Gamer 2.0, Exploring the use of Gaming, Community, & Social Media

Gamer 2.0 :Exploring the use of Gaming Community & Social Media
Karen O’Brien, Partner
Chris Terschluse, Analyst
Crimson Interactive Services
August, 2009

Agenda
Research Goals
Current Gaming Trends
GamerPersonas
Gaming Community & Social Media Best Practices
Introduction to Crimson Consulting

Research Goals
Overview of current gaming trends and use of social media and community by gamers
Provide insight into gamer lifestyle, behavior, needs, desires, and motivation
Highlight best practices of gaming communities and their use of social media tools

Today’s Gaming Trends

Summary of Gaming Trends
New game experiences and casual gaming have changed gamer demographics
Gamers want gaming experiences that are customizable and interactive
Multiple revenue models are utilized to monetize games
Gamers now demand social experiences within games
The use of social networks is growing at an exponential rate – especially among adults
Gamers are avid social networkers, often sharing information such as photos, videos, or blogs.
Social media has a major influence on consumer purchase decisions
Source: Essential Facts About the Computer and Video Game Industry, Entertainment Software Association, 2009; Crimson analysis

Trends: Changing Gamer Demographics
Gamers are getting older, comprising over half of the US adult population.
Who is Playing Video Games?
US based Gaming Population of 114 million –comprising 52% of adult population
21% percent of adults report playing daily
Source: Essential Facts About the Computer and Video Game Industry, Entertainment Software Association, 2009

Online and mobile casual gaming is growing.
Who is Playing Video Games Online
Source: Essential Facts About the Computer and Video Game Industry, Entertainment Software Association, 2009

Casual and fitness games are changing the gamer demographic.
Video Games Appeal to Everyone
Growth in the Casual Game Industry
Online gamers are more educated and earn a higher annual income
Moderate video gamers have an aggregate income of $1.4 trillion, or 35% of the aggregate income of all video-gamer players, compared to the $766 billion of avid gamers
Women
While women account for only 34% of Avid gamers, they comprise 57% of Moderate and 53% of Occasional gamers
Most online gamers 30 years old and over are women. Female online gamers are especially prevalent among online gamers in the 45+ age group
Nintendo Wii & DS
“In the wake of the introduction of these two new systems, internal Nintendo research showed a 42% increase in DS purchases among women, a 127% increase among people over 30 and a 212% increase among people over 35 during an 18-month period ending in Spring 2007”
- Advertising Age, October 15, 2007
Source: The Adult Video Game Market in the US Packaged Facts ‘09

Casual and fitness games are changing the gamer demographic.
Video Games Appeal to Everyone
Families
Video gamers with children at home account for 52% of all those playing games on their cell phones, 43% of online game players and 46% of those playing offline computer games.
Seniors
The number of 18- to 24-year-old male video gamers is expected to increase by 7.4%, while the number of video gamers among 55- to 64-year-old men will grow by 34.4% into 2012
Source: The Adult Video Game Market in the US Packaged Facts ‘09

Trends: New Gaming Experiences
Video Games are utilized for more than entertainment.
Games offer more than just fun
Health Benefits
Theuse of video games to boost brain power and encourage physical activity is sweeping the senior population - Consumer Reports on Health (September 2007)
The University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey used the Wii system to help a patient with cerebral palsy, a movement disorder affecting balance and coordination.
Exercise Games: Wii Fit & EA Sports Active
Games used for education & training

Augmented reality technology is changing the way we play and interact with video games
Microsoft’s Project Natal
Sony Playstation’s EyeToy & Eye Pet
Technology uses a camera/sensor to track a user's movements, and map that movement to an avatar/character in the game-space – controller free
Augmented Reality systems utilizing a motion tracking camera and motion sensors to bring users into the game

Mobile games allow for virtual game play in real life environments.

Games need to be interactive and dynamic, creating an alternate reality.
Customization
Gamers want to influence the storyline or create their own
Dynamic Virtual Worlds – 2nd Life, Free Realms, WoW
Integration of user generated content (customize in-game characters, environments, avatars, profiles, and personalities)
Sims 3
Spore
Open API game development and user generated game portals
Little Big Planet
XNA Creators Club

Little Big Planet and XNA Creators Club offer customization of characters, objects, and levels player as well as communities for sharing user generated content.
Playstation’s LBP online has a community of over 2 million users with an average of 35,373 user-generated levels uploaded each week.
As of June 2009, more than 900,000 user-created levels have been published and these had been played 200 million times.
Microsoft’s XNA Creators Club allows users to create and build custom games. For a subscription fee, games can be submitted to Microsoft, reviewed, and displayed on the community game portal.
Sources: Wikipedia & http://www.us.playstation.com/News/PressReleases/509

Kongregate.com looks to become the YouTube of independently developed video games
Any registered user can upload any type of game they have created. Users then rate and review the game – If it garners three stars, it will show up on the list of games.
Weekly or monthly contests are held in which the highest rated game of that month/week wins a cash prize
Kongregate functions as a social network with in-game chat features, profiles, real time rankings/user standings
A built in rewards system awards users points for reviewing games, referring friends, and completing achievements
Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kongregate

Video game developers experiment with crowdsourced video game development
Roundhouse and Firma are creating an online public community of “cartel” to be involved in the development of a new game.
Members of the community will be introduced to a democratic voting system and society. Developers will place ideas out to the “cartel” and allow them to decide the direction of the game, genre, storylines, controls, and even the name.
Community members will be asked for $50 fee that will guarantee a copy of the game, and will provide incentives along the way to participate
Funded by the community. Goal is to get over 100,000 members, generating $5m in revenue up front for development
Source: http://news.cnet.com/gaming-and-culture/?keyword=Video+game

Trends: Changing Revenue Models
Digital game distribution has become scalable and accessible while sales on game consoles and hardware have declined.
Changing Revenue Models
Ad supported/in-game advertising
Subscription Services
Digital Game Services
Offers/Incentives ( Offerpal, Super Rewards, Peanut Labs etc.)
In-Game “microtransactions”

MapleStory touts success through microtransactions and prepaid cards.
Free-of-charge, 2D, side-scrolling MMORPG. Players interact through chatting, trading, and mini-games. Game play enhancements and character appearances are purchased.
In 2007 MapleStory sold $30m of digital goods in the US alone with a subscriber base of 6 million – ARPU $20 month
As of May ‘08 prepaid cards used to buy game items are now the 2nd best-selling entertainment gift card at Target stores in the U.S., after cards for the iTunes Store
DFC’s estimated revenue for 2008 ranges between $150-500m placing it 3rd amongst top 10 revenue generating MMO’s
“Estimated $1.8 billion microtransactions or sales of virtual goods in virtual worlds in 2009, worldwide” – www.fastcompany.com
Sources: http://www.virtualgoodsnews.com/2009/02/maple-story-nets-150500m-in-revenue-for-2008.html http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121150576226416235.html?mod=2_1567_topbox

IKEA and Ford partner with EA for in-game products.
The Sims 2 offers branded virtual goods from IKEA & Ford
Users can design their rooms to fit their personalities with IKEA made items including sofas, beds, tables, TVs, desks and much more. Each item is available in a variety of colors and patterns for a customized look
More than 3.3 million Ford vehicles have been downloaded in the game, making The Sims the most successful Ford dealership in the world
Source: http://www.gamershell.com/companies/electronic_arts/452016.html

Digital game services offer al-a-carte game downloading for the PC and console

OnLive offers cloud-based gaming services and large scale
community infrastructure.

Trends: Gaming Goes Social
Gaming and Social Media are blending together to create
unique interactive experiences.
Gamer Social Capital
Social Gaming
Mobile Gaming
Online Gamer Conversation
OpenID
Gaming Communities
Gaming Wiki’s
“One of the central elements of the video gaming experience in 2009 is its capacity to serve as a tool to build social networks and communities – both real and virtual – as well as to function as a means of pure entertainment.”
The Adult Video Gamer Market in the U.S., Packaged Facts ‘09

Management of reputation and online social capital has grown in importance.
Gamers work hard to build their point totals, achievements, and rankings – now they want to share them
Reputation tools important to community and can now be displayed on social networking profiles
GamerCards help gamers network within their communities, forming clans/guilds with other accomplished players

Gaming conversations, online and in-game, are being aggregated and shared via social networks and in-game real time streams
Gamers form online communities through conversation – discovering, discussing, and sharing trending game topics, news, titles, etc.

Facebook and MySpace have rapidly growing gaming portals offering titles across a broad range of genres.
Facebook and MySpace games allow interaction and game play with friends connected via the individual social networks.
Games have a major viral aspect encouraging players to invite friends to play games with them during game play.
Games are embedded in user profiles as applications and offer game play statistics and rankings.
Social gaming developer Zynga is on track to generate more than $100m in revenue in 2009
MySpace recently announced a new focus as an entertainment portal with a focus on gaming

Top Facebook gaming apps engage users through customization, ability to play and interact with real friends, and constant development of accessories, add-ons, patches, etc.
Pet Society is a free-to-play app that is monetized through virtual goods and advertising
Virtual goods improve status and health of pets – when an item is purchased an update is published to the Facebook wall to recognize good care for the users virtual pet.

Games are played and monetized on all forms of social media
Mafia 140 is the first game to monetize through in-game microtransactions on Twitter
Designed by Super Rewards, the purchased virtual currency allows users to pay for virtual goods that enhance game play such as health, money, ammunition, etc.
Source: http://money.cnn.com/2009/06/23/technology/twitter_140mafia_game_profit/?postversion=2009062316

Trends
OpenID web technology allows for the migration of social games off of
social networking websites
Facebook Connect makes it easier than ever to get new visitors to register and participate by recognizing a unique Facebook ID
Makes it easy for community members to advertise participation on the site using the Facebook news feed
EA utilizes Facebook Connect with its phone Scrabble gaming app while Zynga uses it in the most popular game on Facebook: Texas Hold ‘Em
Source:http://www.maclife.com/article/news/ea_announces_facebook_connect_iphone_scrabble_rest_2009_games

Trends
New social gaming platforms create communities around mobile gaming
Social gaming platforms for the iPhone offer friend lists, social profiles, leader boards, discovery lobbies, cross promotion, achievements etc.
OpenFeint is currently available on 100+ mobile games and open to all developers
Platforms are integrated with Facebook (via Facebook Connect) and Twitter in order to provide real time status updates of game play as well as off the ability to play, share, and discover games with existing SN friends
Creates viral gaming communities in which games are shared, played, and managed through a simple mobile application

Social media facilitates strong community interaction: EA’s, The Sims 2, partners with H&M and Yahoo! for a user generated content, contest.
Sims 2 users could use the expansion’s tool to design their own outfits. Content was uploaded the the Sims 2 website and finalists were showcased on a virtual fashion runway hosted by Yahoo!
More than 1,000 aspiring fashion designers and fans of The Sims submitted designs that were voted on by more than 100,000 people and viewed by more than 500 million people in the six weekly fashion shows on Yahoo.
The winning outfit was selected to be manufactured, and will be available in nearly 1,000 stores worldwide
Source: http://pc.ign.com/articles/886/886170p1.html

Gaming wiki’s and widgets are becoming essential for hardcore gamer strategy and communication.

www.Pietheory.com
Alternate Reality Games blurring the lines between gaming, learning and collaboration
Sun Microsystems RIA development platform, JavaFX utilized a uniquely different approach that would create awareness, build buzz and excitement, encourage trial/downloads and attract a younger audience of nextgen developers (ages 18-30).
Pietheory.com is a story-based massive multiplayer online alternate reality game that ran across traditional, social and emerging marketing platforms.
Superstruct is the world’s first massively multiplayer forecasting game. By playing the game, you help chronicle the world of 2019--and imagine how we might solve the problems we'll face. It’s about making the future, inventing new ways to organize the human race and augment collective human potential.
www.Superstructgame.org

Source: Pew Internet & American Life Project 2009
Trends: Social Networks Are Here to Stay
Adults continue to join social networks.
43% among those who are online, now use social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace, and Linkedin – up from 27% percent a year ago – Consumer Internet Barometer July 2009
Women are more likely than men to use social networking sites (48% versus 38%), but usage has increased dramatically among both groups in just a year – Consumer Internet Barometer July 2009

Trends: Gamers are Social Networkers
Gamers utilize social media, especially apps, widgets, and photo sharing.
Apps and Widgets ranked the highest form of media used by gamers in social media
Gamers communicate primarily through groups and blogs over forums
Gamers are 2x more likely to view, upload or share pictures as compared to video
Source: Lotame ID Report: Video Gamers and Social Media 2009

Trends: Gamers Are Social Networkers
Gamers are social media participators and influencers.
Video Gamers are high participators when it comes to actions. This includes demonstrated activities such as downloading, watching video, or viewing content.
More likely to be influencers: creating, sharing, uploading, rating content.
Blogging was a likely action of video gamers
Source: Lotame ID Report: Video Gamers and Social Media 2009

Trends: Word-of-Mouth more important than ever
90% of consumers surveyed said that they trust recommendations from people they know, while 70% trusted consumer opinions posted online
– Nielsen Global Online Consumer Survey, July 2009
Known peer influence still tops the list for purchase decisions, but social media – including corporate and independent blogs produced by key influencers – and user-generated content (UGC) from social influencers - play an influential role that meets or beats traditional marketing efforts
- Fluent, The Razorfish Social Influence Marketing Report 2009
Influencers drive brand affinity
Awareness
1.Close Family & Friends (78%)
2.Independent Bloggers (59%)
3.Contribute to YouTube etc.(49%)
Consideration
1.Contribute to YouTube (49%)
2. Anonymous Peer Reviews (43%)
3. Family & Friends (42%)
Action
1.
1.Close Family & Friends (79%)
2.Anyonymous Peer Reviews (43%)
3.Independent bloggers (21%)
Percentage of type of influence during specific stages of the marketing funnel
Source: Fluent, The Razorfish Social Influence Marketing Report 2009

Gaming Personas

Definitions
Hardcore Gamer; n.
Term used to describe a type of video game player, or gamer, whose leisure time is largely devoted to playing video games. Typically, they will play a game to mastery before moving on, in the process becoming very knowledgeable about individual games. The opposite of the hardcore gamer is the casual gamer.
Casual Gamer; n.
Casual gamers are occasional video game players who might not even identify themselves as a gamer. What this group lacks in enthusiasm for the latest and greatest hardware and engrossing game play, they make up in sheer numbers.
Source: Wikipedia

“I would much rather play video games than watch TV. I can accomplish goals and have fun while connecting with friends from all over the world, sharing strategies, opinions, reviews of new games and competing to be the next major league gamer”
Personas – Hardcore Gamer
Eric
Age: 33
IT Manager
Characteristics
Tech Savvy
Multi-tasker
Online Critic/Content Creator
Socially Active
Impatient
Goal Oriented
Strategic Thinker
His Questions
What’s the best action/adventure game on Facebook?
What is the best online community for gamers like me?
What kind of gaming related widgets or apps can I download?
How can I share pictures and video’s of my game play?
Can I get the a better value from video game services like Steampowered?
When is the next MLG tournament?
Source: http://media.onsugar.com/files/upl2/1/15111/22_2009/6f9f39ce8764d638_video_game_couple.larger.jpg

Personas – Hardcore Gamer (continued)
HIS STORY
A university graduate, who has been playing computer games for almost 12 years, and is an avid video/computer gamer. Eric’s favorite types of games are action adventure, shooter, sports, fighting and his favorite MMOG, World of Warcraft. He plays at least an hour of online multi-player games a week, participates in major league gaming tournaments, and commonly uses the internet to support his in game activities by reading and posting to blogs, forums, and reviews on websites such as GotFrag.com and Gamespot.com. He grew up in a single parent household in the Midwest, eats fast food regularly, reads books often, relies on the internet as a news source, and drives a Volkswagon. Eric is a hard worker, constantly striving to improve himself and climb the social ladder in the work place. Eric likes to spend money, especially on computer gadgets. He is fashion forward and admires people who stand out and express themselves. He watches Comedy Central, HBO, and some of his other favorite shows on Hulu.com. His favorite websites are BestBuy.com, Techcrunch.com Gamespot, Google, and Facebook.
TECHNOLOGY USAGE
Eric is very tech savvy and spends three and a half +hours online a day. He was an early adopter of the iPhone, owns an upgraded PC for gaming and constantly communicates with friends online through IM, social networks and email via the PC and more often the mobile phone. He often purchases computer products online and often reads websites such as Techcrunch.com, or Wired.com to stay up to date with the latest technology.
MARKETING
Focused on value and quality, as well as making practical purchase decisions. He Is highly adept at comparison shopping online and is skeptical of big corporations and advertising claims, although he has a slight tendency to be brand loyal. Responds to messaging that dares to “stand out” and is straight forward and fact based.
ONLINE ACTIVITY
Plays solo and multi-player games on the PC and console, visits game sites, and participates in many online communities and forums, many of which are related to gaming. He has various social networking profiles and proudly sports his Xbox Live game card on his Facebook and MySpace pages. He always keeps up to date with forums of his favorite MOGG’s looking the latest patches, add-ons, and developer blog posts. Eric constantly searches for new and interesting websites utilizing sites like Digg and Reddit, He passes around user generated humorous content, receives and sends photos, streams radio and video, downloads music from paid music sites, and likes to download podcasts, game demos, and movie clips. He plays online multi-player games every week. Previews many products and services and buys online. He will do the research to make sure he is part of the best site and community online for gaming.
Eric
Age: 28
IT Manager

Personas – Casual Gamer
“During a busy day at the office, online games are a fun stress reliever that allow me to have a bit of fun and they help break up the day”
Sarah
Age: 39
Executive Assistant
Characteristics
Time Stressed
Seeks Moments of Escape
Family Oriented
Well Organized
Adept Purchaser of Products & Services Online
Her Questions
What is the best way to download puzzles and card games to my smartphone?
If I subscribe will I get new games too?
Which games are my Facebook friends playing?
Where can I find fun online shopping games?
What kind of online games can I play with my kids?
What's happening in my Twitter network?

Personas – Casual Gamer (continued)
HER STORY
She works as an executive assistant at a medium sized company. She is married, has two children, ages 8 and 11, and works four days a week. She looks forward to spending her weekends with family and friends, and doesn’t have much time to herself. She balances a busy schedule and spends a lot of the day on the PC. Several times a day, during a few minutes of downtime, she plays games online or on her cell phone to relax and escape. Recently she has begun to play games on her Blackberry downloading games and applications like Bejeweled or Peggle, and social networking games like Pet Society and YoVille. She finds the interaction with her friends new and exciting. She mainly likes games that are ‘quick hits” such as Puzzle, Board, Show, Trivia or Card games that are fun to play and can be played quickly so she can get on with her work day. She often has lunch at her desk, and tries to get home so she can play with the kids. She also enjoys playing online educational games at home with her two children on sites such as FunBrain.com. She drives a Ford Escape. Her favorite shows on TV include So You Think You Can Dance, Grey’s Anatomy, and Desperate Housewives. Favorite websites include games.yahoo.com and ign.com during the day during breaks at work, Yahoo for news, IM, email, movie previews and schedules, and iTunes.com for her music downloads. She loves the shop, especially online, and is always looks for the good deals and incentives to buy.
TECHNOLOGY USAGE
Sarah is uses the PC all day at work and has a Blackberry provided by her company, she spends more than one hour a day on her PC and phone playing games. She organizes her busy schedule online, manages her finances, coordinates her mobile devices with her PC and iPod. She uses a digital camera, shares photos with friends and prints her own pictures from her printer. She is new to social networks such as Facebook, but has been recently spending more time on them searching for old friends and playing games.
MARKETING
Focused on value and quality, as well as making practical purchase decisions and is adept at comparison shopping. She is skeptical of big corporations and advertising claims, and is not especially brand loyal. Responds to messaging that dares to “stand out” and is sincere.
ONLINE ACTIVITY
She plays fast access arcade games, mostly her favorite game. She plays it fast, plays it often, she loves incentivized games, signs up gaming subscriptions on game sites, streams and watches clips from her favorite TV shows, upcoming movies and news. She keeps up to date with her friends on IM, email and social networks, sends and receives photos constantly, and downloads music and pod casts. She also downloads games to her mobile phone. An expert online shopper, she buys clothing and many other products and services online.
Sarah
Age: 39
Executive Assistant

Personas – Technographic Profiles
Eric
Sarah
Age, geography, and gender impact the adoption and use of social media technologies
Hardcore gamers are more apt to join social networks and maintain profiles, use social bookmarking and RSS feeds, and publish blogs, post articles, comments, and upload multimedia.
Casual gamers are more apt to post ratings/reviews of products or comment on blogs and forums
Source: http://www.forrester.com/Groundswell/profile_tool.html

Gaming Community & Social Media Best Practices

Innovation to meet expectations for new technology/ enhanced gaming experiences
Blur the lines between reality and the virtual game experience
Create new gaming experiences that offer practical benefits such as exercise, education, training, etc.
Allow gamers to become long term contributors and participants within the gaming community
Encourage gamers to express themselves through custom profiles, pages, avatars, characters, or entire games
Create dynamic gaming titles which allow for extended game play and advancement over time (patches, add-ons, upgrades etc.)

Offer unique, exclusive content on a daily or weekly basis
Weekly blog posts, podcasts or video segments discussing game news, reviews, previews, interviews
Insight into real-time gaming trends and conversations across the web
Allow users to upload UGC such as game reviews and ‘lifestyle’ content (allow users to share what they think is cool)
Surveys and Feedback
Invite users to participate in a survey and ask questions about what content they would like to see on the site
Some users will really appreciate that they are getting to shape the content on the site

Enable the use of extensive status and reputation management tools
Create dynamic game titles that allow users to build social capital within the game
Enable gamer profiles that aggregate statistics, achievements, and real-time game play - allow them to embed and share gamer profiles across the web and social networks
Provide statistics, user rankings, battles, contests and other tools that allow members to gauge and improve community status
Incentivize site users - incorporate loyalty programs
Points or achievements for participating on the site, redeemable for prizes/free stuff, or more games
i.e. Kongregate, GamerDNA, etc.
Give ‘em their props
Have a small section on the site that features accomplishments of its users or a featured user
Gamers by nature are competitive; recognition breeds loyalty

Make the gaming experience social
Add viral elements to the game play
Enable users to invite friends to play along and share gaming experiences – reward them for invites
Encourage groups to form and offer guild hosting to support small gaming team communities.
Create large scale community based games
Live interactive game shows such as Microsoft’s 1 vs 100 are engaging and fun while community members compete for real prizes
Enable use of real-time status updates and offer real-time tracking of community conversation and game play trends
Encourage users to share and spread web content through use of social media tools

Utilize social networking tools to enable the sharing and spread of content
Optimize blogs, multimedia, news etc. with sharing and bookmarking tools such as Digg, Delicious, StumbleUpon, Reddit, Twitter etc.
Offer unique content supplemented with User Generated Content
Integrate with existing mainstream social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, FriendFeed, Flickr, etc.
Enable the ability to broadcast real-time status updates across multiple social profiles
Contextual recommendation engines - Highly customizable recommendation engines for games, products, or community members built through user profile context.
Create collaborative gaming wikis for strategies, tips/tricks etc.

Utilize OpenID technology
Use Facebook Connect or MySpaceID to streamline the registration process for gaming communities
Easy for new members to recruit existing friends and contacts
Create OpenID custom URL’s for profile pages to make profiles portable and transferable across networking sites
i.e. GamerDNA, Raptr, etc.

Encourage users to upload and share UGC
Allow users to upload and share content such as links, blogs, news, photos, video, games, apps, widgets etc.
Integrate user generated content with product and ecommerce pages
Including ratings/reviews for products, screenshots, and video clips
Creation of a media portal for video, photos, music and podcasts
Enable ratings/reviews for UG multimedia – much like a YouTube
Feature most viewed/highest rated UG videos
Reward users for contribution to the site through awards, points, credits, or contests

Generate awareness and engagement through use of UGC competitions
UGC competitions encourage participation and community interaction that will generate repeat visits and WOM Marketing
The Sims 2’s partnership with H+M created a tremendous amount of buzz and awareness for the multiple sponsors.
Sony Pictures has run competitions on YouTube where users upload videos of why they deserve to win a prize

Put the focus on engagement and interaction with community members
Utilize brand or site ambassadors/influencers as a means to connect, interact and promote the community
Create a community events calendar that allows members to connect and play with similar community members based on affinity, gender, location, etc.
Xbox Live has an excellent calendar offering game nights for families, girls etc.
Xbox hosts game nights where members play celebrities and musicians
Generate blog postings that stimulate conversation
Interact with members- reply to comments or questions pertaining to individual posts
Engage audience members on popular social networks
Create a social graph across multiple social networks
Create a cohesive web presence by linking and aggregating multiple social profiles and sites.

Make communities portable and accessible
Create widgets, apps, and mobile platforms to engage community members whenever and wherever
Develop or partner with mobile social gaming platforms to tap into new users and connect with an existing community

Use micro-transactions, updates, patches, and game add-ons to create a long-term sustainable business model
Offer free-to-play game titles monetized through microtransactions
Partner with brands, bringing real life products and merchandise into the virtual world
Allow users to upgrade, improve, or add to their existing gaming experience over time
Create long term value for users by combining gamer reputation management with virtual goods
Offer pre-paid cards in retail locations and online to streamline the purchase process and target users with no access to credit

References
Market Research Reports:
Essential Facts About the Computer and Video Game Industry, Entertainment Software Association, 2009
The Adult Video Game Market in the US, Packaged Facts ’09
Pew Internet & American Life Project 2009
Lotame ID Report: Video Gamers and Social Media 2009, Lotame 2009
Fluent: The Razorfish Social Influence Marketing Report 2009, Razorfish July 2009

Introduction to Crimson
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Questions? Please contact:Crimson Consulting4970 El Camino Real, Los Altos, CA 94022650.960.3600 www.crimson-consulting.com
Karen O’Brien Partner, Interactive Services
415.720.6859
kobrien@crimson-consulting.com
T: @bondjanebond

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Gamer 2.0, Exploring the use of Gaming, Community, & Social Media

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Gamer 2.0, Exploring the use of Gaming, Community, & Social Media — Presentation Transcript