Social Mobile Convergence in Gaming

Social Mobile Convergence In Games European Mobile Media Conference Prague, 23 April 2009 Volker Hirsch

What is Social?

Social refers to the interaction of organisms with other organisms and to their collective co-existence.

What is Social Gaming?

So where does Digital come into the Social?

In other words: What is Digital Social Media?

Wooah...

Conversation Comment Community Collaboration Contribution

What is Digital Social Gaming?

It Is Connected... ... Somehow ...

BUT it can also be something like this

BUT it can also be something like this IF...

The Game Connects in a Social Context

Promoting Bookmark & User Invite (again) Teasers Referral Options Interaction Facebook | Who Has The Biggest Brain? 14/01/2009 15:15 Home Profile Friends Inbox Volker Hirsch Settings Logout Search Customizatio Applications Bookmark Who Has The Biggest Brain? Online Friends (21) Advertise Forum & Get Mobile Broadband Invites Rewards Snap up Mobile Broadband from Virgin Media and get online any time, any place! You’ll get 3GB for just £15 a month. MadBid - Not Ebay Gratifying Cross-selling Hi-Scores: more games limit size of A new auction phenomenon hits the UK - Brand new products at group mad prices. Mobile Giveaway Up-selling Premium Been refused a contract? Version Want to pay at the post office? Paying too much on pay as you go? Go to the website now! More Ads Discuss Game | Become a Fan | Write a Review | View My Brain Profile | Invite Friends | FAQ | Advertise | Terms of service Friends’ High-Scores If the game doesn't load or you experience problems, please update your version of Flash by clicking HERE. Different Page built by Who Has The Biggest About Advertising Developers Jobs Terms Find Friends Privacy Account Help Brain? Contact Report game modes Forum, Community, Reviews, FAQ, etc

Time to get Serious...

What is the Conclusion of this?

The Context in which a game is set, may be more important to its social relevance than the gameplay. 1. Make the Game a Social Object around which the network can evolve, and / or 2. Place the Game within a network to leverage its context.

Concept: Object Centered Sociality Prof Dr Karin Knorr-Cetina, Sociologist

And because we’re dealing with Digital Media: “When it becomes easy to create digital instances of the object, the online services for networking on, through, and around that object will emerge too.” Jyri Engestrom, Jaiku founder

Now we only need to make sure that mobile media acts as an i n c l u s i ve s c re e n fo r s u c h connectors, too...

What is Mobile Today?

480,000,000

480,000,000 Daily global circulation of newspapers

480,000,000 Daily global circulation of newspapers 1,400,000,000

480,000,000 Daily global circulation of newspapers 1,400,000,000 Number of Internet users

480,000,000 Daily global circulation of newspapers 1,400,000,000 Number of Internet users 1,500,000,000

480,000,000 Daily global circulation of newspapers 1,400,000,000 Number of Internet users 1,500,000,000 Number of TV sets in use

480,000,000 Daily global circulation of newspapers 1,400,000,000 Number of Internet users 1,500,000,000 Number of TV sets in use 1,700,000,000

480,000,000 Daily global circulation of newspapers 1,400,000,000 Number of Internet users 1,500,000,000 Number of TV sets in use 1,700,000,000 Number of credit cards

480,000,000 Daily global circulation of newspapers 1,400,000,000 Number of Internet users 1,500,000,000 Number of TV sets in use 1,700,000,000 Number of credit cards 2,250,000,000

480,000,000 Daily global circulation of newspapers 1,400,000,000 Number of Internet users 1,500,000,000 Number of TV sets in use 1,700,000,000 Number of credit cards 2,250,000,000 Number of tooth brushes in use

480,000,000 Daily global circulation of newspapers 1,400,000,000 Number of Internet users 1,500,000,000 Number of TV sets in use 1,700,000,000 Number of credit cards 2,250,000,000 Number of tooth brushes in use 4,000,000,000

480,000,000 Daily global circulation of newspapers 1,400,000,000 Number of Internet users 1,500,000,000 Number of TV sets in use 1,700,000,000 Number of credit cards 2,250,000,000 Number of tooth brushes in use 4,000,000,000 Number of mobile phone subscriptions

The Largest Access Screen for Media by a Factor of 3x! (and rising...)

What is Mobile Gaming Today?

Predominantly single-player and stand-alone...

But there is also this... 1.3m+ Players

And some use this: It’s very social but lacks mass-market uptake

And now there is also this:

The iPhone and the economic environment it acts in is exemplary for the next generation of mobile applications and their ability to become gateways for social objects beyond voice.

An iPhone is: Always tied to a ﬂat-rate data contract; Always connected; Equipped with a user interface that makes interaction with social objects easy; Backed by a developer scheme that facilitates development and deployment of on-device clients and applications; Accompanied by a storefront that discovery of contextually relevant content and applications simple and quick.

New Generation Mobile Devices Facilitate Convergence between Different Digital Media. Ability to create, access and interact with digital instances of social objects on, with and through mobile devices. The Result?

The most powerful communication device in the world: Always On (and now it’s also always connected); Personal (phones are not shared); Location-Aware; Equipped with a unique identiﬁer; and Always with You (“keys, wallet, phone”; 91% of users keep their phone within 1 metre 24/7); and With Full Multi-Media Functionality (music, video, TV, camera, gaming, messaging [e-mail & IM], web access)

So what does the Future hold?

Short-Term: Bridging the Constraints Fragmentation Operating systems (min. 5 + middleware), Handsets (min. 600), Distribution through carriers (at least 250). Bandwidth & Data Costs Data charges keep consumers from making use of existing offerings. Low or unreliable bandwidth makes for frustrating gaming experience. Increasingly tackled. Input Constraints Small keypad, small D-pad, ... Touch-screen and accelerometer might provide innovative solutions for some types of games sooner than expected.

Single-Player Games tied into Communities Asynchronous multi-player DChoc Café, etc. Real-time (turn-based) Multi-Player Games with Community tie-in WPT Texas Hold’Em, etc. Connected Mobile Games Supporting Other Platforms Companion Products (“WoW Pocket Edition”) Fully Immersive Cross-Platform Multi-Player GTA, World of Warcraft, etc. time

Casual Games

Casual Games Community Components

Casual Games Community Components Connected

Casual Games Community Components Connected Cross-Platform

Where are the Brands?

Ch.. Ch.. Ch.. Ch.. Changes

Established brands tend to manage their image vertically. Silos for various media channels dominate licensing activity. This does not tie in well with the inclusive, collaborative approach of the new connectedness. BUT...

The Opportunities are Inﬁnite!

Being Connected to their fans allows Brands to... Test Products and Ideas by Crowdsourcing Enhance Customer Relationships Create Interactive, Bi-Directional Relationships with Customers Engage Customers and Prospective Customers Keep and Increase Interest in and around the Brand ...

In Short:

Use it as an Active Component to Enhance and Extend their Brand Reach

One Example

WPT Tournament Event Exposure: Marketing materials with short codes in WPT Overﬂow Rooms Demo kiosks manned by WPT with Texas Hold ‘Em and 7 Card Stud games Short codes for Texas Hold ‘Em and 7 Card Stud included in all orders fulﬁlled from WPT Store WPT Mobile products in WorldPokerTour.com online store Continued exposure in WPT ad banners and WPT newletter / magazine VIP Club. Convert WPT playtime (hands played) into player perks: discounts at hotels, free WPT products (wallpaper-a-month), etc. Weekly Jackpots: The player with the worst bad beat each week wins WPT chipset. Regular sweepstakes with entry based on repeat play (hands-played) or participation in key tournaments. Regular “Global” Tournaments based on country/carrier – a virtual World Poker Tour.

Discuss...

Thank You. vh@connect2media.com +44 7843 599 678 twitter.com/vhirsch

Photo Credits http://steve-dale.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/community-istock_000006680981medium-compressed.png http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Numbers_grid_in_NY.jpg http://www.torinoscienza.it/img/orig/it/s00/00/0013/00001381.jpg http://www.isaacmao.com/meta http://www.comics.gamesfirst.com/ http://cbdyag.wordpress.com/2007/10/09/got-game-ice-cream-social-and-game-night/ http://www.library.yale.edu/lhr/librarylinks/November2002/index.html http://rugby.unbc.ca/Photos/Social_Events/Images/Pub2_JPG.jpg http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pétanque_players_in_Cannes_(France)_2003.jpg http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bhgs_crowd.jpg http://blog.hardmac.com/wp-content/uploads/76widgets2.5GBRAM.jpg http://static.gamesradar.com/images/mb/GamesRadar/us/Games/W/World%20of%20Warcraft/Bulk%20Viewers/PC/ WorldofWarcraft_PC_10--screenshot.jpg http://pokerjoesbonus.com/Screenshot2.jpg http://blog.seattletimes.nwsource.com/brierdudley/BJT_Screenshot_High_Res_09.jpg http://www.turingstudio.com/resources/images/desktops/1600/Lightbulb.jpg http://mottechblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/dscf0048.jpg http://philipscheel.net/facepalm.jpg http://gpsinformation.us/main/18-GPS-Receivers.jpg http://groups.csail.mit.edu/drl/wiki/index.php/The_Self-Reconfiguring_Robotic_Molecule http://pearcemayfield.typepad.com/patrick_mayfield/WindowsLiveWriter/keaton%20behind%20bars.jpg http://fc98.deviantart.com/fs15/f/2007/012/e/e/Apple_iphone_by_MohsinNaqi.jpg http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mobile_phone_evolution.png http://www.sambaash.com/images/sambaash%202.0%20platform.jpg

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Social Mobile Convergence in Gaming

by Volker Hirsch on Apr 24, 2009

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Social Mobile Convergence in Gaming — Presentation Transcript