Nigerian casual games startup looks to SA, Kenya
- Published on 17 August 2012
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Nigeria's gaming startup MALIYO Games says it is planning to expand the reach of its casual online games to Kenya and South Africa.
The web-based MALIYO Games, a casual gaming offering with localised Nigerian content, was launched earlier this year to cater to the non-gamer audience in that country.
Included in the game designs are titles such as Oka Ride, Kidnapped, Mosquito Smasher and Class Fight.
In Oka Ride for example gamers become Ali, an Okada (commercial bike) rider, who has to avoid potholes and beat the Lagos traffic in order to find a new job.
Class Fight lets gamers help five friends and classmates get up to no good during a class spit ball paper fight.
And MALIYO'S founding member, Hugo Obi, says his company is setting its sights getting Kenyans and South Africans playing his games.
“It’s important for us to get as many people playing our games both in Nigeria, the rest of the African continent and the Diaspora community.
“The game designs represent the life and experiences of everyday Africans, with localised narratives, environments, characters and sound, and we want the player experience to reflect what they see around them,” said Obi.
About making the games available via mobile phones, Obi says the company is in the process of rolling out titles on mobile devices in the latter part of this year.
“Expect to find MALIYO titles on the Ovi, Android and Apple store very soon, which would be accessible to any individual running any of those devices and has internet connection,” he said.
