Thanks for hunting us!
We released Mafia Watch (http://appstore.com/mafiawatch), our first generally available game worldwide last night and we’re very pleased to announce that Apple has selected it as one of it’s Best of 2015 for the Apple Watch.
Mafia Watch is a unique experience that could only really live on the Apple Watch - like the Watch, it’s always on and always with you, engaging you in it’s gameplay with a special blend of rich notifications and a native Watch OS2 App.
When we set out to build Mafia Watch - we wanted to create something that was woven into the way we use Apple Watch - we were fascinated by the power of the notification in Apple’s new device and it felt to us like that communication mechanism could become a core part of the fabric of a new type of game experience - And so, Mafia Watch was born.
To create the game we enlisted the help of an old friend and colleague - Takeshi Otsuka, who joined our team from DeNA where he had created Kaito Royale, one of the DeNA’s biggest games in Japan and one of the first Japanese Mobile super hits. Takeshi’s unique insight was that we could weave a PvP Collect + Protect mechanic into the heart of a social RPG and create a game that could be interacted with many times a day as you fight to complete your jobs against and with other players. In the process he created a competitive, collaborative social experience you can play many, many times a day which takes unique advantage of notifications, a native Watch OS2 App & even Siri.
Takeshi and his team at N3TWORK have created the first truly native game for the Apple Watch - something that doesn’t just run on the device, but works for the way we use the device.
We’re very pleased to introduce Mafia Watch to you today. It’s the first of our products to be released worldwide (we’ll let you try to figure out what else we’ve got cooking) and we hope marks an important beginning in the future of Ultra Mobile games for the Apple Watch.
— Neil Young. CEO & Founder of N3TWORK
@ncyoung - congrats on the launch! This is one of the best Apple Watch games I've seen so far, and I'm excited to see more innovation coming to the platform!
Few quick questions:
* This the first game you're releasing with N3TWORK - why did you decide to go with an Apple Watch product, and not a broader market?
* The app is clearly notification driven, as it should be on this platform; do you guys throttle the frequency of notifications based on usage and response rate from the user?
* Do you have any plans to expand the experience of Mafia Watch to the phone or are you staying focused on the watch?
Again, congrats and looking forward to your next products!
@arielvardi Thanks for your kind comments - we liked your Martian product too ;)
1. Why Apple Watch when the market is so small? The iPhone market was small when we started ngmoco:) and so we believe that great products can help drive big markets and there is no doubt in our mind that the market for wearable devices running always on, always with you experiences will be meaningful.
2. Notification Rate - Yes, it's smart based on user interaction with remotely tunable baselines and blackout periods. We have some other ideas around how we can make this even better.
3. Expansion to other platforms - We're staying focused on the Apple Watch for now with this game.
Good luck with your products - there's much to do on this platform and we're excited to be in it with you.
--- Neil.
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