7 June 2011
Reply [REY IM], a market leader in the design and implementation of solutions for new digital media, has now created Forge Reply, a company specialising in the development of games for mobile devices, smart phones and tablets for the consumer and business markets.
The creation of Forge Reply is part of Reply’s Digital Media and Mobile development strategy. More specifically, Forge Reply will be responsible for developing 2D and 3D titles/games for the main Application Stores, and providing companies with support as they introduce new ways of communicating and reporting based on interactive methods and typical gaming features that encourage users to participate (problem solving, engagement, teamwork) – to better reach their clientele, launch new products, refresh perceptions of their brands or even as part of innovative courses designed to train and empower their staff.
With around 57 million Europeans – almost a quarter of all users – using mobile gaming platforms, gaming is one of the fastest growing technology sectors, with total growth exceeding 50% from year to year. According to predictions by leading analysts, sales from app downloads will rise in value from 10.9 billion in 2010 to a staggering 76.9 billion by 2014. The Italian gaming market recorded sales of over 1.1 billion euro in 2010, with over 20,000 components – hardware and software combined – sold. That’s something like 33 games and 5 consoles per minute (source: AESVI – Association for Editors of Italian Videogame Software).
“Mobile gaming - notes Forge Reply manager Fabio Filasieno - has now surpassed the limits of pure entertainment to become one of the most powerful tools for communication and reporting, thanks to its ability, perhaps unique, to form a community of shared interests in an extremely short time span. Gaming mechanics and interfaces are beginning to be used in business contexts. Alongside its traditional activities as a publisher and producer of cross-platform and multi-device games, Forge Reply has now put together a full range of consultancy services designed to help companies fully understand the potential and the uses of mobile gaming in a work or B2B setting”.
Filippo Rizzante, Reply Executive Partner, comments: “The tendency towards gamification is universal, and there for all to see. The extension of mobile apps to all aspects of our personal and professional lives will be a major feature of the decade ahead, and will continue to generate opportunities in practically all sectors of the business world, thanks to the growing popularity of smart phones, mobile devices and the new generation of networked objects. So, with Forge Reply we propose to put together our own distinctive offering, one which integrates technological know-how with experience in digital design for mobile gaming directed not only at the private consumer, but also at the most complex business2business scenarios”.