fishlabs Team

Who says mobile games just cost money? Starting right now, you can win 200 Euros or one of four cool Fishlabs bags every week with our 3D racing game Coast Racer! All you have to do is test your skills with Coast Racer, and upload your best times to our server via SMS. The deadline for the competition is always Sunday at 10:00 PM.

In Coast Racer, you race a fast sports car along the French Riviera. The curving roads lead you through a picturesque 3D landscape with small villages and through typical well-lit open tunnels along the coast. We have kept the technical requirements for Coast Racer particularly low, so that the game will run on as many mobile phones as possible. You can also upload your best times very simply, right out of the game via standard SMS, because that also functions problem-free on older phones.

This is how to earn your easy money: download the mobile game Coast Racer from our website to your mobile phone for free. We also guarantee that there will be no download fees, because we send you the mobile game to your PC via e-mail. Then you have to connect your to the PC via Bluetooth or a data cable to transfer the game.

Then put the pedal to the metal on all the courses and drive your best times. Every time you set a new course record, you can upload the new best time to our server with a standard SMS (maximum 19 cents) right from the mobile game. You can then compare your best times with those of other players at www.coastracer.com. Then, every Sunday at 10:00 PM, we will determine the winners of the 200 Euros and the Fishlabs bag and inform them by SMS.

Gentlemen – start your engines!

Heads up! Depending on your mobile data-plan, you may have to pay download fees in addition to the purchase price when you buy a mobile game. But not with FISHLABS! We now provide a premium service to customers who buy our mobile games directly from us online. As of now, we will send our mobile games to you via e-mail. This means that you save the high data transfer costs typically charged for downloading games via mobile network. Our 3D mobile games with their sophisticated graphics and long gameplay are fairly large, so this makes a big difference. You can transfer the mobile game quite simply from your PC to your mobile phone via data cable or Bluetooth connection. And, of course, we will still send you an SMS message with a link so that you can download directly to your mobile phone if you have no access to a PC.

Mobile game backup copy included

Not only do you save a lot of money on download fees with our premium service, you also get a backup copy. Normally, all your data is lost if you accidentally delete a mobile game or update the software of your mobile phone, but with our service you can simply reinstall the game.

Fair play with FISHLABS mobile games

FISHLABS is the first and only vendor to offer our customers hassle and cost free delivery of mobile games. We have also made the conscious decision not to use any expensive and technically involved copy protection on our games. Instead, each mobile game we send will be flagged beforehand with a watermark. This will enable us to trace any illicit copies of our mobile games back to the originator. Because giving away our mobile games to friends, or making them available for download on the Internet is obviously not allowed. So if you play fair, we can continue to offer you our unique service. Cool deal, huh?

Game on!

Your FISHLABS team