WEBVTT - Scopely Exec on 'Monopoly Go's' $5B Milestone, Closing 'Pokemon Go' Deal 0:00:07.240 --> 0:00:11.040 Welcome to Strictly Business, Variety's weekly podcast feature and conversations 0:00:11.080 --> 0:00:12.600 with industry leaders about. 0:00:12.400 --> 0:00:14.240 The business of media and entertainment. 0:00:14.720 --> 0:00:19.400 I'm Jennifer Moz, Variety's senior business writer, TV and video games. Today, 0:00:19.520 --> 0:00:22.200 my guest is Eric Wood, senior vice president of publishing 0:00:22.239 --> 0:00:25.680 at mobile game giant scope Lee. Founding in twenty eleven, 0:00:25.720 --> 0:00:28.680 Scopeley has already proven itself to be a major player 0:00:28.760 --> 0:00:32.040 within the mobile gaming industry, but in May, the company 0:00:32.120 --> 0:00:35.360 drew more eyes than ever when its worldwide hit Monopoly 0:00:35.440 --> 0:00:38.480 Go became the fastest mobile game industry to surpass five 0:00:38.479 --> 0:00:41.880 million dollars in lifetime revenue, doing so in just twenty 0:00:41.880 --> 0:00:45.760 four months. Additionally, scop Lee recently closed the Nantic deal, 0:00:45.840 --> 0:00:49.000 which brings another big hit into its full Pokemon Go, 0:00:49.560 --> 0:00:52.600 among other games. Here to speak about the success that 0:00:52.640 --> 0:00:55.680 Scopoly has experienced and where it's going in the future 0:00:55.720 --> 0:00:59.080 within the larger mobile gaming industry is Eric Wood, Senior 0:00:59.160 --> 0:01:01.240 vice president of publishing at scope Lay. 0:01:13.319 --> 0:01:16.200 All right, well, thank you so much for joining me today, Eric, 0:01:16.240 --> 0:01:17.280 I really appreciate it. 0:01:18.000 --> 0:01:19.280 You're welcome, thanks for having me. 0:01:19.600 --> 0:01:23.679 Of course, Well, we're going to go into you specifically 0:01:23.800 --> 0:01:26.160 and all the inner workings at Scope Lay. But really 0:01:26.200 --> 0:01:29.440 I just like to start off with one huge congratulations 0:01:29.640 --> 0:01:34.959 on the five billion dollars in lifetime revenue that milestone 0:01:35.000 --> 0:01:38.440 from Monopoly Go. That's truly a staggering number in twenty 0:01:38.480 --> 0:01:40.920 four months. So I'd like to start there because that 0:01:41.120 --> 0:01:44.360 was announced in May. That's a very recent milestone for 0:01:44.400 --> 0:01:46.240 you all, and I just like to get an idea 0:01:46.280 --> 0:01:49.240 first foremost what you think that means for scoply in general, 0:01:49.280 --> 0:01:52.800 but also for the larger a larger mobile gaming industry 0:01:52.840 --> 0:01:54.320 that hitting that milestone. 0:01:54.600 --> 0:01:57.800 No thanks, I mean we've we're not only happy, but 0:01:57.840 --> 0:02:01.640 phil incredibly blessed and fortunate. You know, we have a 0:02:02.240 --> 0:02:04.960 to have a game that not only has reached that 0:02:06.280 --> 0:02:09.359 major milestone, which is fantastic. But for us, I think 0:02:09.440 --> 0:02:13.560 what's more important than the financial metric is it shows 0:02:13.639 --> 0:02:16.720 us and tells us that, you know, players and consumers 0:02:16.760 --> 0:02:20.040 are loving the game, right, they're loving it. They're they're 0:02:20.040 --> 0:02:22.720 not only giving it, they're not only sort of giving 0:02:22.800 --> 0:02:25.840 us there and in contributing their you know, their money 0:02:25.880 --> 0:02:28.359 to the game, but more importantly, they're contributing their time. Right. 0:02:28.400 --> 0:02:30.359 I think that's the thing that's most important to us, 0:02:30.360 --> 0:02:33.200 Like we want to build experiences for consumers and for 0:02:33.280 --> 0:02:36.240 fans that completely resonate with them and for them. They 0:02:36.280 --> 0:02:40.400 have so many considerations. I would say, you know, when 0:02:40.400 --> 0:02:42.400 you think about all the things that are coming at 0:02:42.400 --> 0:02:45.679 them day after day, moment of the moment, whether it 0:02:45.720 --> 0:02:50.160 be streaming to podcasts, what have you, which are all amazing, 0:02:50.600 --> 0:02:52.720 but they give us just a little slice of their 0:02:52.720 --> 0:02:55.040 time every day. And so with that we we are 0:02:55.040 --> 0:02:57.400 so appreciative and grateful for. 0:02:57.360 --> 0:02:59.920 Those who might not be familiar, which probably isn't as 0:03:00.280 --> 0:03:03.560 because of that staggering five billion number. Can you give 0:03:03.560 --> 0:03:07.200 a little overview of exactly what Monopoly Go is and 0:03:07.240 --> 0:03:10.799 how you will have kind of incorporated partnerships and collaborations 0:03:10.840 --> 0:03:12.440 that keep people coming back to the game. 0:03:12.880 --> 0:03:16.839 Yeah, I would say, so Monopoly Go has really been 0:03:17.760 --> 0:03:20.280 I would say a. I'll use the term labor of 0:03:20.320 --> 0:03:24.200 love right for the team, and so I'll speak Hopeles. 0:03:24.240 --> 0:03:25.800 It's okay, I'll speak on behalf of the team right 0:03:25.800 --> 0:03:29.360 now when I say that the development team, and that 0:03:29.919 --> 0:03:32.320 you know they were in development that project for many 0:03:32.360 --> 0:03:35.880 many years because they were trying to find you know, 0:03:36.040 --> 0:03:37.760 the fun. They were trying to find something that was 0:03:37.800 --> 0:03:40.200 not just a game. There's lots of games that launch, 0:03:40.360 --> 0:03:42.120 you know, every day, and all kinds of different platforms, 0:03:42.160 --> 0:03:44.840 but it's like, what can resident really resonate, right, Like 0:03:44.880 --> 0:03:48.720 what can appeal to to consumers that know and love 0:03:48.840 --> 0:03:51.640 the Monopoly brand but also more importantly they feel like 0:03:51.680 --> 0:03:53.360 they can come back to on a daily basis. And 0:03:53.400 --> 0:03:56.200 so this game was in development for many, many years. 0:03:56.200 --> 0:03:59.080 They had several design iterations within the game, but they 0:03:59.200 --> 0:04:04.320 ultimately said, on an experience that is not your traditional 0:04:04.480 --> 0:04:09.840 Monopoly experience, and kudos to Hasbro. Hasbro was very willing 0:04:09.840 --> 0:04:12.640 to go on that journey with us. You know. You know, 0:04:12.720 --> 0:04:16.440 sometimes we understand as an owner of a brand, you know, 0:04:16.960 --> 0:04:20.800 especially a very large brand that's known around the world 0:04:20.960 --> 0:04:22.480 and has been around for as long as this man 0:04:22.560 --> 0:04:26.760 has excuse me, sometimes you know, you will have very 0:04:27.320 --> 0:04:30.120 specific and strict rules when it comes to that brand, right, 0:04:30.160 --> 0:04:32.520 and how consumers think about it and how they engage 0:04:32.520 --> 0:04:35.880 with it. And of course has has that there are 0:04:35.920 --> 0:04:38.960 some you know, hard and steadfast rules that you you know, 0:04:39.279 --> 0:04:41.840 that mister Monopoly should never do or you know, things 0:04:41.880 --> 0:04:44.719 like that, which makes sense. But they were very open 0:04:44.760 --> 0:04:46.600 to go with us on the journey of figuring out, 0:04:46.640 --> 0:04:49.680 like what new experiences we could bring to a Monopoly 0:04:50.040 --> 0:04:53.240 game in the market. That sure leverages some of the 0:04:53.240 --> 0:04:57.359 things that fans know and love about the brand, but 0:04:57.480 --> 0:05:00.560 maybe you wouldn't expect when it comes to a mobile game. 0:05:00.640 --> 0:05:05.159 So apologies, I think things like the fact that you 0:05:05.200 --> 0:05:08.560 know you can go and attack a friend in the game. 0:05:08.600 --> 0:05:12.560 From a digital acy perspective is it's not what you 0:05:12.680 --> 0:05:20.679 do in physical Monopoly, meaning you play against each other competitively. Sorry, 0:05:20.680 --> 0:05:24.279 apologies you, that's something coming through. You play against people competitively, 0:05:24.600 --> 0:05:27.760 for sure, but this concept of you actually attack someone 0:05:28.200 --> 0:05:31.320 and go after their actual landmarks, it creates this sort 0:05:31.360 --> 0:05:34.280 of like it's a different game pattern, but it still 0:05:34.360 --> 0:05:37.640 leans into the things that people love about Monopoly. Meaning 0:05:37.760 --> 0:05:40.360 if I land on Park Avenue, you own Park Avenue, 0:05:40.560 --> 0:05:42.000 you know, you have to pay me rent and then 0:05:42.040 --> 0:05:43.520 I'm kind of upset about it because I have to 0:05:43.560 --> 0:05:46.320 pay you money. You get you know, you get agitated 0:05:46.400 --> 0:05:47.920 or irritating in the game. We just did it in 0:05:48.000 --> 0:05:50.320 a much different way, And I would say, like I said, 0:05:50.400 --> 0:05:53.480 Hasbro was fantastic to work for, and I think that's 0:05:53.520 --> 0:05:56.080 really what resonated with fans. So when we launched the game. 0:05:56.200 --> 0:05:59.159 Of course people saw it's like, oh it's Monopoly, like 0:05:59.200 --> 0:06:01.279 people I love, let me, let me check it out. 0:06:01.440 --> 0:06:03.560 But I think what's kept them around is the fact 0:06:03.560 --> 0:06:07.400 that we really were creative and imaginative when it comes 0:06:07.400 --> 0:06:10.560 to what you experience when you actually play Monopoly in 0:06:10.600 --> 0:06:11.960 this form. 0:06:12.400 --> 0:06:14.520 I'll say one thing, you know, Like as a family, 0:06:14.720 --> 0:06:19.039 Monopoly is a very tense game for my group. It 0:06:19.279 --> 0:06:22.040 normally needs to get put away before we even finish it. 0:06:22.720 --> 0:06:29.200 But Monopoly good. Yes, we love it and you forget 0:06:29.320 --> 0:06:32.919 and then you play. But Monopoly Go does have that 0:06:33.040 --> 0:06:35.880 quality where I feel like I can do it every day, 0:06:36.279 --> 0:06:39.360 and it doesn't. It's still that fury with would be. 0:06:40.400 --> 0:06:42.720 But there's also so many promotions that you all do, 0:06:42.800 --> 0:06:46.640 so many in game events and partnerships like that, and 0:06:46.920 --> 0:06:49.160 I want to know, you know how those really come about. 0:06:49.200 --> 0:06:52.040 You talked about, you know, things mister Monopoly would never do. 0:06:52.120 --> 0:06:54.680 So thinking through what this brand is, who is a 0:06:54.680 --> 0:06:56.919 good fit to partner with, and what makes sense for 0:06:57.000 --> 0:06:57.320 you all. 0:06:57.920 --> 0:07:01.080 Yeah, I think first and foremost when we think about brand, 0:07:01.320 --> 0:07:04.080 let's say collaborations, right, which is what this is, because 0:07:04.120 --> 0:07:06.560 this is not we already have a game in the 0:07:06.600 --> 0:07:08.640 market where there is a brand that, you know, in 0:07:08.680 --> 0:07:11.760 this case, Monopoly and mister Monopoly that's in it, and 0:07:11.800 --> 0:07:14.520 then we start to think about does it make sense 0:07:14.880 --> 0:07:18.200 to bring you know, a third party, let's just say it, 0:07:18.360 --> 0:07:21.160 you know, in that way into this experience it, I think, 0:07:21.480 --> 0:07:24.960 first and foremost it has to be authentic, right, like, 0:07:25.040 --> 0:07:27.600 would it makes sense, Like sure you could. You could 0:07:27.640 --> 0:07:30.280 do lots of different mashups of like just some amazing 0:07:30.320 --> 0:07:33.560 brands you know in the marketplace, which people will be 0:07:33.560 --> 0:07:36.640 go like, oh that's interesting, it's recognizable, but when they 0:07:36.680 --> 0:07:38.840 show up, you want to make sure that it feels 0:07:38.880 --> 0:07:41.800 authentic to both brands. And I think one of the 0:07:41.920 --> 0:07:45.880 unique things that we have when it comes to Monopoly 0:07:46.160 --> 0:07:48.600 is that mont Hasbro and Monopoly on the physical game 0:07:48.600 --> 0:07:52.120 board side has a long history, right working with their 0:07:52.160 --> 0:07:56.320 pretty brands many many different ones from Star Wars to 0:07:56.520 --> 0:07:59.920 Friends to too many of the name right where they 0:08:00.120 --> 0:08:03.520 actually have really sort of intermingled these sort of two 0:08:03.600 --> 0:08:06.680 worlds together in a very authentic way. And so you know, 0:08:07.200 --> 0:08:09.720 when we were thinking about the game, it wasn't something 0:08:09.720 --> 0:08:11.360 that when we built the game, when we launched the game, 0:08:11.360 --> 0:08:13.120 where we're like, oh, we're going to do you know 0:08:13.360 --> 0:08:16.800 other through party ip collaborations. That was never the plan. 0:08:17.320 --> 0:08:19.800 As the team was thinking about the roadmap for the game, 0:08:20.280 --> 0:08:21.880 we were thinking about a lot of different angles, and 0:08:21.920 --> 0:08:24.040 the marketing team was obviously thinking about things that we 0:08:24.040 --> 0:08:27.440 could do, and what came up was what's authentic to 0:08:27.480 --> 0:08:29.880 the brand? And that's when we're like, well, let's look 0:08:29.880 --> 0:08:32.280 at what people think of when they think of physical 0:08:32.320 --> 0:08:34.080 and they're like, what would make sense in our world? 0:08:34.160 --> 0:08:36.200 And that's when sort of third party brands you know, 0:08:36.240 --> 0:08:38.280 came about and we're like and we talked to Hasro 0:08:38.320 --> 0:08:40.439 about it and they were like, yeah, actually we never 0:08:40.480 --> 0:08:43.400 thought about that. That actually is super cool. Once again, 0:08:43.480 --> 0:08:48.040 you're leaning into the fandom, right, the sort of history, 0:08:48.640 --> 0:08:51.280 the ethos of the brand itself, and so that was 0:08:51.280 --> 0:08:53.200 first and foremost we needed to make sure it felt 0:08:53.200 --> 0:08:56.400 authentic to the actual the brand right itself. And then 0:08:56.559 --> 0:08:59.880 the second thing is our marketing team, our community teams. 0:08:59.880 --> 0:09:03.760 Be's a lot of time with the players and doing 0:09:03.880 --> 0:09:07.080 constant sort of or having constant conversations with them about 0:09:07.200 --> 0:09:08.599 where they like in the game, where they don't like 0:09:08.640 --> 0:09:10.680 in the game, whichould they change, lots of feedback, which 0:09:10.679 --> 0:09:14.440 we love feedback from our players, but specifically asking about 0:09:14.600 --> 0:09:17.360 what would you like and one of the things you 0:09:17.440 --> 0:09:19.520 because you gotta be careful about how you introduce or 0:09:19.559 --> 0:09:21.079 talk to community because you don't want to kind of 0:09:21.080 --> 0:09:23.240 tip your hat. But we were talking about just sort 0:09:23.240 --> 0:09:25.400 of third party brands and what they resonate with and 0:09:25.440 --> 0:09:28.640 that kind of stuff, and it was clear that the 0:09:28.679 --> 0:09:31.480 fans of this game were excited about the idea of 0:09:31.559 --> 0:09:34.800 us potentially partnering with different brands, and so we did 0:09:34.840 --> 0:09:36.600 a lot of research, a lot of sort of consumer 0:09:36.600 --> 0:09:38.640 insights work, and that's sort of how we got to 0:09:38.720 --> 0:09:41.040 the place where we started to think about, okay, what 0:09:41.080 --> 0:09:42.760 would be the you know, sort of first brands that 0:09:42.800 --> 0:09:45.240 we would actually work with, and for us, you know, 0:09:45.280 --> 0:09:48.600 we knew it would have to be globally recognizable brands, 0:09:48.920 --> 0:09:52.920 you know, brands that once again resonate with I think 0:09:52.960 --> 0:09:55.439 the Monopoly franchise right and have a history, and that's 0:09:55.480 --> 0:09:58.320 obviously how we we landed in places like the first 0:09:58.320 --> 0:10:02.720 collaboration last year was with with Marvel, which we actually executed, 0:10:02.720 --> 0:10:05.559 which was fantastic. The Marvel team was amazing to work with. 0:10:05.920 --> 0:10:08.640 I will say when we went to them and said, 0:10:08.720 --> 0:10:10.640 what do you think about Monopoly Go. They were like 0:10:12.000 --> 0:10:14.000 really like they were like one of those like it 0:10:14.040 --> 0:10:17.480 never was obvious to them of us doing that, and 0:10:17.600 --> 0:10:19.400 kudos to them once again. They were very open and 0:10:19.440 --> 0:10:21.400 they're like, well, what would that even look like? And 0:10:21.440 --> 0:10:23.760 we're like, here's how we think about honoring both brands, 0:10:23.800 --> 0:10:26.880 and they're like, that's amazing. Uh, and you know, and 0:10:27.360 --> 0:10:29.680 well we've done since then. The next one that we 0:10:29.720 --> 0:10:32.160 did is Star Wars, which is now live in the game, 0:10:32.200 --> 0:10:36.240 and I would say the fans have been responding so 0:10:36.440 --> 0:10:40.360 positive to positively to that integration. They've done an amazing 0:10:41.000 --> 0:10:43.240 They've they've you know, when it comes to their actual 0:10:43.280 --> 0:10:45.320 engagement in the game, but also just what we hear 0:10:45.720 --> 0:10:48.800 in social and through community channels, like they're all kind 0:10:48.800 --> 0:10:52.240 of trying to anticipate what element or aspect of Star 0:10:52.280 --> 0:10:54.920 Wars is going to show up next in the game itself, 0:10:54.920 --> 0:10:57.880 which to us is that's rewarding because that means they're 0:10:57.960 --> 0:10:59.319 enjoying it. They're loving it. 0:11:00.360 --> 0:11:02.920 Now I've taken a step back here. You know, obviously 0:11:03.000 --> 0:11:05.440 Monopoly Go is a huge one ferial, It's probably what 0:11:05.480 --> 0:11:07.880 you're best known for at the moment, but looking at 0:11:07.920 --> 0:11:10.160 Scopoly as a whole if you can, you kind of 0:11:10.160 --> 0:11:12.680 give an over here what you guys do when you 0:11:12.720 --> 0:11:14.640 came on the scene and what else do you have 0:11:14.760 --> 0:11:15.120 to offer? 0:11:15.840 --> 0:11:19.080 Yeah, specifically you're asking about IP collaborations. 0:11:18.800 --> 0:11:21.880 No scope, Lee just in general as a company. 0:11:21.920 --> 0:11:25.319 Oh, got it. Yes, I would say there's really a 0:11:25.400 --> 0:11:27.280 couple of things that are really important to us, right 0:11:27.280 --> 0:11:31.079 as a company. Obviously, we're the number one mobile game 0:11:31.120 --> 0:11:32.000 company in the world today. 0:11:32.080 --> 0:11:32.200 Right. 0:11:32.240 --> 0:11:34.160 You talked about some of the actual major milestones that 0:11:34.160 --> 0:11:36.679 we've had over the last couple of years, which is fantastic. 0:11:36.960 --> 0:11:39.559 But I think the thing that for us is incredibly 0:11:39.600 --> 0:11:41.679 important is that we want to make sure that we're 0:11:41.679 --> 0:11:47.160 designing games that are blending narrative, you know, social mechanics 0:11:47.160 --> 0:11:49.959 that make sense for different games, and then at the 0:11:50.040 --> 0:11:52.520 end of the day, doing that for bloff print or 0:11:52.559 --> 0:11:55.800 fan bases, right, and whether that's in working with other 0:11:56.120 --> 0:11:58.800 IP partners. We have a long history right of working 0:11:59.120 --> 0:12:04.160 with IP partners, right, everything from Hasro Mattel to Disney 0:12:04.320 --> 0:12:07.960 to WWE to it feels kind of like you name it, 0:12:08.080 --> 0:12:10.000 we've kind of have worked with them. And it doesn't 0:12:10.000 --> 0:12:12.839 mean that we work with everyone, but we really kind 0:12:12.880 --> 0:12:16.480 of try to figure out like, where are there extremely 0:12:16.679 --> 0:12:21.800 passionate fans and consumers that love right in IP And 0:12:21.800 --> 0:12:23.840 we figure out, like, Okay, how do we actually bring 0:12:24.000 --> 0:12:26.199 what's important to us in great game making? Right has 0:12:26.280 --> 0:12:29.319 great creative and then really bring those two things together 0:12:29.480 --> 0:12:32.640 and marry them. I say that's one, and that's that's 0:12:32.720 --> 0:12:35.080 you know, of utmost important to us. And then the 0:12:35.080 --> 0:12:37.520 other thing is, you know, how do we actually do 0:12:37.600 --> 0:12:41.720 that in a forever franchise sort of like manner, meaning 0:12:42.440 --> 0:12:45.160 we're not looking to just build games and to build 0:12:45.200 --> 0:12:47.440 games that like have a lifespan of three years or 0:12:47.480 --> 0:12:49.680 four years. Our goal is like we want this game 0:12:49.720 --> 0:12:53.080 to be around and not just around, but in consumers 0:12:53.200 --> 0:12:56.600 lives for ten plus years. That is like the utmost 0:12:56.600 --> 0:12:59.040 important to us. And we take a lot of pride 0:12:59.080 --> 0:13:01.480 in that and and we were really committed to actually 0:13:01.480 --> 0:13:04.160 doing that for fans on a daily basis. 0:13:05.640 --> 0:13:08.559 I'd love to know about your background specifically, and then 0:13:08.600 --> 0:13:10.760 if you can speak to you know what your role 0:13:11.120 --> 0:13:13.599 as seen your vice president publishing at Scope looks like 0:13:13.679 --> 0:13:15.760 on a day to day basis, what is your purview? 0:13:16.400 --> 0:13:19.640 Sure exactly, I have no problem. So I have been 0:13:19.920 --> 0:13:23.559 in the digital entertainment space, I would say for the 0:13:23.640 --> 0:13:27.400 last twenty plus years. Started early in my career at 0:13:27.400 --> 0:13:30.320 EA and worked at EA. I had the pleasure of 0:13:30.320 --> 0:13:32.760 working at Disney for a period of time, and then 0:13:33.080 --> 0:13:35.240 moved into the free to play gaming space with Zinga 0:13:35.800 --> 0:13:38.680 back when Zinga was early days on Facebook. Think of 0:13:38.720 --> 0:13:42.760 games like Farmville and Cityville, which was amazing when you 0:13:42.840 --> 0:13:44.800 think about the move to free to play. I then 0:13:44.840 --> 0:13:46.600 had a short departure where I left and went to 0:13:46.679 --> 0:13:48.880 Nikate working in the digital and direct consumer space, and 0:13:48.920 --> 0:13:51.680 then saw my way back the games that was missing 0:13:51.679 --> 0:13:55.040 it and have spent now the last five and a 0:13:55.080 --> 0:13:57.600 half years split between Activision Blizzard. In the last two 0:13:57.600 --> 0:13:59.199 and a half years here at Scopoly. 0:14:00.760 --> 0:14:02.400 Oh yeah, sorry, go ahead, you know. 0:14:02.440 --> 0:14:04.440 From and then as far as my role and what 0:14:04.480 --> 0:14:07.600 I'm responsible responsible for here at Scope Lee one, my 0:14:07.679 --> 0:14:10.880 team works with all of our distribution relationships on a 0:14:10.920 --> 0:14:15.200 day to day basis, so from everyone from Xbox, PlayStation, Steam, 0:14:15.400 --> 0:14:17.640 you name it when it comes to distribution or contents. 0:14:18.320 --> 0:14:20.880 I also lead our director consumer sort of operations for 0:14:20.920 --> 0:14:24.040 the company, but also I'm responsible for everything we do 0:14:24.080 --> 0:14:27.520 from a business development perspective, so obviously working with IP 0:14:27.640 --> 0:14:29.560 partners on a day to day basis. Is one of 0:14:29.640 --> 0:14:32.240 the main priorities that I am my team focus on. 0:14:34.240 --> 0:14:36.240 As we've already mentioned a couple of times here, scope 0:14:36.360 --> 0:14:38.600 ly is a giant in the mobile gaming industry, but 0:14:38.640 --> 0:14:42.560 you all got even bigger with the Pokemon Go and 0:14:42.680 --> 0:14:46.040 Nantech acquisition here, So I'd like to talk about that 0:14:46.120 --> 0:14:48.440 and you know how you will see that in positioning 0:14:48.480 --> 0:14:51.800 yourselves even further as a leader within the mobile gaming 0:14:51.840 --> 0:14:54.200 industry and what you plan to do with that brand 0:14:54.200 --> 0:14:54.840 moving forward. 0:14:55.560 --> 0:15:00.520 Yeah, I look weird so excited about the being part 0:15:00.520 --> 0:15:04.440 of the team. Obviously that brings part of that acquisition. 0:15:04.480 --> 0:15:08.080 It brings a global, you know phenomenon when you think 0:15:08.080 --> 0:15:09.920 about Pokemon Go. When think about when that game watched 0:15:09.920 --> 0:15:12.640 in twenty sixteen, like it was everywhere and it still is. 0:15:12.680 --> 0:15:15.600 It's a massive game. But it brings that game as 0:15:15.600 --> 0:15:18.640 well as other great games to our portfolio, which is fantastic. 0:15:19.400 --> 0:15:24.040 But those games attract today over one hundred million unique players, right, 0:15:24.320 --> 0:15:28.280 That's that's an incredible privilege for us to bring that 0:15:28.320 --> 0:15:31.320 into the portfolio and how we actually help serve them 0:15:31.520 --> 0:15:35.800 on a daily basis. They have today over thirty million 0:15:35.800 --> 0:15:38.560 in AU When you think about scale, and even just 0:15:38.640 --> 0:15:40.480 looking at their business last year, it's been over a 0:15:40.480 --> 0:15:43.200 billion dollars in revenue. Like so like when we talk 0:15:43.240 --> 0:15:46.520 about some of the you know, success, I would say 0:15:46.520 --> 0:15:49.760 that Scope Plays had recently, which is amazing. Then we're 0:15:49.920 --> 0:15:53.000 pairing that the opportunity to pair that with another amazing 0:15:53.000 --> 0:15:56.000 company that has some amazing franchises. It's like like, in 0:15:56.040 --> 0:15:58.160 some ways it kind of pinch ourselves and say, I 0:15:58.160 --> 0:16:00.080 can't believe that we actually get to partner together. The 0:16:00.920 --> 0:16:03.600 other thing I would say is that's I think it's 0:16:03.600 --> 0:16:05.840 why it's a great such a great fit is that 0:16:06.280 --> 0:16:08.520 we focus on as a company. One of the things 0:16:08.520 --> 0:16:10.880 we focus on as a company is player engagement, meaning 0:16:11.280 --> 0:16:14.360 like how much how often do players play in the game, 0:16:14.560 --> 0:16:17.440 and how often do they come back? Like not sure, 0:16:17.640 --> 0:16:19.760 we're a business, and so revenue is obviously things that 0:16:19.760 --> 0:16:22.720 have that keeps the lights on, but really if players 0:16:22.720 --> 0:16:25.320 are giving us their time, right, that's the most important thing. 0:16:25.560 --> 0:16:28.320 And when we look at Pokemon Go, I mean they 0:16:28.360 --> 0:16:30.920 spend on average forty minutes in the game on a 0:16:30.960 --> 0:16:34.240 daily basis. That is pretty phenomenal. And so once again 0:16:34.560 --> 0:16:37.000 the idea of them coming into the into the mix 0:16:37.040 --> 0:16:40.040 and being part of our portfolio is amazing and our 0:16:40.080 --> 0:16:42.560 hope is that we we're going to be here to 0:16:42.560 --> 0:16:46.320 support them, you know, help give them all the resource 0:16:46.480 --> 0:16:48.520 or all the help that they can actually ever need 0:16:48.560 --> 0:16:51.680 to hope they continue to notly you know, you know, 0:16:52.080 --> 0:16:54.520 make fans appreciate the game, but hopefully grow that game 0:16:54.560 --> 0:16:56.480 even more. So we're credibly excited about that. 0:16:56.840 --> 0:17:04.880 We'll be backed more from Scopely after this break. When 0:17:04.880 --> 0:17:07.760 you look at, you know, the the overall gaming industry 0:17:07.760 --> 0:17:09.480 at the moment, you know, there's a lot that it's 0:17:09.520 --> 0:17:12.400 gone through just in the past couple of years. There 0:17:12.440 --> 0:17:15.000 was a pandemic boom, then there were changes, there was 0:17:15.040 --> 0:17:17.959 a lot of stuff, and no one's really been immune 0:17:17.960 --> 0:17:20.040 to that. But one thing I want to focus on 0:17:20.080 --> 0:17:22.440 here is just the mobile gaming industry and the amount 0:17:22.440 --> 0:17:24.880 of growth and the amount that that really takes up 0:17:24.920 --> 0:17:28.320 within overall gaming. And I feel like that goes unnoticed 0:17:28.359 --> 0:17:30.879 every now and then because we look at Splashy, Triple A, 0:17:31.400 --> 0:17:33.680 we look at big titles, we look at big players, 0:17:33.840 --> 0:17:38.040 and forget how much of the overall gaming is made 0:17:38.080 --> 0:17:40.359 up by mobile. So I want to get kind of 0:17:40.400 --> 0:17:43.680 your take, especially on a potential stigma there for what 0:17:43.760 --> 0:17:45.639 mobile gaming is, because I know I'll talk to like 0:17:46.080 --> 0:17:48.439 my parents when they're like, I'm talking about games with 0:17:48.480 --> 0:17:50.439 them and they're like, oh, I don't game, and I'm like, okay, 0:17:50.720 --> 0:17:53.760 the games you're playing on your phone those are games, guys. 0:17:53.760 --> 0:17:56.320 And they're like, oh, okay, well then in that case, yes, 0:17:57.680 --> 0:18:00.400 I'm a gamer. So I'd like to get your take 0:18:00.440 --> 0:18:00.679 on that. 0:18:01.480 --> 0:18:04.439 Look, I have similar story with my mom. I remember 0:18:04.520 --> 0:18:06.520 years ago where she was we were talking about the 0:18:06.520 --> 0:18:09.120 industry and she did she was like, I don't really understand. 0:18:09.119 --> 0:18:10.919 She goes, I'm not a gamer, and I lily said, well, 0:18:11.160 --> 0:18:12.560 open up your phone. What do you have on your phone? 0:18:12.560 --> 0:18:14.280 And it was one of those and I can't remember 0:18:14.280 --> 0:18:15.960 what she had, but she had a casual game on 0:18:16.000 --> 0:18:18.760 her phone. I'm like, you are a Gamer's like, no, 0:18:18.920 --> 0:18:21.480 i'm not. And I'm like, you are a gamer. I'm like, 0:18:21.480 --> 0:18:23.200 why do you think that? She goes and she has 0:18:23.240 --> 0:18:25.639 the stigma and that sort of like idea of like 0:18:25.680 --> 0:18:30.400 a gamer looks like this and plays in this way. 0:18:31.000 --> 0:18:33.000 You know, plays in front of a big screen, right, 0:18:33.080 --> 0:18:35.720 plays on a console, plays on a PC, which, look, 0:18:35.760 --> 0:18:40.080 those are amazing mediums to deliver amazing stories and franchises. 0:18:40.119 --> 0:18:43.520 Like I there are some amazing games that I personally 0:18:43.640 --> 0:18:46.400 my kids play on a on a constant basis. When 0:18:46.400 --> 0:18:48.480 it comes to like Triple A, I would say, the 0:18:48.520 --> 0:18:51.960 thing that makes mobile so unique, and specifically from a 0:18:51.960 --> 0:18:56.159 gaming perspective is thinks are obvious, but it's on a 0:18:56.200 --> 0:18:59.840 device that's in your pocket all day every day. It's accessible. 0:19:00.119 --> 0:19:02.560 Everyone has it. Like while console on a PC is 0:19:02.600 --> 0:19:05.439 amazing because it's amazing piece of hardware that can deliver 0:19:05.600 --> 0:19:10.080 some fantastic experiences, it does have, you know, a barrier, 0:19:10.280 --> 0:19:13.520 right when not everyone can actually afford it from a 0:19:13.520 --> 0:19:15.920 pricing perspective, or just maybe they don't have like the 0:19:16.080 --> 0:19:19.760 space or what have you. A phone is everyone has one. 0:19:19.920 --> 0:19:23.040 It's democratized, right, And the fact that we can actually 0:19:23.080 --> 0:19:25.160 leverage that piece of hardware and that device to actually 0:19:25.160 --> 0:19:29.840 bring amazing experiences to consumers is it's amazing. Right. So 0:19:29.840 --> 0:19:33.639 that sort of solves like the distribution scale problem when 0:19:33.680 --> 0:19:36.480 you think about mobile. And then another thing that I 0:19:36.520 --> 0:19:40.439 think makes mobile very unique is that you know, we 0:19:40.480 --> 0:19:44.960 are focused on building amazing experiences. I would say sometimes 0:19:45.040 --> 0:19:48.760 Triple A, they're amazing games, but they're very much focused 0:19:48.800 --> 0:19:52.560 on the visual quality, right, which is great, I think 0:19:52.600 --> 0:19:55.439 what mobile and we deliver great visual quality, but we 0:19:55.560 --> 0:19:58.000 over index on I think is really are we making 0:19:58.000 --> 0:20:00.520 sure that we engage the player? Like, what do the 0:20:00.560 --> 0:20:03.920 behavior patterns that we see? Do players like this experience? 0:20:03.960 --> 0:20:06.520 Does that actually motivate them to come back and give 0:20:06.600 --> 0:20:10.000 us more time and play you know tomorrow? Well? And 0:20:10.080 --> 0:20:13.000 so we have this, We're constantly iterating and testing different 0:20:13.040 --> 0:20:15.560 concepts and ideas, and the goal for us is just like, 0:20:15.920 --> 0:20:18.000