How big-budget ad campaigns have changed mobile gaming

Nestled in among commercials for big brands such as Budweiser, Doritos, and Coca-Cola in Super Bowl XLIX were spots for not one, not two, but three mobile gaming apps, making it painfully obvious that we had entered the era of big-budget productions and even bigger-budget marketing campaigns. This movement might be innocuous in and of itself except for the inverse truth that comes with it: that plucky startups and indie game developers with small or no marketing budgets would now have a difficult time gaining traction in the new mobile gaming landscape.

For indie game developers, the initial promise of mobile platforms like iOS and Android was that it offered a level playing field. Suddenly, anyone could build a game, launch it for free, and instantly deliver it to millions of consumers around the world. Game development had become democratized. Indeed, we saw many hits come seemingly out of nowhere. While the Nintendos, Electronic Arts and Sonys of the world were still trying to figure out their mobile gaming strategies, we saw huge businesses built on the backs of hit games from independent studios.