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Sonic's CEO, David Danon, Featured In Game Daily Biz |
Growth Opportunities & Challenges Facing the Mobile Sector
The mobile entertainment industry is still relatively young but is expanding quickly. Many areas of the market leave plenty of room for growth but there are numerous obstacles as well. We chat with David Danon, the CEO of Sonic Branding Solutions (a leading worldwide provider of mass market mobile entertainment), about these issues and the future of the mobile market.
| PROFILE |
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David Danon
Chief Executive Officer
Sonic Branding Solutions
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| History: |
Danon is a self-taught musician and expert in the information technology market. He was a private equity consultant in emerging technologies with special focus in multimedia, network infrastructure and semiconductor capital equipment. |
| Highlights: |
His understanding of the forces shaping the emerging global technology markets has enabled him to identify unexploited opportunities in these markets and, coupled with his musical interests, led him to conceive and develop the mH2O project. |
| Currently: |
Danon has single handedly helped create the interactive music making space over the last two years and has been a leading visionary in the convergence of media creation and the Internet.
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GameDAILY BIZ: The mobile entertainment sector is quite broad with music, ingtones, games, mobile television and more. As a mobile company, how do you decide what your portfolio should include and how do you maximize revenue in this growing market?
David Danon: Sonic's focus is on building a portfolio of applications and games, which allow consumers to customize their phones with innovative wireless entertainment. Our customers want advanced wireless experiences, like making their own original ringtones, playing games against celebrities and original videotones, so that is what we focus on.
BIZ: Which type of mobile entertainment do you believe presents the greatest potential for growth over the next several years?
DD: Mobile communities based around games. Consumers want to be able to bond and to use their phones to form their own personalized groups. I think people will be more likely to purchase a product that gives them that ability and in turn this will draw in their peers.
BIZ: Custom ringtones and the "blinging" phenomenon seems to be increasingly popular, especially in light of the recent personalization trend. Can you explain what "blinging" is in the mobile sense (not the hip-hop slang) and how Sonic is taking advantage of this?
DD: From our perspective "blinging" is customization of a mobile phone starting with the best sounding music ringtones, screensavers and the overall appearance of the actual phone - allowing your cell to be a fuller representation of who you are.
We've heard that partiers are rapping over music made with ringtones from their phones and also mixing MP3 ringtones together for a unique sound to dance to. That is really what "blinging" is all about.
We are in a great position to hear about this new trend since Sonic has developed the leading ringtone-creation subscription application, ToneMaker DJ, which seems to be a hot product for those "blinging." It allows users to create incredible pieces of music with real music tones and celebrity voices like Method Man, Cee-Lo and Allen Iverson. People can even upload their original ringtones and have them rated by the other ToneMaker DJs out there.
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"The truth is that carriers, handset manufacturers and developers are all vying for power in this diverse environment... Because of these intense power struggles, I don't foresee a universal system until all parties can see the collective benefit of such an approach." |
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BIZ: Mobile games are becoming more popular but many phone users still don't seem inclined to pay. A recent Nielsen study showed that only 22% of consumers they polled paid for games. What is behind this and how will mobile publishes and carriers entice more users to actually purchase the games?
DD: Increasing the percentage of consumers who will pay for mobile games is a matter of educating the end-user about the exciting experiences that mobile technologies, like those built by Sonic, can offer. Mobile publishers and carriers will need to create additional venues of marketing like Internet sites, web based ads, television ads and promotional tie-ins with consumer products like CDs, DVDs and consumer brands.
BIZ: Although graphics in mobile games are fast improving and the technology is enabling better 3D titles on handsets, it appears that the simple casual games are still the most popular. The people who are buying tend to go for puzzle games and card games. Do you see that changing anytime soon?
DD: Hopefully Not! Those casual games are ultimately the bearers of the best consumer experience for the greatest number of users. Mobile developers, and all game developers, should learn from that and try to create entertainment that appeals to, and remains accessible to, the largest number of people.
BIZ: One of the more common ways for mobile game publishers to make a buck is to acquire a popular license, like Halo or Spider-Man. At this stage in the evolution of the mobile market is it just safer to go with licensed material? What is Sonic's approach?
DD: Licensed material is a consistent bet because of the ancillary marketing and brand awareness the mobile game will get for free. We have several games based on hit game shows that our consumers recognize and enjoy.
The best and most satisfying approach is to create titles organically, but this exposes mobile developers and publishers to the risk that their creative ideas suck, which is often the case; in those instances, licensed material is safer.
But what Sonic does is focus on the most challenging executions of games or personalization applications that most other companies won't touch. Sonic takes this approach whether working with a license or an original IP. So we focused on ringtone creation and screensaver creation and games like Name That Tune, which includes thousands of licensed hit songs. Sonic believes that an innovative experience and community features (license or not) will trump flashy graphics and a big-name license any day.
BIZ: Console publishers that get involved in the mobile market can often
tap into their already established library to create mobile games. Mobile specific companies like Sonic don't have that advantage, so how does the business strategy differ?
DD: Actually Sonic games like Name That Tune and Music Qubes are slated to be converted into console-style games! We have the ability to create content on mobile platforms first and if successful, we can commit the larger investment to building a console version of the game. It's a novel way to test gaming concepts that don't rely on normal mapping, bloom lighting and other impressive graphic displays. That's our own little advantage.
BIZ: Unlike the console and PC games market, the mobile sector seems to inherently make getting a game to market more complex than it should be. There are multiple carriers, multiple platforms (Brew, Java, etc.), various handsets/devices, and a title has to be tailored for all these variables. Is there a way of simplifying the process?
DD: Yes, it's possible, but not until there are standard application languages and network/billing api's. The truth is that carriers, handset manufacturers and developers are all vying for power in this diverse environment. Each group believes it has the most leverage over the long-term. Because of these intense power struggles, I don't foresee a universal system until all parties can see the collective benefit of such an approach.
BIZ: The mobile market in Asia is far ahead of the U.S. Europe also appears to be a bit ahead of America (but not by as much as Asia). Can the U.S. mobile market catch up?
DD: The U.S. market will catch up in terms of broadband service and mature industries like gambling and adult content. That is just a matter of time. I think America is already ahead in a certain sense because in the U.S., we are seeing all the forces of the biggest entertainment companies brought to bear on the mobile market. That will distance us from the localized successes that many Asian and European territories experience.
BIZ: Going forward what do you believe will be the greatest challenges and opportunities in the mobile entertainment market?
DD: The power of the mobile market is its inherent ability to have entertainment and communication in your hand wherever and whenever you want it. By creating applications and games that function as enablers to connect people and services beyond voice and simple chat, we can recast mobile entertainment as its own unique form of interaction. We can also do this while remaining inclusive of all the experiences we love on the Internet and in typical gaming.
The great opportunity in mobile is taking the awareness of mediums like Radio and TV and altering the experience for a mobile user. Then you can drive folks to their phones for something unique and yet familiar. I can't give you all the answers but you will see what Sonic does in 2006 to really extend the possibility of what people should expect their mobile entertainment to deliver!
BIZ: Thanks very much for your time, David.
For more on Sonic, visit their website.
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