TECHNOLOGY FOCUS
The HTML5 choice
As the debate gathers momentum, eGaming Review spoke to Justin Chamberlain of CORE Gaming about the bene?ts HTML5 delivers over ?ash
The growth of the mobile sector has caused some radical transformations for egaming operators as they move to capitalise on this opportunity. But right at the centre of this is the HTML5 v ?ash debate as the content now needs to hit the ground running on mobile devices. To ?nd out more about the growing opportunities for HTML5 content, eGaming Review spoke to Justin Chamberlain, managing director at CORE Gaming. eGaming Review (eGR): HTML5 has received greater interest of late. What do you think are the reasons for this? Justin Chamberlain (JC): Since the beginning of 2012, HTML5 has been fully embraced by operators as the technology for delivering games across mobile devices. The key drivers to the new interest in HTML5 are twofold; Adobe’s statement that it would no longer support ?ash on mobile devices and the release in December 2012 of the new HTML5 web standard. This new standard has ?nally allowed content developers the potential to deliver rich multimedia content through the browser without the requirement for cumbersome third-party plug-ins being installed by the end-user on their device. HTML5 can deliver a gaming experience the end-user can instantly access in a familiar and comfortable browser environment similar to that on their desktop. eGR: What strengths does HTML5 content give an operator over ?ash? JC: HTML5 now offers nearly the same experience to that of ?ash delivery with regard to rich media, such as animations and audio, but the main strength that HTML5 offers is of course the ability to actually run on mobile devices at all. The long-standing opposition to ?ash by Apple has meant that iOS users have never been able to access ?ash content on their Apple devices. The added upside, of course, to using HTML5 to deliver content on Apple devices is that a developer can create and deliver any content at all without having to develop a native app. Some negative opinions still persist around HTML5, however, particularly with respect to audio and animation limitations when compared to ?ash. But we have invested heavily in our HTML5 framework with the speci?c aim of pushing through these boundaries and delivering a full and feature rich experience in the browser. Taking this approach is now paying dividends. Multiple audio, deep animations and screen transitions are just some of the key areas of our framework that can help accelerate a brand/IP owner’s content to market. eGR: To what extent does the success of HTML5 coding depend on upcoming mobile and tablet devices? JC: The success of HTML5 does not depend itself on upcoming devices; rather, in order to support and display HTML5 functions and content in web browsers, the browser developers themselves must actually update the software to support the standard. Therefore, the more content being developed in HTML5, the greater the need for browser developers to include support. eGR: What interest have you seen HTML5 receive? JC: CORE Gaming is witnessing an unprecedented demand for HTML5 content from many different sectors of the industry. It is the operators themselves who are underpinning and creating the demand as they are seeing high volumes of traffic now coming over mobile devices and want to be in a position to offer their end users the best cross platform gaming experience. eGR: What can you see 2013 holding in terms of your stake in HMTL5-geared products? JC: We have a strong and extremely busy roadmap in 2013, delivering an impressive list of high pro?le and best-performing titles to market on mobile such as: Rainbow Riches and Ca$hino on behalf of SG Gaming; Chests of Plenty and Amazon Wild on behalf of Ash Gaming; and Fantastic 4 and Cubis on behalf of Amaya. As well as this impressive list of content we are bringing to market on behalf of other content owners, CORE Gaming is also bringing new and exciting proprietary mobile content to market in 2013, such as the Evel Knievel branded ?ash and HTML5 slot title, a David Hasselhoffbranded mobile bingo game and a mobile single player poker game. 2013 is set to be a truly exciting and busy year for CORE Gaming and we welcome the challenges and journey that lie ahead!
CORE GAMING
SPONSORED EDITORIAL
JUSTIN CHAMBERLAIN
Justin Chamberlain, managing director of CORE Gaming, became involved in the online gaming industry as the founder of BetLow, a very early pioneer of the online reverse auction format. In 2011, BetLow was acquired by CORE Gaming, giving Justin the opportunity to switch to emerging web technologies.
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