Technology wins: Monetising political rifts

Local developers finding it worthwhile to make games on ‘Go Nawaz Go’ slogan.

KARACHI: People will always find a way to make money. Even in the face of protests and sit-ins, which bring traders and labour to a standstill, there are still people out there who know how to cash in — literally.

In case you have not seen it already, imagine Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif running on Islamabad’s Jinnah Avenue, jumping over and ducking under obstacles along the way to reach his official residence. Chasing him is Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf’s chief Imran Khan, the man who questioned the legitimacy of the parliament, alleging massive rigging in 2013 general elections and started an anti-government campaign, now into its fifth month.

If the player fails to clear an obstacle, Khan, who is holding a cricket bat in his hand, will take him on.

This is how the gameplay has been designed on “Go Nawaz Go (Rush)”, an application currently trending as the top (free) app in the Adventure category on Google’s Play Store.

Developed by Game Slyce, it is one of the many locally developed smartphone applications that indicate an emerging trend whereby local developers are increasingly monetising the topics of mass appeal – PTI’s anti-government campaign in this case – by developing entertaining and engaging gaming apps.

Since its launch last month, the app has registered between 100,000 and 500,000 downloads and well over 8,000 reviews on the Play Store – a strong indication that the trend seems to have opened a new revenue stream, though for short-term gains, for local developers and provided the latter with a quick publicity tool.

To find out how much the app has earned, The Express Tribune made repeated attempts to contact the developer but queries were not responded to. However, other developers said they aimed to achieve both promotion and quick money.

“The main purpose of this app was to build a brand name for my company while earning some quick bucks in the process,” said Wasiq Aftab, CEO of Blue Horn Technologies, the Lahore-based developer of “Go Nawaz Go (Running)”, another app based on the PTI’s anti-government campaign’s slogan.

“It’s a better way of marketing and promotion than conventional advertising,” Aftab said.Stats only prove him correct as his app received close to 50,000 installs and nearly 1,000 reviews and even reached the second spot in the Adventure category.

Though the app earned a mere $500 in advertisement, Aftab still finds it satisfactory and plans to develop such apps in the future.

“Money wasn’t my aim. I just wanted fame and publicity through this game,” Aftab said. He, however, added that gaming apps based on such ideas can certainly earn some revenue. “I agree that it is temporary gain, but, you should start making games on different topics and not just stop on one app,” he said.

Choosing the “Go Nawaz Go” slogan may guarantee immediate attention of the user, but local developers – as Aftab suggested – have not limited themselves to the big picture and are focusing on smaller topics.

Not long ago, Weird Science developed a gaming app on Gullu Butt, the notorious character involved in vandalism during Model Town incident in Lahore earlier this year – the app received more than 100,000 downloads.

One can find range of applications on such topics. For example, another company Android Guru developed “Talking Tahir ul Qadri” that seems to be inspired from the famous Talking Tom app.

Though the trend seems to be picking up recently, it has been going on for a while, according to Aamir Attaa of Propakistani – a leading blog on technology news based in Islamabad.

“Even around Azadi March, such games were trending,” Attaa said giving example of “Container Run” that floated on the Play Store in August when PTI started its march towards the capital and the government placed blockades (containers) along the way to stop them.

Interestingly, some of these apps seem to be developed by professionals, an indication that serious developers are now finding political trends worth their time. However, critics find them unproductive.

“Though it can ensure temporary success, it may not be a good monetisation model, especially in the long term,” said Mudassar Jahangir, Editor of More, a Lahore-based magazine that covers technology news. “Such apps are not productive.”

Given all of these apps are entertainment oriented; Jahangir may be justified in his criticism. However, they may lead to a spur of local app development in the long term.

“We have seen the number of downloads for local apps increasing manifold because of such apps, something that didn’t happen in the past,” Attaa said.

“If developers can monetise it for a couple of weeks, it’s not a bad idea. Going forward, we can move towards more productive apps.”

THE WRITER IS A STAFF CORRESPONDENT

Published in The Express Tribune, December 15^th,  2014.

Like Business on Facebook, follow @TribuneBiz on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.