Interviews

JA Speaks with Her Interactive CEO Megan Gaiser & Executive Producer Robert Riedl

Interview conducted by Randy Sluganski

What better time to speak with Her Interactive President & CEO Megan Gaiser and Executive Producer Robert Riedl than Nancy Drew week!

As sales of Nancy Drew games continue to increase and Her Interactive rides high on the new wave of ‘woman in gaming’ we thought we would focus on the continued success of the timeless teenager – and no, we’re not talking about Dick Clark!

1. What, in your opinion, are the biggest changes between the first Nancy Drew game – Secrets Can Kill - and the newest release Curse of Blackmoor Manor?

Robert: There have been quite a number, but the ones that come most to mind are: 3D characters, larger playing screen, CD quality sound, much improved story and puzzle design, better navigation artwork and cursors.

2. Have you seen a shift in the purchasing demographics as the series becomes more mainstream?

Megan: Over the past few years, people have realized that these are great adventure games, not just children’s games. Although Her Interactive set out to target girls 10-15, and that is indeed our core audience, we have seen our demographic expand to include players 10-80 years old. As the age range has expanded, so has the number of males playing the games. Ten percent of our primary players are male, and 17 percent of secondary players are male (usually fathers or brothers of primary players). When we add the Hardy Boys into the games next year, we expect that number to grow even more!

3. What has Her Interactive done – that other adventure game publishers have not done – to make the Nancy Drew series so successful?

Robert: I cannot speak for other publishers, but some elements that we feel are a core competency to our products is our dedication to our market, our organic puzzles and our decision to remain with pre-rendered artwork. From the very start of the series, we listened to our audience and continue to incorporate their feedback throughout the product development cycle. We spend a lot of time trying to make sure that the puzzles are well integrated into the storyline, not just dropped in because we need to create an obstacle. Lastly, some adventure games have gone ‘3D’. While I think it’s great to try new things, it’s important that such decisions enhance the adventure genre and not detract from it. For our user base, beautiful and complex environments are much more important than the ability to run through them seamlessly.

Megan: Although we set out to target girls, against all odds, we always set out to create great games, not ‘girlie’ games. We paid attention to their preferences, which actually helped us to improve on existing gameplay rather than perpetuate gender stereotypes. I think one of the most important decisions we made was to insist on great games that comprise of strong storytelling and compelling character development. In terms of marketing the games, we have always relied on consumer PR to get the word out to the masses.

4. What are the current combined sales figures for all of the Nancy Drew games to date and which game has been most successful sales wise?

Megan: Approximately two million units. So far, Message in a Haunted Mansion continues to be our all time best seller. We think it has to do with the fact that it was our first game released in retail. Our latest titles, Secret of Shadow Ranch and Curse of Blackmoor Manor, are off to a great start this year (Shadow Ranch was the #1 Adventure Game for August, according to NPD), so this could change quickly.

5. What were Her Interactive’s goals when the first Nancy game was released and how have the long-term goals changed – if indeed they have – now that you have eleven games in the stores?

Megan: We set out to create a successful series of Nancy Drew games. In the process, we have won 10 consecutive Parent's Choice Awards and have earned a reputation for creating high quality games. We also made the transformation from developer to publisher in 2002. Looking forward, we plan to build on the success of the Nancy Drew series and are seeking to expand our distribution channels and platforms and diversify our portfolio with a second series of games.

6. Do you think there is ever a danger of market saturation? Would there be a point where Her might consider putting the Nancy games on hiatus for a few years?

Megan: Not anytime soon. Our fans are begging for more than two games per year. Many major retailers carry five or six Nancy Drew games on the shelves, and do well with all of them. All eleven games are still in NPD’s Top 50 Adventure games. Polls show that 65 percent of our customer base has played all the Nancy Drew games, and it doesn't matter in which order. Once they play one, they are hooked!

7. Considering Nancy’s strong teenage fanbase, it is unreasonable to expect that as these fans grow older they will want more adventure games or do you think we’ll lose another generation of gamers to fist person shooters and action games?

Robert: We’ve actually been quite surprised to find that most of our teen players do not play any other adventure games except for the Nancy Drew series. They don’t play action or FPS games either but prefer more simulation games such as The Sims or Roller Coaster Tycoon.

8. Can you tell us a little about this new daughter/mother playing games together phenomena that we’ve been hearing so much about?

Megan: We have received many emails and phone calls from moms over the years. They tell us that they were inspired by Nancy Drew as kids and so they bought the game for their daughters. The moms however, also got hooked on the games and in turn, they tell their moms and friends about the games. There was also a story about a grandmother playing Nancy Drew with her granddaughter in another state via email and phone calls. The mom called us to let us know that her daughter was bonding with the grandmother through the Nancy Drew games. We've even heard of sleuth slumber parties where moms invite their friends and the daughters invite their friends. They turn off the lights, and play Nancy Drew games all night long!

9. As you follow industry trends, is there a specific age timeline during which gamers are more interested in cerebral games and then branch out to other genres?

Robert: To date, I haven’t read any studies or reviewed data looking at this issue.

10. When adapting a Nancy game from the original source material – which can sometimes be a 70-year-old book! – how do you decide what aspects need to be updated for modern sensibilities?

Robert: Actually, the older book titles have already been rewritten to dispense with out-of-date elements. However, since the next title is going to be set in the 1930’s, we had to do a lot of research to figure out what kind of period slang, dress, architecture, ‘amenities’ and other references we should put ‘back’ into the title.

11. Has Her Interactive considered developing other games besides the Nancy Drew series?

Megan: Yes, we are always evaluating opportunities but we have no announcements at this time.

12. Why haven’t we seen Nancy Drew on any of the consoles, such as PS2 or Xbox?

Megan: To date, our demographic hasn’t embraced consoles, and it seems that the feeling is mutual. In a recent survey we did (EPoll) of women and girls who play interactive games, PCs were the clear platform leader. Nearly 80 percent of girls and 70 percent of women play games on the PC, compared to the next highest-ranking platform PS2, with 49 percent of girls and 38 percent of women. To date, console makers have not been very supportive of the female demographic; there are few, if any, titles targeting girls and women on any of the major platforms. It’s a two way street. To be successful in the console world, it takes both a great title and the marketing support of the console makers. Although the console makers say that they are targeting girls and women, we see little evidence of this. Marketing support is a necessary first step for console makers before many developers targeting females will make a commitment to the platform. The extremely high cost of development, coupled with the reality of only a small percentage of female-oriented console games making money, it’s critical that console makers assist developers to mitigate the already high risk. When the market is there, we'll be there. We continue to evaluate this opportunity and are currently in preliminary discussions with one of the major console makers so we’ll keep you posted.