Appynation Games Consortium hires digital marketing manager

05/12/11

AppyNation - a ground-breaking new consortium that will allow independent video games and interactive entertainment developers to exploit their games through digital distribution - is pleased to announce that Christian-Peter Heimbach will become the consortium's digital marketing manager.

The AppyNation consortium aims to test a new business model that will enable UK games companies take full control of the development and publishing of their games and Apps.  It will work outside the constraints of the traditional publisher and developer model, where publishers retain control over the game developers' Intellectual Property (IP), distribution and marketing rights, and trial a more direct route to market, allowing developers to retain their own IP.

Christian says, "I am delighted to be with AppyNation at such an exciting time for the industry. New market opportunities are opening up new avenues and possibilities for game making and publishing and AppyNation is at the forefront of exploiting these opportunities for the benefit of the developer. AppyNation has drawn together a powerful group of highly experienced shareholders and I look forward to working with them and Andy Payne to make this ambitious project a success and to create a new mould for games publishing." 

Andy Payne, Chief Executive of AppyNation, added:  "The key to AppyNation's success is very simple. High quality targeted products and high quality people. I am very pleased to have Christian-Peter aboard."

It is hoped that the collaborative approach of the consortium will make it easier for developers to attract private finance, and ensure that the individual companies, as well as the wider UK economy, benefits as much as possible from the success of these companies.  If the consortium can demonstrate that it is commercially successful, it is hoped that this will provide a model for similar consortia in the industry. It will deliver a portfolio of games developed by its members, and publish them itself. 

AppyNation is being supported by NESTA, with contributions from each consortium member and is expected to be self-sustaining after the first year.  The Consortium is aiming to publish an average of one product per month, with the first expected before the end of the year.  All profits will be retained within the individual businesses and will also look to work with third party developers in due course.

The members of AppyNation, which comprise independent developers working in social, mobile and traditional gaming are:

·         Finblade, based in Hampshire

·         Onteca , based in Liverpool

·         Proper Games, based in Dundee

·         Supersonic, based in Leamington Spa

·         Niffler, based in London

·         Lightning Fish , based in Oxfordshire 

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 Notes to editors
For further information, please contact Jan Singleton 020 7438 2606/ jan.singleton@nesta.org.uk, Graeme Downie 020 7438 2613 / graeme.downie@nesta.org.uk or Guy Bilgorri 020 7438 2611 / guy.bilgorri@nesta.org.uk

The AppyNation website can be viewed at http://www.appynation.com/

Christian Heimbach

Christian has worked in the digital and video games sector since 2005.  Most recently he was the European Marketing Director at ChangYou.com, a leading developer and operator of online games in China. He also launched Aion at NCSoft, which was the biggest MMO launch in 2009's.  He will be developing the AppyNation's website so that it offers developers more collaboration tools as well as pooling functions as well as overseeing the initial brand development of AppyNation.

About NESTA
NESTA is the UK's foremost independent expert on how innovation can solve some of the country's major economic and social challenges. Its work is enabled by an endowment, funded by the National Lottery, and it continues to operate at no cost to the taxpayer.

NESTA is a world leader in its field and carries out its work through a blend of experimental programmes, analytical research and investment in early-stage companies

www.nesta.org.uk

ABOUT THE MEMBERS

Lightning Fish are a successful console developer specialising in motion tracking and augmented reality.  They work with global brands including Adidas, THQ, Fitness First, Ubisoft and BBC Worldwide. The management team have released over 150 titles in every genre, selling millions of units worldwide.

Lightning Fish have development studios in Oxfordshire, UK and Pune, India.  They have released four fitness and dance titles on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Wii since 2009 and are considered foremost experts on Kinect (Xbox 360) and Move (PS3).  Their latest console title - Adidas miCoach (X360, PS3) - will be released in Q1 2012.

Lightning Fish have recently created a new team with the intent of replicating their console success on social and mobile platforms.  The team are currently working on a range of strategy and sports titles.

Simon Prytherch, CEO, says: "To succeed in a crowded mobile market you need to have good games, clear visibility through brand and marketing plus the ability to cross-promote across a games portfolio.  Partnering with AppyNation will allow us to excel in all these areas."

http://www.lightningfishgames.com

Niffler believes that games should go beyond a passive experience. Our aim is to develop games that are not only great to play, but also allow the player to create and share their own content using tools that are as simple to use as playing the games themselves. Our games incorporate social, cloud and UGC elements that are platform agnostic, by starting on a small screen and then porting to big ones.

www.Niffler.co.uk

Supersonic have been developing fantastically addictive video games for over 20 years.  Originating in the days of the ZX Spectrum, Supersonic have developed for all major platforms from then till now.  Their new 360 and PS3 arcade battle-racer, 'Wrecked' firmly upholds their long heritage in the genre - spanning the Micro Machines series and the cult classic Mashed.

Going forward, Supersonic intends to bring their experience to and focus their creativity on developing exciting and innovative games for iOS, Android and other mobile platforms. With a clear focus on fun, playability and originality, Supersonic are very excited to be working with and actively involved in AppyNation.

www.supersonic-software.com

Proper Games, founded in 2006, is one of the leading independent game development studios in the UK and registered as an official developer across all major home console and mobile gaming formats.

Formed around a core team of 11 talented developers, and based in the vibrant digital Scottish city of Dundee, Proper Games is wholly owned by its dedicated board of Directors.  Together we have over 70+ years of valuable industry experience that enables us to thrive on projects of any size and on any platform.

Our business has two main elements - not only do we have a solid record of providing high quality trusted content for external partners; we have recently successfully entered the realms of self-publishing. 

Proper Games is proud to be responsible for developing the BAFTA-winning Flock! (PC, XBLA, PSN), the critically acclaimed Final Fight: Double Impact! (XBLA, PSN), and the award winning Yo Deshi (IOS).  The mission at Proper Games is to develop fun and highly engaging content that delivers on creativity, originality and quality - a goal we very much share with the values of AppyNation

propergames.net

Onteca - Liverpool based Onteca have been working in the Games and Entertainment for the last 10 years.  In this time we have produced Interactive Content for a variety of clients including the BBC and Nesta Futurelab. Since 2008 we have been publishing our own content, including the cult Wii game "Monsteca Corral : Monsters vs Robots", the highly popular "Santa Tracker" and the  "Big Pub Quiz series of games on iOS.  

We are committed to Indie gaming and providing an opportunity for new talent to enter the industry.  To this end we work with local schools and games educators to create ensure that educational provision supports the needs of the games industry.

onteca.com

Finblade  are one of the most experienced mobile developers in the UK, starting life as Iomo back in the monochrome days of 2000. Since then, the BAFTA-nominated team have picked up numerous awards, and worked on some of the biggest mobile brands, creating hit titles such as the Tomb Raider mobile series for Eidos and, more recently, original iOS versions of Battleship and Pictureka for EA. Today, FinBlade creates a range of content for smartphones and tablets, working with media partners and original IP to create engaging mobile entertainment for everyone.

www.finblade.com