Ed Barton, Screen Digest

Investing in developing casual games or Triple-A games...

Because of the importance of scale in development and publishing in console games, invest in a major publisher. Unless you find the next Harmonix, it is debatable whether investing on a smaller scale would be the best way to get exposure to this industry.

An investment in a single title carries a very high level of risk. I would think in terms of: Do the developer and the publisher know their markets and target audiences inside-out?

Do they have a track record of producing product which resonates with their customers? Is the game based on proven or new IP?

Having said that, I'm not sure if any sane investment adviser would recommend investing in a single piece of creative media for anyone but the most casino-crazed investor.

I also think that Middle Eastern gamers are relatively underserved.

There are specific cultural considerations, as well as region-specific games and genre taste considerations, but there is a huge opportunity for publishers and developers who can appeal to Middle Eastern gamer sensibilities.

I think we will see some encouraging moves from trade associations and governments in the region to promote this.

Opinion of investing in game development for each platform...

In an abstract sense, one looks at the size of the addressable market only. In reality, games development focuses on the skills of one's creative resources, and targets the most appropriate platform(s).

The most successful publishers tend to leverage investments and minimize commercial risks by developing across multiple platforms.

Investing in game development for any of the mobile platforms...

An important quality I would look for would be developers who can exploit the intimate feedback loop these platforms offer.

Constantly connected platforms such as the iPhone often offer developers huge and constant dataflows on how consumers are buying and using their titles, an intimacy which does not exist for physically distributed product.

Apex Designs' Payback for iPhone

Smart developers who can use this data to constantly iterate their products and make them better have a chance of becoming the next Valve.