4 ms·

Supercell is bigger than EA in terms of monthly iOS revenue

33 points by dsarle 14y ago

zurn 14y ago
I wonder if Supercell's widely advetised cells structure explains their success (and could be learned from?) or if it's just a "secret sauce" myth they cultivate to add flair to a well-run and/or lucky company.
- dsarle 14y ago
  Having visited the offices a few times and met the team, it's definitely not a myth. The cell structure is there and in action. Whether it is a "secret sauce" to success remains to be seen in the long run (Say 5-10 years at least). That being said, the team is amazing and they definitely seem to know what they are doing. Besides, similar company structures already exist in other successful companies, in the gaming industry the best that comes to mind is that of Valve corporation. Not a cell structure per say, but very similar work and leadership attitude.
- gluegeorge 14y ago
  All the teams are definitely pretty independent and each person is responsible for a lot. There's lots of swapping around between the teams depending on where the talent is needed too. (source: I worked for them over the summer)
- hfz 14y ago
  Can you link to an article that explains this structure? Googling fails me, returning articles about thunderstorms instead.
  - dirtyaura 14y ago
    Search PandoDaily for Supercell articles, there is at least one that covers it.
- fulafel 14y ago
  http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/183064/supercells_secret_sauce.php?print=1 http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/183064/supercells_secr... > "Now it's a lot more about the product quality and the product itself," Paananen notes. "If we want to create the best products, we need the best people. That was actually how the whole thing started, and where the name Supercell comes from. We're creating these small but ultra-dynamic teams of developers who work relatively independently. And despite the small size of the group, we have big dreams -- hence Supercell."
  - jmpeax 14y ago
    The CEO of Supercells says that the "secret sauce" of his company's success is "product quality". Forgive me if I feel like I'm being sold to.
deleted 14y ago
[deleted]
Tichy 14y ago
"efficiently monetizing their userbase." Is this newspeech for ripping off their customers? I don't know their games, but I wouldn't be surprised if their clients are mostly teens maxing out their parents credit cards. Yeah sorry, I am a bit in a cynical mood I suppose.
- deleted 14y ago
  [deleted]
- emcl 14y ago
  Are candy/confectionery manufacturers supposed to feel guilty that they make stuff kids like and nag their parents to spend money on their products? Supercell has carefully designed the game to encourage impulsive purchases but that doesn't mean that the players are not deriving any pleasure out of it. And teens maxing out credit cards is something that can be easily stopped.
  - lmm 14y ago
    >Are candy/confectionery manufacturers supposed to feel guilty that they make stuff kids like and nag their parents to spend money on their products? Yes?
  - throwaway64 14y ago
    I belive there is a real moral hazard to selling addicting/impulsive products, especially to children. After all this is part of the reason why zynga has such a bad reputation.
  - Tichy 14y ago
    I don't know, are tobacco manufacturers supposed to feel guilty for selling addictive cigarettes that kill? Is anything that makes money automatically good? After all, somebody is willing to pay for it? As for chocolate, we still have adverts praising health effects of some chocolate for children (in Germany). I think eventually they might get sued, as happened to the cigarette industry.
  - LaGrange 14y ago
kayoone 14y ago
2 years ago they started with a high quality Browsergame in Flash called Gunshine (a casual RPG) which didnt work and was closed down. They then seem to have shifted focus to mobile and do amazing things there, which was only a matter of time because of their top team.
mpunaskar 14y ago
I do think that clash of clan is much better than other games i have played so far. I have played other games (dungeon hunter) which asks me to pay up for virtual coins, gems if i have to progress in next set of levels, but with COC i can do just fine without spending any money. Love COC ;)
madewulf 14y ago
With all this talk about how the good days of the app store are over, it is good to see a relatively unknown company making it. I also noticed that a big part of the Apple selection for the end of the year is made by indie developers, like Super Hexagon, Letterpress or the education stuff from l'Escapadou, which means that they will probably make a lot of money. With talent and flair, it is still possible to do it. Easy success for trivial apps is over but what Apple did to remove the barriers to entry for indies still makes the app store very interesting.
- dirtyaura 14y ago
  Now, I wouldn't say that Supercell is an indie developer. They have an experienced team of game industry veterans and over $10M dollars of funding from the beginning. But that doesn't take away from the fact that CEO Ilkka Paananen and guys are running a stellar company with interesting culture: small teams of 5 people form "cells" that work independently on their own prototype game. Lots of prototypes are killed and these "failures" are celebrated with bottles of champaigne.
pauljburke 14y ago
Funnily enough I finally picked up clash of clans because a guy in the office kept pestering me to give it a go. It's very nicely put together and I can't remember the last time someone in the office harassed me into picking up a game. Particularly someone I'd classify as a non gamer.
iuguy 14y ago
I think this is an unfair comparison. I mean, I could claim that Mandalorian is bigger than EA in terms of monthly penetration testing revenue and be right, but it doesn't really mean much. Having said that, Supercell have a good product and are shifting volume, so more power to them.
- Gravityloss 14y ago
  EA is the second biggest in monthly iOS revenue, that's why he compared to that. It's not unfair at all.
JanneVee 14y ago
There is an explanation for why also. I recently downloaded Simpsons: tapped out. The "game" wouldn't start for two days because it couldn't connect to the Orion servers. I'm not going to spend real money on in-game donuts if it refuses to start. I found out on the forums that it was a common problem. People aren't going to spend real money on something that isn't reliable. (NOTE: actually I wasn't going to spend the money anyway. It isn't a game. It is a Skinner Box).
kaonashi 14y ago
The anthill at my feet is bigger than K2 in terms of letters.

33 points by dsarle 14y ago

zurn 14y ago

I wonder if Supercell's widely advetised cells structure explains their success (and could be learned from?) or if it's just a "secret sauce" myth they cultivate to add flair to a well-run and/or lucky company.

dsarle 14y ago
Having visited the offices a few times and met the team, it's definitely not a myth. The cell structure is there and in action. Whether it is a "secret sauce" to success remains to be seen in the long run (Say 5-10 years at least). That being said, the team is amazing and they definitely seem to know what they are doing. Besides, similar company structures already exist in other successful companies, in the gaming industry the best that comes to mind is that of Valve corporation. Not a cell structure per say, but very similar work and leadership attitude.
gluegeorge 14y ago
All the teams are definitely pretty independent and each person is responsible for a lot. There's lots of swapping around between the teams depending on where the talent is needed too. (source: I worked for them over the summer)
hfz 14y ago
Can you link to an article that explains this structure? Googling fails me, returning articles about thunderstorms instead.
- dirtyaura 14y ago
  Search PandoDaily for Supercell articles, there is at least one that covers it.
fulafel 14y ago
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/183064/supercells_secret_sauce.php?print=1 http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/183064/supercells_secr... > "Now it's a lot more about the product quality and the product itself," Paananen notes. "If we want to create the best products, we need the best people. That was actually how the whole thing started, and where the name Supercell comes from. We're creating these small but ultra-dynamic teams of developers who work relatively independently. And despite the small size of the group, we have big dreams -- hence Supercell."
- jmpeax 14y ago
  The CEO of Supercells says that the "secret sauce" of his company's success is "product quality". Forgive me if I feel like I'm being sold to.

deleted 14y ago

[deleted]

Tichy 14y ago

"efficiently monetizing their userbase." Is this newspeech for ripping off their customers? I don't know their games, but I wouldn't be surprised if their clients are mostly teens maxing out their parents credit cards. Yeah sorry, I am a bit in a cynical mood I suppose.

deleted 14y ago
[deleted]
emcl 14y ago
Are candy/confectionery manufacturers supposed to feel guilty that they make stuff kids like and nag their parents to spend money on their products? Supercell has carefully designed the game to encourage impulsive purchases but that doesn't mean that the players are not deriving any pleasure out of it. And teens maxing out credit cards is something that can be easily stopped.
- lmm 14y ago
  >Are candy/confectionery manufacturers supposed to feel guilty that they make stuff kids like and nag their parents to spend money on their products? Yes?
- throwaway64 14y ago
  I belive there is a real moral hazard to selling addicting/impulsive products, especially to children. After all this is part of the reason why zynga has such a bad reputation.
- Tichy 14y ago
  I don't know, are tobacco manufacturers supposed to feel guilty for selling addictive cigarettes that kill? Is anything that makes money automatically good? After all, somebody is willing to pay for it? As for chocolate, we still have adverts praising health effects of some chocolate for children (in Germany). I think eventually they might get sued, as happened to the cigarette industry.
- LaGrange 14y ago

kayoone 14y ago

2 years ago they started with a high quality Browsergame in Flash called Gunshine (a casual RPG) which didnt work and was closed down. They then seem to have shifted focus to mobile and do amazing things there, which was only a matter of time because of their top team.

mpunaskar 14y ago

I do think that clash of clan is much better than other games i have played so far. I have played other games (dungeon hunter) which asks me to pay up for virtual coins, gems if i have to progress in next set of levels, but with COC i can do just fine without spending any money. Love COC ;)

madewulf 14y ago

With all this talk about how the good days of the app store are over, it is good to see a relatively unknown company making it. I also noticed that a big part of the Apple selection for the end of the year is made by indie developers, like Super Hexagon, Letterpress or the education stuff from l'Escapadou, which means that they will probably make a lot of money. With talent and flair, it is still possible to do it. Easy success for trivial apps is over but what Apple did to remove the barriers to entry for indies still makes the app store very interesting.

dirtyaura 14y ago
Now, I wouldn't say that Supercell is an indie developer. They have an experienced team of game industry veterans and over $10M dollars of funding from the beginning. But that doesn't take away from the fact that CEO Ilkka Paananen and guys are running a stellar company with interesting culture: small teams of 5 people form "cells" that work independently on their own prototype game. Lots of prototypes are killed and these "failures" are celebrated with bottles of champaigne.

pauljburke 14y ago

Funnily enough I finally picked up clash of clans because a guy in the office kept pestering me to give it a go. It's very nicely put together and I can't remember the last time someone in the office harassed me into picking up a game. Particularly someone I'd classify as a non gamer.

iuguy 14y ago

I think this is an unfair comparison. I mean, I could claim that Mandalorian is bigger than EA in terms of monthly penetration testing revenue and be right, but it doesn't really mean much. Having said that, Supercell have a good product and are shifting volume, so more power to them.

Gravityloss 14y ago
EA is the second biggest in monthly iOS revenue, that's why he compared to that. It's not unfair at all.

JanneVee 14y ago

There is an explanation for why also. I recently downloaded Simpsons: tapped out. The "game" wouldn't start for two days because it couldn't connect to the Orion servers. I'm not going to spend real money on in-game donuts if it refuses to start. I found out on the forums that it was a common problem. People aren't going to spend real money on something that isn't reliable. (NOTE: actually I wasn't going to spend the money anyway. It isn't a game. It is a Skinner Box).

kaonashi 14y ago

The anthill at my feet is bigger than K2 in terms of letters.