4 ms·

I saw Rovios head of marketing, Peter Vesterbacka, give a talk at the finnish startup conference Slush last month. I could not believe my ears when he made the

I saw Rovios head of marketing, Peter Vesterbacka, give a talk at the finnish startup conference Slush last month. I could not believe my ears when he made the claim that Rovio makes the best games. Period. I think part of their problem has been shifting focus away from games. Sure it's great that half of their revenue comes from selling merchandise etc., but I think in the long run people won't want your merchandise if your core products, the games, are not great.

Jare 12y ago
> I could not believe my ears when he made the claim that Rovio makes the best games I have been making games for over two decades and never seen a company, studio or team that does NOT say that kind of stuff: "our games are the best", "we have the best talent", "this is the best team I have ever been part of", etc. Both internally as well as in public-facing events. I'm all for projecting confidence, encouraging excellence and boosting passion and morale, but sometimes the cognitive dissonance is jarring.
- daemin 12y ago
  Well no one wants to admit that they hire people that are just good enough and that they make do to ship acceptable products. I mean how would you feel if your company said "we're just average and do an acceptable job".
  - mox1 12y ago
    Personally, I would be OK with that. By definition most companies are "average". The ones that recognize that and try to become better are much more realistic than the ones who already think they are the best...
  - pixl97 12y ago
    like someone told the truth for once.
inDigiNeous 12y ago
Rovio made one game the best, and even that was pretty seriously not a great game if you've played that kind of game before. They happened to hit the right audience with the rise of iPad and iPhone happening at the same time, for mostly those who have not played games before, so kudos for doing it very well.

Jare 12y ago

> I could not believe my ears when he made the claim that Rovio makes the best games I have been making games for over two decades and never seen a company, studio or team that does NOT say that kind of stuff: "our games are the best", "we have the best talent", "this is the best team I have ever been part of", etc. Both internally as well as in public-facing events. I'm all for projecting confidence, encouraging excellence and boosting passion and morale, but sometimes the cognitive dissonance is jarring.

daemin 12y ago
Well no one wants to admit that they hire people that are just good enough and that they make do to ship acceptable products. I mean how would you feel if your company said "we're just average and do an acceptable job".
- mox1 12y ago
  Personally, I would be OK with that. By definition most companies are "average". The ones that recognize that and try to become better are much more realistic than the ones who already think they are the best...
- pixl97 12y ago
  like someone told the truth for once.

inDigiNeous 12y ago

Rovio made one game the best, and even that was pretty seriously not a great game if you've played that kind of game before. They happened to hit the right audience with the rise of iPad and iPhone happening at the same time, for mostly those who have not played games before, so kudos for doing it very well.