Pakistani Mobile Game Company Opens Shop in San Francisco

[Riaz Haq]

Caramel Tech Studios, a Lahore-based mobile games company founded by three Pakistani brothers, is starting a new San Francisco startup, Fizz, that promises to do real-time translation for text chat in mobile games, according to a report by Dean Takahashi in VentureBeat.  Mobile games market represents a huge and rapidly growing lucrative opportunity for Pakistani game developers and publishers.

Caramel Tech Studio's Blades of Battle

The Zaeem brothers, Saad, Ammar and Shayan, got their lucky break when Halfbrick Studios, the Australian game company that makes Fruit Ninja, hired them to build a version of Fruit Ninja for the Nokia Symbian phone platform, according to VentureBeat.

The Halfbrick contract helped the brothers get more work with Kabam, a mobile game company that made hits such as Kingdoms of Camelot. Andrew Sheppard, then head of studios for Kabam, put Caramel Tech Studios to work on a mobile card strategy game, Order of Elements. The studio then worked for Animoca, a Hong Kong company, to build an Astro Boy mobile game.

Caramel Tech Studio attracted Apple's attention when the company decided to build its own title "Blades of Battle" that has been featured by the iPhone giant in 137 countries.

The idea of building real-time translation software company emerged when the brothers saw how important chat could be when they added it to one of their existing games. It cost them about $40,000 in development costs, but it enabled the players to be far more social. That snowballed into bigger download numbers and revenues, Ammar said. And once they built chat, they realized they could do it as a platform, according to VentureBeat.

The rapid growth of smartphones has helped Pakistani game companies to focus and find success in the mobile segment of the game market. One such Pakistani company is Mindstorm Studios, which was initially focused on the PC gaming sector, soon saw a bigger opportunity in mobile space. This new market holds tremendous potential as quality games can be built on smaller budgets.

In 2010, Mindstorm Studios released Whacksy Taxi, jumped to the top position in Apple’s App Store in over 25 countries, and was also featured in a review by CNET. Other popular titles include Mafia Farm and Kingdom of Heroes. These successes have helped Mindstorm Studios to increase cash flow, hire more developers, and focus on strengthening their position, according to Tech in Asia.

Following the success of Mindstorm, several other Pakistani companies, including Tintash, Caramel Tech, Gamestorm, and Gen ITeam have been quick to jump in and focus on building mobile games with global appeal.

Newzoo's Global Games Market Report estimates that 2.2 billion gamers across the globe will generate $108.9 billion in game revenues in 2017. This represents an increase of $7.8 billion, or 7.8%, from the year before. Digital game revenues will account for $94.4 billion or 87% of the global market.

Mobile is the most lucrative segment, with smartphone and tablet gaming growing 19% year on year to $46.1 billion, claiming 42% of the market. In 2020, mobile gaming will grow to more than half of the total games market, according to Newzoo.

Mobile games market represents a huge and rapidly growing lucrative opportunity for Pakistani game developers and publishers like Caramel, Mindstorm, Tintash, Gamestorm and Gen ITeam.

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[Riaz Haq]

#Pakistan rises as a powerhouse in #videogames after EVO (Evolution) #Japan competition. Before his championship win, no one in industry had heard of the 23-year-old Arsalan from #Lahore nor was Pakistan known as a video game powerhouse. The Asahi Shimbun http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201905130005.html

LAHORE, Pakistan--Arslan Ash caused quite a stir in Fukuoka in February.

Hardly anyone in the gaming industry had heard of the 23-year-old. And his home country of Pakistan was not exactly known as a video game powerhouse.

But his victory in the Evolution Championship Series tournament against the world’s top “Tekken 7” players made everyone take notice. And his words afterward sent chills down the spines of established players.

“There are many other strong players like me in Pakistan waiting for an opportunity to compete internationally--and their numbers are growing,” he said.

THE MANIAX TRAINING HALL

In pursuit of the truth to Arslan’s statement, I traveled to his hometown of Lahore, a city of more than 10 million in northeastern Pakistan.

“There is a game center I often visit in the city,” Arslan said. “Let’s meet up there.”

After wandering through dust whipped up by two-seater motorbikes zipping along the sandy streets, I entered a commercial area where students and entrepreneurs often gather.

The game center, which is like a “dojo” training hall for gamers, is located on the first floor of a multitenant building along a major road. A motorcycle repair shop, which emanated the smell of engine oil, and a grocery store were also on the first floor.

As I walked inside the center, the sounds of game machines increased.

The name of the center is Maniax.

The owner, Zamin Abbas, 34, appeared and said: “Did you come from Japan? What an honor this is.”

Maniax has a floor space equivalent to around 20 tatami mats and 10 game machines. Zamin said it is the largest game center in Lahore.

Around sunset, around 20 young regulars had shown up, clearly confident in their skills. They had such nicknames as, “Strong Heart in Lahore,” “Combo Magician” and “God Child in Blue Shirt.”

This is a strict training place where young players polish their skills. Religious leaders and middle-age people often visit the center to watch the young gamers, acting as their guardians.

THE GIFT OF REFLEXES

Arslan arrived at the game center by motorcycle and apologized for his tardiness. He flashed a friendly smile and extended his hand for a handshake.

He was a polite young man who recently had his hair cut short for a pilgrimage to Mecca, the holy site of Islam.

On a sofa at the center, he explained how he became the champion in faraway Fukuoka.

Arslan entered the fighting game world around 2008, when he was 12 years old. At that time, Pakistan-made animation did not even exist, and he was immediately drawn by the vividness of the computer images at the game center.

Arslan quickly learned how to control the movements of his three-dimensional character, and through his early battles, he realized that he had quicker reflexes than his opponents.

He said he started to think his reflexes for gaming might be his “gift.”

With no game console or computer at home, he could only practice at game centers, including Maniax. After school, he played at the centers for five hours a day.

The fee for one game is 10 rupees (about 8 yen or 7 cents). The first player who wins three fights takes the match. And the loser generally pays for the game. As Arslan grew stronger, he found that he was not spending that much money at the center.

Before a tournament, he trained for eight hours or so a day.

His first victory at a national competition came in 2012. By 2018, he had reached the podium about 40 times, including in local competitions.