China has more than 800 million mobile phones and a huge Android device market. So PapayaMobile hopes to leverage its prime location in Beijing to introduce Western Android game developers to the Chinese market.
PapayaMobile is a mobile game network that also gives developers tools for adding social features to their games. The company’s new Gateway to China program is a one-stop solution that lets developers launch their Android games in China. The program recognizes the fact that China is one of best expansion markets for developers who have created hit games in Western countries. The virtual goods market in China is expected to hit $4 billion in 2011, and a growing chunk of that is in mobile games.
The developers participating in the program include BulkyPix, Kiloo, Connect2Media, Mindstorm Studios and Digital Prunes. They will get access to free China localization services, game reviews and access to other marketing channels, distribution and management of games in China app stores, introductions to Chinese phone makers for pre-installed apps on phones, and easy access to China billing solutions through Papaya Social software development kit.
“With three years of experience working in China, PapayaMobile has established relationships with key handset manufacturers, app stores, wireless operators and press making Papaya the most widely distributed mobile Social Networking Service in this territory,” said chief executive Si Shen. “Our goal is to share these relationships with our developers so that they too can monetize the largest mobile market in the world.”
Shen is speaking on a panel on Mobile Social Networks of the Future at our GamesBeat 2011 conference, as described below. China isn’t an easy market to enter because of differences in culture, economy and regulations. The Android Marketplace is absent on all legally sold Android phones in the country, so the market is fragmented into a variety of app stores. Developers need to launch their games in as many as 10 app stores to get real distribution.
We’ll be exploring the most disruptive game technologies and business models at our third annual GamesBeat 2011conference, on July 12-13 at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco. It will focus on the disruptive trends in the mobile games market. GamesBeat is co-located with our MobileBeat 2011conference this year. To register, click on this link. Sponsors can message us atsponsors@venturebeat.com.