Home Gaming Fallout Shelter is shaping Bethesda’s mobile strategy

Fallout Shelter is shaping Bethesda’s mobile strategy

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Fallout shelter1

Bethesda, unlike the other game studios, hasn’t jumped on the mobile bandwagon. In fact, Fallout Shelter was their first real mobile release, and it has done incredibly well. However, Bethesda’s VP of marketing, Pete Hines explains that they had to release the game the way that they did, and they have to be careful of how they make future titles.

Speaking to Games Industry, Hines explained that there weren’t really any expectations for Fallout Shelter:

To be honest, I’m not sure what we expected. It’s not like we’re a pretty well-known iOS and iPhone developer where we’ve been down this road before and it’s going to go like this.

 

But it seemed like it ought to be pretty popular, the whole idea of, ‘This thing exists and you can go play it today.’ On the back of all the Fallout 4 stuff, we thought it would do well, but we weren’t sure how well. Suffice to say, we’re pretty pleased right now with how well it’s doing… Our expectation has been that it’s not going to stay in the top three or top five just because. It’s going to see some decay. It’s going to drop off.

Hines doesn’t see the game as a Clash of Clans competitor, though. Bethesda is trying to do something different with Fallout Shelter. He also recognized that they had to time the announcement this way. If they had announced Fallout Shelter before Fallout 4 was clearly far along in development, this would have been a very different story:

If we tried to do this last year without announcing what Bethesda Game Studios was doing [Fallout 4 for consoles and PC] and said, ‘Oh we’re doing a game and it’s on mobile and it’s called Fallout Shelter,’ we’d probably get lynched, right? There would be pitchforks at the gate. ‘That’s not the Fallout we asked for, you bastards!’ But doing it this way, they’re like, ‘I’m getting what I want and oh, by the way, while I wait here’s this other free thing that’s fun to play.’ So part of it is just how do we not get ourselves killed and make it a success? This felt like the better version of that.

Better still, he believes that mobile games need to be driven by developers. They need to be projects that developers think would be fun to implement, develop and play. It can’t be something built to be a financial success, because the developers will hate making it and the final product won’t be as enjoyable.

Bethesda, could you please go and talk to all the other game studios? Please? This is exactly the kind of policy that I wish everyone else would adopt. Fallout Shelter has been successful because it’s fun to play, and people know that it’s a cool distraction until the game that they really want is released. It’s a great way to build excitement for Fallout 4, and give people an opportunity to get reacquainted with the franchise. Now imagine if EA had done something similar with Dungeon Keeper?

Last Updated: June 30, 2015

21 Comments

  1. VampyreSquirrel

    June 30, 2015 at 11:35

    It’s too small on my iPhone 4… so not playing it.

    Reply

    • Admiral Chief's Adventure

      June 30, 2015 at 11:38

      Ag shame, kleintjie

      Reply

      • VampyreSquirrel

        June 30, 2015 at 11:56

        They need to release the android version so I can play on my S5.

        Reply

    • Ottokie

      June 30, 2015 at 11:39

      Feeling the same way on my iphone 5s… Hier kom die fandroids xD

      Reply

      • VampyreSquirrel

        June 30, 2015 at 11:56

        Would actually be fine on my S5 XD

        Reply

    • Dark_Kitarist

      June 30, 2015 at 13:16

      Bring your face closer to your phones screen… Problem solved 😀

      PS. If you have big ass fingers buy a cheap stylus or make one yourself 😀

      Reply

  2. David

    June 30, 2015 at 11:39

    Android release, now! Please… oh please now. 🙁

    Reply

    • SargonTheBatpandaOfTI5

      June 30, 2015 at 12:40

      What is android, precious?

      Reply

      • Dark_Kitarist

        June 30, 2015 at 13:11

        It’s a great “open” operating system that is as stable as Windows Millennium was and WE LOVE IT!

        Reply

  3. Hammersteyn

    June 30, 2015 at 11:43

    Heaven help us if Fallout Shelter makes more money than Fallout 4.

    Reply

    • Admiral Chief's Adventure

      June 30, 2015 at 11:45

      O_O

      Reply

    • BurninZ

      June 30, 2015 at 12:33

      Blaspheme!

      Reply

    • SargonTheBatpandaOfTI5

      June 30, 2015 at 12:39

      The in-app purchases look to be pretty reasonably priced (when compared to shit like Clash of Clans and Dungeon Keeper). So I doubt they’ll make ludicrous amounts of money. 😛

      Reply

      • Her Highness the Hipster

        June 30, 2015 at 12:48

        they’ve already topped Candy Crush in the earnings charts. It’s scary.

        Reply

        • SargonTheBatpandaOfTI5

          June 30, 2015 at 12:49

          WHAT?! Really? BUT THE GAME IS SO REASONABLE! The prices are fair…

          How is the public buying into this? Seriously? Because the amount of cash for gems in EVERY OTHER mobile game is out of this world stupid.

          Reply

          • Dark_Kitarist

            June 30, 2015 at 13:29

            The game is reasonable and the prices are reasonable… That is why it’s doing so great… It’s awesome to see a AAA game publisher not using every freaking chance to make money on us…

            #GoodGuyBethesda

    • Dark_Kitarist

      June 30, 2015 at 13:14

      Impossible… I think that Bethesda will make 10 times more just with pre-orders of Fallout 4 than Fallout shelter is getting… Although its success (I hope) will help any future ventures into the Fallout universe 😀

      Reply

      • Hammersteyn

        June 30, 2015 at 15:02

        I’m just scared that gaming moves to a more mobile focused model

        Reply

        • Dark_Kitarist

          June 30, 2015 at 15:07

          Do not worry… Bethesda will always make PC games… Always… This ain’t Konami… Knowing Todd Howard he would never give up real games… By the time our phones can play Skyrim with mods(and let’s be honest 5 years maybe?) Bethesda will still develop for the PC…

          Reply

  4. SargonTheBatpandaOfTI5

    June 30, 2015 at 12:40

    Nananananananananananananana…..

    iPAD!

    Nanananananananananana….

    iPAD!

    *installs immediately

    Reply

  5. Werner Ackermann

    June 30, 2015 at 12:56

    Patience young lollipop. The android release is coming.

    Reply

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