INTERVIEW: A whole lot of MumboJumbo

MumboJumbo may provide new media content online via its own portal and through the likes of Big Fish Games, but if anything its business model is a traditional one – offering its customers an out-and-out sale, either online or in-store.

Cottam believes this kind of setup avoids the complications that can arise when deploying in-game advertising and other less straightforward systems.

“We do not charge an online subscription fee nor do we sell any advertising on the site or in the games," he explains.

“We offer free demos on our site for games that are available for digital download and the option to purchase the full version after a certain amount of time has expired—in other words, the try-before-buy model.

He adds: “Everyone in our industry is talking more and more about in-game advertising, but it really depends on the business model. In-game advertising certainly has its merits, especially if your model is based on games and content being available to consumers for free.

“However, this is just one type of business model. For some people in the casual space, this may work out well, but for others it may not be a good fit. We’re certainly keeping our finger on the pulse of in-game advertising. In the end, it really depends on content—what we know for sure is that MumboJumbo fans want premium content, and we feel like our model consistently delivers that.”

It’s also a perfect try-before-you-by environment – if MumboJumbo’s online content is successful, it makes it more attractive to retail when the firm takes it to physical shelves.

“As is the model for many in our industry, our first introduction to the global market is through digital download – our games are featured on all of the leading game portals and our own online product catalogue,” says Cottam.

“After success online, we take the game to retail. In North America, we have built strong relationship with major retailers including Wal-Mart, Best Buy, Target, and GameStop and our premium casual games are often found in these and dozens of other national and regional retailers.

“In Europe, we are partnering with Codemasters to organize and execute strategic product launches. Their team then takes our product to retailers throughout the European market.”

When it comes to MumboJumbo’s hugely successful franchises (series under its auspices include Luxor, 7 Wonders, Elf Bowling and The Office), has taken full advantage of every format and distribution method going. It now publishes boxed titles on multiple platforms including PC, Mac, Nintendo DS, Nintendo Wii, PSP, PS2, PS3, Xbox 360 and mobile – and provides content to services such as Xbox Live.

It also publishes third-party titles on behalf of our industry partners including Microsoft, RealArcade, FreezeTag, Reflexive, Funkitron, Alawar, IT Territories and many more.

“One of the key differentiators that sets MumboJumbo apart is our strong, direct relationships with leading industry partners that round out our extensive network of top-level gaming sites, developers, retailers and distributors,” says Cottam. “We appear to have discovered the key to successfully managing digital and retail distribution channels, something that most of our competitors are struggling to do.”

Cottam’s view of the future of the casual market is one of perpetual expansion; not only in terms of monetary worth, but also method of delivery.

“With the rising popularity and increased attention given to the casual market, there will be more players entering the casual gaming space which we’ve already seen with EA and Take Two; as well as increased exposure on lifestyle and social networking websites like iVillage, Facebook, and YouTube,” he comments.

“More players mean more competition with increased quality of gameplay, which leads to more variety of content in the short term and more established IP/brands over the long term. We feel like we have a head start and are well positioned for the future since our focus has always been to develop and publish only premium, quality content.”

The prospect of yet more established publishers joining the lies of EA and Take Two in the casual space does not faze Cottam; indeed, he believes it may actually improve the quality of content in the sector. And, he says, it brings another distinct advantage: diversification of audience.

Up until now, the casual gaming arena has done a great job of attracting the sort of audience traditionally out of reach for the core video games industry. Now Cottam believes it is the other way round – and only the big guns of the traditional industry can pull young men into the world of casual.

“These are the best companies to bring a new audience to the space,” he says. “They can help bring the 18-24 males which currently account for a very low percentage of the casual audience. And everyone in the space can benefit from a growing market segment.”

Another good way to reach these consumers, of course, is through the right platform – and Cottam makes no bones about MumboJumbo having its eye on Apple’s portable phenomenon.

“One of the key differentiators that MumboJumbo has is our foresight and ability to take our titles to multiple platforms,” he says. “The iPhone and iPod are no exception. We are proud to be a certified developer for the iPhone/iPod and look forward to bringing great content to these platforms later this year. “

With ambitious plans for expansion and a solid-as-a-rock business model, it seems Cottam has good reason for his confidence. He might talk a lot of MumboJumbo – but he also talks a lot of sense.