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?

This?

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
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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

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

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
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