![]() We're in a different situation than most companies who are trying to raise funding because we're a business that already has a hit. While we're continuing to develop our "Cut the Rope" business, we now are expanding into new titles, like "Pudding Monsters." We want to be able to keep growing just as quickly, not just with one game and one brand, but with a portfolio. ML: We're also growing in other areas-merchandising and licensing, an animation series we just launched and through partnerships with top brands like WSJ: Are you guys expanding beyond just games, like Rovio? In Pudding Monsters, the goal is to link those cute pieces of pudding together on the tiles with stars on them. For us, our reach is the most important asset. We've seen our download numbers and user engagement grow steadily since the day we released "Cut the Rope" a little over two years ago. Going forward, we might raise an amount. While we aren't releasing full financial numbers, we can say that we are and have been profitable. We were able to use that to grow, and we haven't required a lot of cash so we haven't raised anything. ML: We were really fortunate that we have a game and "Cut The Rope" obviously generates a lot of money. "Pudding Monsters" offers a whole new group of characters for our fans to fall in love with, plus the quality and game play that they can now expect from a ZeptoLab game. We created "Pudding Monsters" to be fresh and new, but also wanted to make a game that would be attractive to the same audience as "Cut the Rope," allowing us to cross-promote our games and products and open doors for brand expansion. In the earliest stage, the concept for "Pudding Monsters" was actually much different, but through the development process we've made adjustments to create a new game that we really like and believe in. The entire company votes on which concepts we'll take through the actual development process. Then we continue brainstorming and prototyping and vote for the top concepts. Everyone in the company can send new ideas to an idea bank each month. "Pudding Monsters" is a game that was developed from a concept that was internal. We feel pretty good about the fact that we have a great choice of people to pick from and the people who actually work with the company are focused on the things they do best. If you count everyone up, we employ hundreds of people. ML: We're full-time over 50 people, and we have a lot of contractors and agents. WSJ: How many employees do you guys have? For example, we have more Daily Active Users (DAU) in China than we do in the U.S. We're also growing like crazy in expanding markets. We just launched the holiday game, and it's going really well. As more platforms hit the marketplace, we have more users we can reach. If you think about it, we only have three games. ML: We're over 250 million downloads at this point for "Cut the Rope." The most impressive number is the fact that we have over 50 million monthly active users that play four days a month. WSJ: How's it look compared to "Cut The Rope"? People didn't seem to have a problem with it. It resonates with two-year-olds as well as very, very old people. ML: We want it to be a game you can pick up and play. I personally finished every challenge and now we're waiting for new levels. It's not like when we launched "Cut The Rope" experiments. We gave the game to our friends and family to play and they seemed to like. We conducted testing in our office where we invite a number of people from different age groups to play our games. Misha Lyalin: We feel that we finally have built a company. WSJ: How do you feel going into launch tomorrow? Here's an edited transcript of the interview: Can you use Om Nom’s new skills to solve an evil wizard’s tricks and traps? The latest installment of this globally popular entertainment franchise puts a fresh spin on Cut the Rope’s iconic physics-puzzle gameplay, introducing more than 160 all-new magic-themed levels across a richly imagined, colorful world.We caught up with CEO Misha Lyalin to find out more about the new launch. Complex boss levels that will challenge your candy-crunching, rope-cutting skillsĪ magical mishap has accidentally teleported Om Nom to a mystical world filled with challenging puzzles for players of all ages. 6 ways to transform Om Nom into magical creatures along his journey A magical world with completely new graphics, sound and gameplay elements Join Om Nom’s newest adventure and transform him into magical forms to help the lovable little monster recover candy stolen by an evil wizard! ABRACADABRA! After more than 960 million downloads, the Cut the Rope series returns with a magical new sequel: Cut the Rope: Magic!
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