Hong Kong internet company Outblaze, a dotcom survivor that has become one of the world's leading mobile application developers, aims to expand its efforts on Apple's online App Store this year while exploring new growth opportunities on Google's Android Market.
Yat Siu, the founder and chief executive of privately held Outblaze, said the company had started 'porting a whole bunch of our apps on the Android platform', but remained 'focused on furthering our apps business' on Apple.
'We need to maintain that focus,' Siu said. 'At this point, we're one of the biggest developers on the App Store worldwide. But if you drop the ball, you can easily be forgotten in this market.'
Based at Cyberport in Pok Fu Lam, Outblaze is the developer of the popular Pretty Pet series of games that have been downloaded an estimated seven million times and achieved Top-10 ranking in dozens of markets on the App Store since the application was introduced on January 26.
That mobile game franchise includes Pretty Pet Salon, Pretty Pet Salon Seasons and Pretty Pet Tycoon. These are free to download and play from the App Store, with the option of buying premium upgrades through credit card transactions on the platform.
Last month, Outblaze released a version of Pretty Pet Salon for the Android Market that is also free to download and play, with upgrades available for purchase. In the game, players take control of a piglet named Piglina to help her operate a pet-grooming salon frequented by some very demanding customers.