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Gaming strategies for TV operators Updated presentation
1. Gaming strategy for operators London March 2013 & 2014 Benjamin Schwarz bs@ctoic.net - 1
Gaming strategies for TV
operators Take 2
Is there an opportunity for gaming on TV or
nott?
March 2014 - update of 2013 presentation
2. Gaming strategy for operators London March 2013 & 2014 Benjamin Schwarz bs@ctoic.net - 2
2000 2004 2007 2010 2015
Freemium Apstore Game maker Operator
3. Gaming strategy for operators London March 2013 & 2014 Benjamin Schwarz bs@ctoic.net - 3
Still some portal efforts alive
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2014 updates
• Social TV apps, part of the interactive future of
TV, are dead. What does that say about gaming on
TV?
• With over 150 M active gamers in Europe, over 50%
of game is time spent online1
• Gaming on TV really does require “lean forward”
• Gaming part of the overall interactivity strategy
including loyalty programs e.g. collecting points
• Casino gaming moving to Android and iOS, but the
smart TV market still too much of a jungle
– Betting is a regulatory issue
1: ProSieben.Sat.1
5. Gaming strategy for operators London March 2013 & 2014 Benjamin Schwarz bs@ctoic.net - 5
Casual gaming on STBs
• Casual games that can be supported on todays TV
platforms require massive subscriber bases to
generate any revenue, otherwise they’re just “me-
too”.
• French IPTV market is unique
– Native STB games are still alive but barely kicking
– Games come ready loaded and in Operator’s Apstore
– Continued lack of public figures on profitability means it
cant’ be great, but new games are still coming out
6. Gaming strategy for operators London March 2013 & 2014 Benjamin Schwarz bs@ctoic.net - 6
What is cloud gaming?
• Real gaming requires dedicated hardware not yet in TVs
• Here it’s in the Cloud, streaming video to a thin client.
• Requires low latency networks!
• Some history
– Demo by G-Cluster in 2000 (commercial launch by SFR in 2010, and
Orange in 2012), now descending from the pinnacle of Hype Into
trough of disillusionment?
– OnLive (announced 2009, launched 2010, almost went under in
2012, now limping back)
– Gaikai integrated into PS4
– New platforms still being launched, dedicated Chinese platform …
• Technology is here although a major new improvement is still
expected with Nvidia’s Kepler architecture.
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The up-side of cloud Gaming
• Well marketed free trials are a common way of
recruiting players into a pay services
– learn from the mobile space.
• Cloud gaming subs also consume on demand and
subscription content
• Cloud gaming is well suited for A-B testing
• TTM: Cloud gamers get immediate access to new
games
• Porting games can be a nightmare, Cloud Gaming’s a
dream
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The down side of cloud Gaming
• The key to commercial success is elusive, although
some claim to have found it…
• Streaming games is not suited to the prevalent
Freemium model where 90-95% of players never pay
anything (see next slide)
• Need to providing CPE to improve ARPU significantly
• Subs behave the same with Cloud Gaming and SVoD
in terms of churn / stickiness :o(
• The success of PS4 and XO shows that living room
consoles still haven’t given up the fight
9. Gaming strategy for operators London March 2013 & 2014 Benjamin Schwarz bs@ctoic.net - 9
Cloud Gaming on an IPTV
platform with a few million subs
0 k
2 k
4 k
6 k
8 k
10 k
12 k
14 k
0 k
10 k
20 k
30 k
40 k
50 k
Premium packs
Mid-range packs
Entry level packs
Total transactions
100+ games
10. Gaming strategy for operators London March 2013 & 2014 Benjamin Schwarz bs@ctoic.net - 10
Why freemium isn’t Cloud-
compatible
• For an operator with 1M subs, say 10% are gamers
100k
• Within 3 years, expect a max 10% of gamers to pay
10k
• If Delta ARPU from gaming is say 5€ per
month, operator gets 30% of 10k * 5€ * 12 per year
Less than €200K per year per million subs
• Scalability is key: smaller operators will find it hard to support
the 90-95% of gamers that don’t pay anything.
11. Gaming strategy for operators London March 2013 & 2014 Benjamin Schwarz bs@ctoic.net - 11
[tbb*] thebrainbehind
Management Consultants
Onlive Home Screen
This is the start screen for the service. This is where you come when you login.
Best Practise Example: Onlive, USA
Screenshots
12. Gaming strategy for operators London March 2013 & 2014 Benjamin Schwarz bs@ctoic.net - 12
[tbb*] thebrainbehind
Management Consultants
Onlive Marketplace
Find games to play by genre, release data etc. or just search
Best Practise Example: Onlive, USA
Screenshots
13. Gaming strategy for operators London March 2013 & 2014 Benjamin Schwarz bs@ctoic.net - 13
[tbb*] thebrainbehind
Management Consultants
Onlive Game Details
Get all the details of the games before you pay for them
Best Practise Example: Onlive, USA
Screenshots
14. Gaming strategy for operators London March 2013 & 2014 Benjamin Schwarz bs@ctoic.net - 14
[tbb*] thebrainbehind
Management Consultants
Onlive Arena
Watch, rate and trash-talk anyone playing in the Onlive system
Best Practise Example: Onlive, USA
Screenshots
15. Gaming strategy for operators London March 2013 & 2014 Benjamin Schwarz bs@ctoic.net - 15
[tbb*] thebrainbehind
Management Consultants
Onlive Brag Clips
Watch 10 second clips of cool happenings from other peoples game play
Best Practise Example: Onlive, USA
Screenshots
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[tbb*] thebrainbehind
Management Consultants
Onlive Multiview
Keep an eye on your friends playing other games while you play
Best Practise Example: Onlive, USA
Screenshots
17. Gaming strategy for operators London March 2013 & 2014 Benjamin Schwarz bs@ctoic.net - 17
So where is the room to innovate
for OTT Gaming?
Big gaming companies (EA, Activision, Valve, … ) are bent on
technology innovation for greater realism requiring more and
more power but not innovating in gameplay.
Innovation in gameplay has come from smaller games like
Angry Birds or Farmville.
New game paradigms with big screen / companion screen
interaction can be invented for OTT TV.
Since 2007 the Internet has become integral part of
gaming, this must be factored into TV company’s gaming
plans.
Nintendo & Microsoft proved: still room for innovating input
A space is opening with retail devices and the big TV screen.
18. Gaming strategy for operators London March 2013 & 2014 Benjamin Schwarz bs@ctoic.net - 18
Where can TV operators
innovate?
Costofbuildinggame
Time
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OTT opportunities are increasing
but I’m not holding my breath
• Technical challenges:
– Play-along titles must scale at peak to millions of active users
– Direct return channel every transaction must be handled in
real-time (harder than SMS).
– Big Data is involved and access to scalable server farms will be
an advantage:
• Best for either huge TV operators with massive data centers
• Or operators having started a transition to the cloud
• Smartphones and tablets will become controllers
• Gaming could make the TV screen dumb again.
• Beyond iOS & Android, window closing for other OTT PFs
20. Gaming strategy for operators London March 2013 & 2014 Benjamin Schwarz bs@ctoic.net - 20
Thank you for listening
Now lets talk!
21. Gaming strategy for operators London March 2013 & 2014 Benjamin Schwarz bs@ctoic.net - 21
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