Gonzague de Vallois (Gameloft)

The games industry has undergone radical change over the last five years. With the rise of digital downloads and the emergence of motion controls, everything from user interfaces to the way software is distributed has advanced considerably, giving rise to a new world of possibilities. As one of the most prominent purveyors of digital content on the scene, Gameloft has profited from these changes and established itself as market leader in the present hardware generation. DS caught up with its vice president of publishing Gonzague de Vallois to discuss the firm's business strategy and learn about its plans for gaming's newcomer, the iPad.

Having already secured its position as a presence on the App Store, Gameloft is seeking to consolidate its status as a leading mobile developer when the iPad arrives worldwide in May. The device was greeted with a mixed reception in the press following its recent Stateside launch, but that hasn't stopped it from racking up enough sales to delay its European debut by one month. Despite an unveiling peppered with scepticism, Gameloft maintains that there is a gap in the market between the smartphone and the laptop, at least from a gaming perspective.

"[The iPad] is a very important platform that we are supporting heavily," de Vallois explained. "As you can see from our launch line, we currently have eight apps live, which makes us the biggest publisher if you consider in-house developed titles. There are other companies offering more, but they are distributing other studios' titles. So, it's an important platform for us and we will be supporting it pretty strongly in the weeks and months to come."

Gameloft's iPad roster currently consists of the casual classic Uno, sports sim Let's Golf and the popular first-person shooter N.O.V.A., as well as Asphalt 5, Modern Combat: Sandstorm and Dungeon Hunter. Additionally, de Vallois hinted that more titles could be added to the list before the device finds its way to other territories. "You never know what is going to be approved between now and the device's European launch," he added.

The studio has always endeavoured to bring cutting-edge titles like N.O.V.A. to mobile platforms, while ploughing equal resources into the casual market. Not only is this evident from its iPad launch lineup, but it has always been apparent from the range of iPhone releases the company has churned out since the device established itself as a gaming system in 2007. When asked which gaming genres are most suited to the iPad, de Vallois insisted that the platform hosts a universal range.

"I think this is going to change progressively as it's a mass market device. That's why we have a range of titles for its launch," he said. "If you consider Uno on one side and N.O.V.A. on the other, we are targeting different audiences. If you look at the iPhone and the Apps when it launched in 2007 compared to today, the type of games have changed as the audience has grown.

"As you see now on the iPhone, we have a good balance of hardcore titles on one side and casual titles on the other. As it's a mass market device all type of games have an opportunity to be successful."

Aside from a considerably larger screen size, the other fundamental difference between iPhone games and their iPad counterparts is the ability to bring in more sophisticated touch-screen controls. Although this has failed to stamp out rumours of external peripherals for Apple devices, de Vallois firmly believes that this manner of interface is the future of gaming. "On the iPhone we didn't see the need for peripherals, and you haven't seen any coming out," he elaborated.

"We think that touch is the next generation of controls. In general people are using more and more of this in everyday life. If you have kids and you give them either an iPhone or an iPad, they see how natural it is to control things with their fingertips. The touch controls as they are on the iPhone and the iPad provide the user with a good experience."

While the iPad will play a significant part in Gameloft's market strategy, its introduction does not mean that its iPhone support will fall by the wayside. As de Vallois was quick to point out, the studio will continue to back the iPhone as heavily as it has in the past. "We want to support both of them very strongly, so there is no shift of resources from any platform to another," he explained. "It's more additional resources that we are putting in to support this new Apple platform."

So what kind of games can we expect from the studio in the future? According to its vice president of publishing, Gameloft will continue to deliver a diverse catalogue for both the iPhone and iPad. Having found success with the likes of Rayman and Assassin’s Creed in the past, the firm aspires to strike a balance between existing licences and new IPs. More PlayStation classics will follow in the wake of Driver and undergo the conversion treatment, while the popularity of the official Avatar game has paved the way for other film-licenced fare.

Aside from its variety of App Store offerings, the firm will continue to invest in a range of other formats. Sony's decision to ditch UMD technology with the PSPgo was greeted with a lukewarm reception, but a digital-only device is right up Gameloft's street. "We keep supporting the PSPgo. We had a batch of titles to support its launch and we keep adding new titles. It's an interesting move for Sony. It's a digital platform, which is the core of our business so you can expect additional titles from us," said de Vallois, who also assured us that the studio will continue to deliver DSiWare to support the PSP's Nintendo counterpart throughout the year.

With the iPad's worldwide launch imminent, confirmation of a future 3D handheld system from Nintendo and rumours that Sony is planning a new iteration of the PSP, de Vallois is confident that the digital market will continue to grow - particularly in the portable sector - and maybe even outpace its retail counterpart. "If you compare this with retail figures from 2009, the market has suffered quite a lot," he said.

"The DS market has been difficult for retail publishers but we are pretty bullish that the digital side of it is growing very strongly. The PSPgo is a purely digital console, while the DSi is partly digital, so there is a growing trend shifting towards this, which may result in digital only. We are very optimistic for Gameloft because we are 100% focused on digital distribution and we think it's going to grow in the coming weeks, months and years."

Gameloft celebrates its tenth anniversary as a video games developer and publisher next month.