Octane Technologies Frequently Asked Questions

Q: When was Octane Technologies founded?
A: Octane is a worldwide sourcing firm that was founded in 2003 on the belief that successful companies benefit from solutions that transcend national boundaries, conventional practices, and traditional thinking. Leveraging its global customer service, software, and business processing operations, Octane delivers all the benefits of global sourcing while removing the pain of managing teams around the world. The firm has developed domain expertise in serving enterprises with custom-tailored solutions that satisfy complex and evolving requirements.

Q: Who are some of your past and existing clients?
A: Musicland, Real Networks, Gameloft, Seismicom, DishPlanet, TargetFirst, SirPrizes, and others.

Q: When it comes to porting, what's the process for a carrier to put a game on its deck. Does the carrier deal with the developer, then come to Octane and say, 'Port this"? If so, couldn't that process be streamlined for the carrier? What does a carrier look for in terms of a ported game - must it work on a certain percentage of handsets on the market?
A: Game publishers (e.g., Gameloft, Real Networks) develop a game from start to finish, but only for a basic handset, oftentimes a Nokia Series 40 or Series 60 device. Of course, no carrier will buy a game until it works on all of the handsets they are selling in the market. Therefore, the game is not marketable until it is "ported" - adjusted to work properly - on all the carrier's handsets. The publisher either processes the ports in-house (which is expensive), or outsources it to a porting company (generally cheaper), and then provides the final builds to the carrier for approval.

Q: Consolidation is fast and furious in mobile gaming, and some of the acquisitions are driven by publishers looking to do their porting in-house. Will there always be a need for third-party porting companies, or will publishers eventually be a one-stop-shop for the carriers. (And would Octane ever consider merging with a publisher?
A: Outsourcing is a seesawing trend vis-a-vis porting. Many publishers are currently trying to outsource 100% of their ports since they realize that they are not able to process ports cheaply or fast enough in-house. However, once there is consolidation amongst publishers and the land-grab is over, smart publishers will tighten their focus on costs and set up or acquire their own offshore operations for game development and porting. This has happened in all other software-related industries and will certainly happen over time in the gaming sector.

As good businesspeople, we are always open to a merger should it fuel growth and allow us to further leverage our operational strength.