It’s not long now until one of the industry highlights of the year is upon us, so as we get closer to Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki we are getting to know some of our star speakers and giving you a flavour of what they’ll be discussing at the event.Today we are talking to Antonio Ribeiro, part of the Meta Audience Networkteam in EMEA where he partners with publishers on monetisation strategies to increase revenue, engagement and improve player experience. He has over 12 years’ experience in Ad-Tech with a strong focus on mobile and gaming verticals.
Pocketgamer.biz: Tell us what you will be talking about at the event
Maximising monetisation potential, evolving acquisition strategies, and building for the future. To bring you the latest insights, Meta Audience Network commissioned IDC to survey more than 500 mobile game business decision-makers in 17 countries. We will be sharing these research-backed insights and other global gaming businesses success strategies.
What’s your favourite ever mobile game?
Selecting just one is not easy, but I’d have to say for me it’s Angry Birds. It was the first game that truly made me want to buy a smartphone just to play it and I realized mobile gaming was definitely entering a new era, past Snake and other rudimentary flash mobile games.
What game has been on your phone the longest?
Not sure if it can be considered a game, but the New York Times Crossword for sure! I’ve played the Mini Crossword every day without fail for at least the past 8 years.
What key trend should we be paying attention to in the next 12 months?
A big trend I’m really excited about is the rise in AAA mobile gaming experiences. The advance in mobile technology and cloud gaming, coupled with the success of games like Genshin Impact and Call of Duty Mobile, means we are seeing more publishers realizing the potential of bringing this type of gaming experience to a mobile audience.
Tell us your thoughts on cross-platform games.
We have seen a lot of new exciting developments on cross-platform gaming over the past couple of years and it’s great to see the industry finally waking up to its potential, thanks to great gaming experiences such as Fortnite or Fall Guys. For me, the two major advantages from this are, firstly as a player, being able to enjoy the same game experience whether I’m at home, playing on my console, or on the move, on my phone and secondly the ability to create larger and more diverse gaming communities for a game.
What do you enjoy most about working in the mobile games industry?
It’s a bit of a cliche, but “never a dull moment” in this industry. It’s one of the fastest moving and most innovative industries for sure. Not a day goes by that you don’t hear about a new exciting game, technology, partnership, or acquisition.
What was the fundamental appeal of the mobile games industry that brought you to it?
I’ve been playing video games since the days of the NES and while those home consoles and gaming PCs saw great success, I feel they were fairly limited to a certain type of audience and demographic. In recent years, the profile of a “gamer” has changed dramatically and the different experiences offered by mobile gaming certainly have contributed massively to that shift and widening of audiences. And that makes me really happy – I always believe video games offer so much and can bring so much joy to people and so to see more people playing games and enjoying them has been extremely exciting. So, what’s not to like about working in an industry that can bring so much joy and enjoyment to people?
