Knowledge is power, and selling that power is a lucrative business. That’s one of the reasons that two intelligence firms are partnering up to offer even more data to their customers.
Research company Newzoo and Chinese mobile-device intelligence firm TalkingData are partnering up to tag-team new services for developers looking to better understand global markets. The two outfits have worked together for the last six months on an Android gaming report, but now they want to deepen their cooperation to provide products that they could not do on their own. Mobile gaming could hit $30 billion this year, the firm predicts, and game makers are fighting over every penny of that in the West as well as in China, which is growing rapidly. Newzoo and TalkingData are selling the data that can help those developers figure out where and how to invest their time and money.
“From day one, our working relationship with TalkingData was very open, efficient, and productive,” Newzoo chief executive Peter Warman said in a statement. “The rankings on Android games and stores in China quickly became very popular, clearly showing the enormous interest in such data.”
That success led Newzoo and TalkingData directly to their first co-developed product, which they will start selling soon. Called the China Mobile Games Monitor, this report will track how games perform in the Asian country over all devices and app stores. And since Google Play isn’t in China, Android developers are desperate for data that will help them understand the dozens of independent stores that have popped up in its place.
“We are delighted to establish a global strategic partnership with Newzoo,” TakingData chief executive officer Leo Chiung said. “By working together we will bring unique and valuable market data and insights to all companies with an interest in the mobile games space, to help them understand complex market dynamics, define their business strategy, and create top-quality content for consumers worldwide.”
The first edition of the China Mobile Games Monitor goes live June 15.
“This is a smart move,” says VB analyst John Koetsier. “Research is all about access to good data, and the bigger net you cast, the more you have, and the smarter your insights can be. In addition, with the explosion of mobile gaming in Asia and particularly China, boots on the ground there will be very helpful for generating research that is relevant on both sides of the Pacific.”