This document discusses the ups and downs of digital distribution. Some benefits include easier distribution and the ability to sustain unique users. However, gatekeepers can influence what types of games are featured and their priorities change frequently. The "long tail" theory, which suggests niche content can be profitable, is debated as blockbuster titles tend to be more popular. Small indie games struggle to gain exposure. Multiplayer games face challenges with small player bases. Solutions include viral marketing, improved matchmaking, and asynchronous multiplayer. Successful free-to-play games turn the small profitable customer base expected by companies into a strength.
Adrian Crook's speech at GDC 2008, entitled "The Power of Free To Play". Focuses on free to play revenue models in games, design tips, growth challenges and market trends. More info at www.FreeToPlay.biz
PC and Mobile: Going Cross Platform Post LaunchKongregate
These are slides from Mel Montano’s talks about PC and Mobile cross-platform game launches at Casual Connect Berlin and White Night Prague 2017. She uses her experience in publishing and cross-platform games via Humble Bundle to provide real-world actionable items to help in pursuing a secondary (or tertiary or more) launch on a very different platform.
Going cross-platform increases your potential audience, pleases your current userbase, and can grow your lifetime revenue. The leap from mobile to PC and vice-versa is fraught with complications from perceived game value, freemium/premium, to the specifics of UX/UI changes. This talk gives actionable insights for your cross-platform PC and mobile plans.
In this material, I have tried to summarize and provide an overview about the video game industry. By defining the main concepts as classification norms including genres, platforms and rating, then providing an introduction about Production Nature,
Production Team, Supply Chain, Marketing Overview (not completed in this version), Sample Games and Sample Egyptian Cartoons.
In part two, I am elaborating more about the video game production through defining the different production stages.
In part 3, i have tried to conclude part 1 and 2, then summarizing my suggested strategy to develop an international level video game industry in Egypt.
Adrian Crook's speech at GDC 2008, entitled "The Power of Free To Play". Focuses on free to play revenue models in games, design tips, growth challenges and market trends. More info at www.FreeToPlay.biz
PC and Mobile: Going Cross Platform Post LaunchKongregate
These are slides from Mel Montano’s talks about PC and Mobile cross-platform game launches at Casual Connect Berlin and White Night Prague 2017. She uses her experience in publishing and cross-platform games via Humble Bundle to provide real-world actionable items to help in pursuing a secondary (or tertiary or more) launch on a very different platform.
Going cross-platform increases your potential audience, pleases your current userbase, and can grow your lifetime revenue. The leap from mobile to PC and vice-versa is fraught with complications from perceived game value, freemium/premium, to the specifics of UX/UI changes. This talk gives actionable insights for your cross-platform PC and mobile plans.
In this material, I have tried to summarize and provide an overview about the video game industry. By defining the main concepts as classification norms including genres, platforms and rating, then providing an introduction about Production Nature,
Production Team, Supply Chain, Marketing Overview (not completed in this version), Sample Games and Sample Egyptian Cartoons.
In part two, I am elaborating more about the video game production through defining the different production stages.
In part 3, i have tried to conclude part 1 and 2, then summarizing my suggested strategy to develop an international level video game industry in Egypt.
A pictorial overview of how leading games companies have leveraged KTplay to drive more player engagement and revenue in their games. With user acquisitions costs climbing ever higher, retaining and monetizing the players you already have is a critical component to success in the mobile market. KTplay’s in-game community platform opens a two-way communication channel between publishers and their players, to increase engagement, retention, monetization, and customer satisfaction amongst their high-value customers.
A high-speed run through some of the most important and interesting patterns and advice that we've discovered about our games on Kongregate. This talk was given by Anthony Pecorella at Casual Connect Kyiv.
Many infographics on game industry and trends. Several phenomenon are addressed: social gaming, mobile smartphone and tablets gaming, connected TV, publishers digital revenue and so on
Using the data sourced by Appsblogger.com, some analysis of Kickstarter projects in the entertainment categories.
All data was scrapped prior to June 2012.
Tom LeClerc's talk at App Promotion Summit Berlin 2014:
REVIEW MINING:
THE APP STORE OPTIMIZER’S SECRET WEAPON
An Overview Of The Value Of Review Mining
What Review Mining Tools You Have At Your Disposal
Using Reviews To Generate Keywords And Understand Your Users
I'd like to go through some of the basic differences of Asia VS European mobile games. Analysis about what is successful in which territory, what are the key success components, what type of genre with what type of features are dominating each of the markets, what would it take for a European successful mobile game to be successful in Asia and vice virca. Also, I would like to look into if flows of mobile content from one territory to the other is happening, will happen or what it would need to do for this to happen.
A pictorial overview of how leading games companies have leveraged KTplay to drive more player engagement and revenue in their games. With user acquisitions costs climbing ever higher, retaining and monetizing the players you already have is a critical component to success in the mobile market. KTplay’s in-game community platform opens a two-way communication channel between publishers and their players, to increase engagement, retention, monetization, and customer satisfaction amongst their high-value customers.
A high-speed run through some of the most important and interesting patterns and advice that we've discovered about our games on Kongregate. This talk was given by Anthony Pecorella at Casual Connect Kyiv.
Many infographics on game industry and trends. Several phenomenon are addressed: social gaming, mobile smartphone and tablets gaming, connected TV, publishers digital revenue and so on
Using the data sourced by Appsblogger.com, some analysis of Kickstarter projects in the entertainment categories.
All data was scrapped prior to June 2012.
Tom LeClerc's talk at App Promotion Summit Berlin 2014:
REVIEW MINING:
THE APP STORE OPTIMIZER’S SECRET WEAPON
An Overview Of The Value Of Review Mining
What Review Mining Tools You Have At Your Disposal
Using Reviews To Generate Keywords And Understand Your Users
I'd like to go through some of the basic differences of Asia VS European mobile games. Analysis about what is successful in which territory, what are the key success components, what type of genre with what type of features are dominating each of the markets, what would it take for a European successful mobile game to be successful in Asia and vice virca. Also, I would like to look into if flows of mobile content from one territory to the other is happening, will happen or what it would need to do for this to happen.
VC Pitch - Presentation template (The 10/20/30 Rule of PowerPoint)davidklein
Compiled by Matt Cutler, mcutler@alum.mit.edu
“Three guys with great content and a desire to share it with the world.”
Brad Feld, Mobius Venture Capital, The Torturous World of Powerpoint
“The world would be a better place if all entrepreneurs could automagically incorporate this outline into their pitches - at least to me.”
David Cowan, Bessemer Venture Partners
How Not to Write a Business Plan: “Your presentation should not exceed 10 slides. The appendix can include as many slides as you want.”
Guy Kawasaki, Garage Technology Venures: The 10/20/30 Rule of Powerpoint
“A PowerPoint presentation should have ten slides, last no more than twenty minutes, and contain no font smaller than thirty points.”
AbleGamers and the Inevitability of Inclusive GamingJohnny Richardson
AbleGamers promotes the many benefits of developing highly accessible gaming software, whereby disabled gamers have brand new outlets for everything from esteem-building escapism to social experiences. Gaming as an entertainment medium and culturally vital art form has seen a vast increase in the diversity of players in recent years, however many gamers with special needs can have a difficult time enjoying it. In this talk, I discussed how we reach out to developers about making their games more accessible. I also detailed some of the best examples of accessible games, explained how engineering options for disabled gamers can be very simple, and got into the business advantages of reaching a wide gamer audience.
For more information, visit: www.adriancrook.com
There are many reasons to opt for the Free-To-Play monetization model. At the forefront is that Free-to-Play games are generating more money than premium sales at nearly a 10-1 margin.
It is not just the big AAA productions that can succeed. With an average of 15,000,000 Steam Players online at any given time and 90 million console gamers in the US alone, strictly considering a mobile publishing avenue severely limits your audience reach. In addition, plenty of these platforms are doing their best to embrace the F2P evolution in gaming.
A+C has 10 years and over 130 clients worth of freemium experience. From increased monetization to retention and virality, we have delivered for clients such as LEGO, Pokemon, Electronic Arts, Zynga and many more.
This is a presentation we gave at Gameplay Space in Montreal recently, to a room full of indie developers.
Contact us at www.adriancrook.com today.
The benefits of operating a free-to-play "game-as-a-service" are well known: elastic pricing, a direct relationship with your players, longer lifespan, and an opportunity to fine-tune after launch. But to fully realize these benefits, you need to plan your live operations strategy as carefully as you plan your game. This talk will show how you can build an effective LiveOps strategy using PlayFab.
This is the successful pitch deck of the Bettery company that Angel and Seed investors positively appreciate. The pitch deck has 15 key slides and 13 appendix slides that describe Bettery aspects in more detail. Bettery is a play-to-earn social betting platform to bet with friends and influencers using social media content, gamble-free & based on blockchain.
On March 14, 2011 Alex Hachey presented TAG: The Mobile Assassination Game at SXSW Interactive.
How can a game change our social experiences? Learn how latest advancements in augmented reality, location based apps, and mobile game play are shaping our social experiences in this detailed & interactive case study featuring TAG, The Mobile Assassination Game. TAG: Allows players to track & tag their targets using location and social tools on their mobile phones. This intersect of Social meets Mobile meets Good old competitiveness is opening new doors in social, mobile, & gaming experiences.
Unveiling the Secrets How Does Generative AI Work.pdfSam H
At its core, generative artificial intelligence relies on the concept of generative models, which serve as engines that churn out entirely new data resembling their training data. It is like a sculptor who has studied so many forms found in nature and then uses this knowledge to create sculptures from his imagination that have never been seen before anywhere else. If taken to cyberspace, gans work almost the same way.
Improving profitability for small businessBen Wann
In this comprehensive presentation, we will explore strategies and practical tips for enhancing profitability in small businesses. Tailored to meet the unique challenges faced by small enterprises, this session covers various aspects that directly impact the bottom line. Attendees will learn how to optimize operational efficiency, manage expenses, and increase revenue through innovative marketing and customer engagement techniques.
LA HUG - Video Testimonials with Chynna Morgan - June 2024Lital Barkan
Have you ever heard that user-generated content or video testimonials can take your brand to the next level? We will explore how you can effectively use video testimonials to leverage and boost your sales, content strategy, and increase your CRM data.🤯
We will dig deeper into:
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3. How you can capture more CRM data to understand your audience better through video testimonials. 📊
Cracking the Workplace Discipline Code Main.pptxWorkforce Group
Cultivating and maintaining discipline within teams is a critical differentiator for successful organisations.
Forward-thinking leaders and business managers understand the impact that discipline has on organisational success. A disciplined workforce operates with clarity, focus, and a shared understanding of expectations, ultimately driving better results, optimising productivity, and facilitating seamless collaboration.
Although discipline is not a one-size-fits-all approach, it can help create a work environment that encourages personal growth and accountability rather than solely relying on punitive measures.
In this deck, you will learn the significance of workplace discipline for organisational success. You’ll also learn
• Four (4) workplace discipline methods you should consider
• The best and most practical approach to implementing workplace discipline.
• Three (3) key tips to maintain a disciplined workplace.
Enterprise Excellence is Inclusive Excellence.pdfKaiNexus
Enterprise excellence and inclusive excellence are closely linked, and real-world challenges have shown that both are essential to the success of any organization. To achieve enterprise excellence, organizations must focus on improving their operations and processes while creating an inclusive environment that engages everyone. In this interactive session, the facilitator will highlight commonly established business practices and how they limit our ability to engage everyone every day. More importantly, though, participants will likely gain increased awareness of what we can do differently to maximize enterprise excellence through deliberate inclusion.
What is Enterprise Excellence?
Enterprise Excellence is a holistic approach that's aimed at achieving world-class performance across all aspects of the organization.
What might I learn?
A way to engage all in creating Inclusive Excellence. Lessons from the US military and their parallels to the story of Harry Potter. How belt systems and CI teams can destroy inclusive practices. How leadership language invites people to the party. There are three things leaders can do to engage everyone every day: maximizing psychological safety to create environments where folks learn, contribute, and challenge the status quo.
Who might benefit? Anyone and everyone leading folks from the shop floor to top floor.
Dr. William Harvey is a seasoned Operations Leader with extensive experience in chemical processing, manufacturing, and operations management. At Michelman, he currently oversees multiple sites, leading teams in strategic planning and coaching/practicing continuous improvement. William is set to start his eighth year of teaching at the University of Cincinnati where he teaches marketing, finance, and management. William holds various certifications in change management, quality, leadership, operational excellence, team building, and DiSC, among others.
Digital Transformation and IT Strategy Toolkit and TemplatesAurelien Domont, MBA
This Digital Transformation and IT Strategy Toolkit was created by ex-McKinsey, Deloitte and BCG Management Consultants, after more than 5,000 hours of work. It is considered the world's best & most comprehensive Digital Transformation and IT Strategy Toolkit. It includes all the Frameworks, Best Practices & Templates required to successfully undertake the Digital Transformation of your organization and define a robust IT Strategy.
Editable Toolkit to help you reuse our content: 700 Powerpoint slides | 35 Excel sheets | 84 minutes of Video training
This PowerPoint presentation is only a small preview of our Toolkits. For more details, visit www.domontconsulting.com
What are the main advantages of using HR recruiter services.pdfHumanResourceDimensi1
HR recruiter services offer top talents to companies according to their specific needs. They handle all recruitment tasks from job posting to onboarding and help companies concentrate on their business growth. With their expertise and years of experience, they streamline the hiring process and save time and resources for the company.
Business Valuation Principles for EntrepreneursBen Wann
This insightful presentation is designed to equip entrepreneurs with the essential knowledge and tools needed to accurately value their businesses. Understanding business valuation is crucial for making informed decisions, whether you're seeking investment, planning to sell, or simply want to gauge your company's worth.
Putting the SPARK into Virtual Training.pptxCynthia Clay
This 60-minute webinar, sponsored by Adobe, was delivered for the Training Mag Network. It explored the five elements of SPARK: Storytelling, Purpose, Action, Relationships, and Kudos. Knowing how to tell a well-structured story is key to building long-term memory. Stating a clear purpose that doesn't take away from the discovery learning process is critical. Ensuring that people move from theory to practical application is imperative. Creating strong social learning is the key to commitment and engagement. Validating and affirming participants' comments is the way to create a positive learning environment.
What is the TDS Return Filing Due Date for FY 2024-25.pdfseoforlegalpillers
It is crucial for the taxpayers to understand about the TDS Return Filing Due Date, so that they can fulfill your TDS obligations efficiently. Taxpayers can avoid penalties by sticking to the deadlines and by accurate filing of TDS. Timely filing of TDS will make sure about the availability of tax credits. You can also seek the professional guidance of experts like Legal Pillers for timely filing of the TDS Return.
3.0 Project 2_ Developing My Brand Identity Kit.pptxtanyjahb
A personal brand exploration presentation summarizes an individual's unique qualities and goals, covering strengths, values, passions, and target audience. It helps individuals understand what makes them stand out, their desired image, and how they aim to achieve it.
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Implicitly or explicitly all competing businesses employ a strategy to select a mix
of marketing resources. Formulating such competitive strategies fundamentally
involves recognizing relationships between elements of the marketing mix (e.g.,
price and product quality), as well as assessing competitive and market conditions
(i.e., industry structure in the language of economics).
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15. Gatekeepers and their Agendas Early PSN: must “look next-gen” Early XBLA: bite-sized, especially casual/retro Early Wiiware: make novel use of the Wiimote Problem: these agendas change frequently!
20. Amazon.com (2006) Derived 75% of its book sales from just 2.7% of titles Kongregate(July 2009) Top 1% of games account for 50% of playtime Music in general (2008) 0.4% of songs generated 80% of revenue Anita Elberse, HBS (“Should You Invest in the Long Tail”) Indies are actually losing share to major labels
21. Blockbusters tend to score better user ratings than critically-acclaimed but obscure films. Why is that? See http://www.economist.com/displaystory.cfm?story_id=14959982
22. The answer has everything to do with the number of reference points each user has…
23. The Bright Side,Aka “where can you extract real revenue from a small population? 1. FarmVille 30,409,073 2. Café World 9,264,914 3. FishVille 6,476,107 4. Mafia Wars 6,411,723 5. Happy Aquarium 5,992,187 6. Texas HoldEm Poker 5,816,752 7. PetVille 4,767,982 8. Pet Society 4,226,436 9. Restaurant City 3,539,602 10. Bejeweled Blitz 3,099,381 11. Birthday Cards 2,951,061 24. Animal Paradise 1,157,444 41. "Game by Boyaa.com“ 515,850 105. MiniPlanet 100,950 163. FV bonus checker 50,173 2228. Backgammon Live! 4 Facebook, daily active user stats for games, Feb 7, 2010
25. Long Tail and Real-Time Multiplayer: # of Players in Ecosystem divided by # of “active” multiplayer games often equals screwed developers and customers
34. Microtransaction-based Games “A very large percentage of loyal customers—often more than 50%—are not profitable for most companies, because their loyalty is driven largely by expectations of great deals. …Profitable customers tend to make up only around 20% of a company’s customers.” -- Wall Street Journal & MIT Sloan Management Review Sound familiar? F2P turns a weakness into a strength!
35. Thank You!PS. If you liked this, check out my blog:http://www.edery.org
Editor's Notes
This session will briefly summarize the current state of digital distribution across major marketplaces (console, Facebook, mobile, etc), examine the major challenges associated with digital distribution, and provide concrete strategies for success in these marketplaces. It should be of interest to both developers and publishers large and small, as it will address strategic errors commonly made by multi-billion dollar publishers and tiny startups alike. If you're struggling to pick an ecosystem to focus on, or if you've picked an ecosystem but aren't sure how to maximize your chances of success within it, this lecture is for you.1) What's going on in the hottest digital ecosystems 2) Common misconceptions about digital ecosystems, in general 3) What truly does make digital distribution special, and how it can really help developers 4) Major challenges that large publishers and small developers alike have encountered in digital markets 5) Tips for succeeding in the digital world (including tips on marketing, pricing, biz dev, game design, and community management)
I was supposed to start the lecture off with a market overview. But I won’t, because market overviews feel increasingly pointless to me. Unless you live under a rock, you’ve heard that Facebook is huge, megahit XBLA games can now be expected to sell 1m units lifetime, iPhoneapp sales are rocking but price points are low and piracy is a problem, etcInstead, let me share some information that will always be useful about how platforms generally work…
This is the typical scenario for any successful digital games platform.For example, a platform such as XBLA, or the iPhone app store, or Facebook, comes into existence. Most people regard the platform suspiciously, for a variety of reasons. It’s an unproven market, for starters. The platform owner’s commitment to growing the platform may be unclear. The pros and cons of working with the platform owner in this context are unknown. There are lots of other platforms to choose from. Etc. Most developers take all this into account and decide to pass on the platform for the time being.
Then the platform begins to take off. The inevitable articles in respected publications such as Gamasutra and Edge appear; developer ABC claims to have made a million bucks; game XYZ has sold half a million units; average conversion rates are through the roof; etc. The platform’s owner is probably out there cheering more loudly than anyone. Supply/demand imbalance is the primary driver of success, here!Facebook is at the tail end of this phase. While most publishers are laying employees off by the hundreds, Facebook-centric publishers are hiring like mad. Conference organizers are rushing to capitalize on audience demand for business venues forsocial gaming. Growth stories have become common-place. Facebook’s platform managers have finally started embracing our industry. Many developers and large publishers have begun to re-orient themselves towards the development of social games.
Remember the early days of XBLA on the 360? Remember 20% average conversion rates? All that positivity was totally legitimate, but it reflected an ecosystem that was benefiting from an extreme mismatch between consumer demand (which was high) and content. And that’s where the first big wave of developers get themselves in trouble. They rush to develop games for this wonderful new platform. Consequently, the supply/demand imbalance quickly corrects itself or even over-corrects. Worst of all, many developers fail to realize that greater competition means a higher bar for success, and as a result they fail to increase the quality of their games and/or their marketing efforts and ultimately get lost in the crowd. Sierra Online + XBLA = good example.iPhone is in this phase. Whether it emerges will depend entirely on how well Apple manages the ecosystem and how successful the f2p biz model works out as more developers embrace it (no surprise that Ngmoco has repositioned themselves as a developer of f2p games.)Second Life is in this phase, and has been for years.It seems unlikely to reach the next phase, at this point.
But if (and here’s a big if) the platform’s economics are fundamentally sound and if the platform isn’t being too badly mismanaged, some developers ultimately will find a way to raise the bar and stand out from the crowd. They create remarkable games; they market themselves effectively; they adopt more profitable business models where possible; they establish a good relationship with a key publisher or the platform owner itself. These developers benefit from the fact that while the platform has become dramatically more competitive, it has also continued to grow and attract new consumers who still want to download games!The ecosystem has evolved into a hit-driven ecosystem.XBLA is currently enjoying this phase.
However, the budgets for XBLA games keep skyrocketing upwards, while it’s unclear that in the short term consumer demand will match the rate of those increases. So it’s possible that we’ll soon hear another round of painful moaning about XBLA…
I thought I’d make this more real by applying it to a debate that many developers are having: whether to develop games for the Kindle active content store or the iPad app store. Both platforms are technically in the “uncertain beginnings” phase – they are new, and many people are doubting their success. However, because of Apple’s great reputation and previous success, more than a few developers are ready to take a leap of faith on the iPad. And since the iPad will run content created for the iPhone, it is not a new platform in the truest sense of the word. It will launch with a crowded store, and whatever iPad-only merchandizing Apple implements will quickly cease to be a panacea to that crowding. In effect, the iPad already has many of the disadvantages of the “early glory” phase (glut of content; less accommodating management) but has not yet proven itself to have the advantages (i.e., large consumer base and/or reasonable returns for developers.) The Kindle, on the other hand, is a complete unknown – a true “uncertain beginning.” But we do know, at very least, that there are probably over a million Kindle 2 and Kindle DXs in the hands of consumers, and we can be relatively sure the store will be less crowded at launch. So, while the iPad may end up being the better platform long-term, in the very short term, the Kindle might be.
There’s the obvious stuff, like no physical media distribution costs, but what’s really interesting is…
Ability to respond to consumer behavior and feedback in real-time! (moon launch analogy for retail sales today vs. steering a car) Develop closer relationship with your customersWoW: shipped with 2600 quests, added 5300 with burning crusade and 7650 with lich king
AB Testing – don’t need to guess which features are most effective/popular anymore.
Cross promote your games to reduce advertising costs and help retain players who get bored of any given game.
Today, Nintendo might be favoring MotionPlus submissions. XBLA might be favoring Natal submissions. Hopefully you’ve been working on those for the past six months instead of something else.
Image: The Anointing of Louis XV as King of France.Platform managers often kingmake games. Odds are, unless you’ve developed a very tight relationship, they’ll be kingmaking your competitors.http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/14/weekinreview/14cohen.html?partner=rss&emc=rss Before it was changed, Twitterers on the “suggested user” list would gain 500k+ followers Same story with iTunes, Amazon, and game portals
Why was Kingdom for Keflings such a big success? Because the developer was wise enough to fully support LIVE avatars when nobody else was doing so, and Microsoft responded by kingmaking the title, which to this day receives prominent merchandizing in the xbox dashboard.
Image taken: 7.11.2009. http://www.roughtype.com/archives/2006/07/lee_gomes_respo.phpLee Gomes, Wall Street Journal: wherever he looked, hits remained vitally important to a given ecosystem (or in his words, “iTunes looks like Billboard, not some paradise of niches.”)
See http://www.economist.com/displaystory.cfm?story_id=14959982A disproportionate part of the audience for a hit is comprised of people who consumed few products of that type. * Many people who read a bestselling novel, for example, do not read much other fiction. * By contrast, the audience for an obscure novel is largely composed of people who read a lot. * That means the least popular books are judged by people who have the highest standards.On a tangent: Professors Duncan Watts, Matthew Salganikand and Peter Dodds demonstrated that, in a digital music ecosystem devoid of traditional marketing signals and recognizable IP (but possessing a public rating system), not only did “the hits get bigger,” but popularity was essentially random. A song’s popularity depended entirely on the first few users who happened to notice, rate and download it; a song that was #1 within one test ecosystem was bottom of the barrel in another.
If an ecosystem enables you to extract a large amount of money from a small number of people (i.e., a niche), that’s something!Some random numbers:50k daily players * 2% pay * $3 per day * 365 days= $1.1m per year50k daily players * 2% pay * $0.33 per day * 365 days = $120k per year*A song that sells 50k copies at 99 cents is a failure. So is an XBLA game at $10 or $15. But an engaging F2P game that keeps people coming back and does even a half-decent job of monetizing them is *not* a failure at 50k daily users, at least not for a small indie team. Daily active user statsvia:http://www.appdata.com/leaderboard/apps/?cat_id=400&fanbase=0&list_select=apps&metric_select=dau&p=1
Many games, unlike most physical goods, have a real disadvantage when it comes to the “perfect” Long Tail environment. If only 1,000 people buy an obscure product for $1,000 each, the maker of that product may still be very happy. But a multiplayer-centric game that appeals to 1,000 (or for that matter, 100) people… A) isn’t likely to be sold for $1,000 and B) isn’t going to make its few customers very happy when they can’t find anyone to play with online. Check top games on the iPhone today, and you’ll find the majority to be primarily single player experiences. And the popular multiplayer titles are overwhelmingly those that are either free or based on a strong IP like Monopoly.
For platforms?- First, allow viral invites and guest passes - if you own a game, you can invite and play with anyone, even if they don’t have the game installed or have a gold subscription. Once the game is over, they’re left with a trial version which they can later choose to purchase.
for Platforms?- Second, fix matchmaking so that it presents a clear indication of the expected wait time. With a good interface, I might be willing to wait ten minutes to find a match if I know it will be ten minutes. (Especially if there’s an audible chime when the match kicks in.) AI opponents to fill the extra seats is a plus.
Third, create a way that users can easily see which variants are being played when. A natural schedule will evolve where, for example, Tuesday nights are Kill Doctor Lucky Speedmatch night and Thursday lunchtime is the 7-handed poker peak. Maybe use prizes to attact more users during that time period- You don’t need fancy platforms
Asynchronous multiplayer!Competitive and cooperativeChess by mail; ghost competition mode in Topple 2Non-interactive (i.e., your avatar appears in your friend’s game)Leaderboard centricVirtual gift-centric
Long Lead PRThe consequence, unsurprisingly, is an increasing tendency for consumers to steer towards titles they recognize, which means games based on well-known IP and/or games that have received substantial promotion by the press and user communities. For example, most of the recent, publicly-heralded hits on Xbox LIVE Arcade, such as Braid, Castle Crashers, and Street Fighter 2 HD Remix, are all games that were promoted years in advance of their public release or were (like Street Fighter) based on venerable IP.
When negotiating with a platform or publisher, if there are other potential parties you can negotiate with concurrently, you (generally) should!
If you’re going to compete in an open marketplace, you might as well use a technology that makes hundreds of millions of customers easily available to you.- Graphics, animation, sound, video, physics and networking technology is freely available and works surprisingly well. You can have a working game up and running in hours. - No shortage of artists familiar with flash. - Thousands of useful platforms to piggyback off of: send emails, suck in friend lists from Facebook, access payment system, or let people buy underpants emblazoned with your logo? It is all there waiting for you to piggyback atop.
http://sloanreview.mit.edu/business-insight/articles/2009/2/5124/loyal-customers/Wall Street Journal / MIT Sloan
