2. Back to basics?
• General decline in Video Game
Sales
• Average iOS developers
generating only $2k in sales?
• Social Games revenues keep
growing
• Facebook is not the only game in
town
• Mobile offers unique 'mode of use'
3. Let's assume you have a good game
What is it and why will
people pay?
• Known brand or license?
• One-time play or repeatable?
• Game of skill?
• Narrative or creative journey?
• Social/viral elements?
4. Who are your players?
Different Players buy for
different reasons
Collector Competitor
• Collector:
– "Got to catch them all"
• Explorer:
– "Where can I go today?"
• Socialiser:
– "I want to be popular"
• Competitor: Explorer
– "I'm going to Pwn ya!" Socialiser
5. Only worth what people will pay
How are players going to
pay?
• Premium Pricing
• Try Before Buy
• Hybrid (Rent/Buy/Subscribe)
• Free or Ad-Funded
• Virtual in-game goods
• Virtual creative goods
• Extra Levels
• Consumables
• Gifting
• Advertising
• Offer wall
6. Pricing is everything
Maximise the
opportunity
• Purchases will be a barrier
• Reduce the risk to the user
• Understand Price Elasticity
• Retrofitting is very difficult
7. Premium
Anticipation is
everything
• Players have to crave your
game
• Guarantees that players will
pay to play
• You can't measure the
players you turn away
• Only a select few can
sustain this model
8. Advertising
Brand sponsored
experiences
• Can be a vital revenue
stream
• Media buying is getting
much better
• Most effective when relevant
to the game
• Needs to be increasingly
smart
9. Freemium
1:10:100 Rule*
• Free-players are your data
and marketing
• Make it easy to spend the
first $1
• Offer goods to shoe off
creativity and skill
• Consumable in-game items
are key
• Make it possible to spend
$100 or more
* Apologies to Nick Lovell
10. Social interaction is vital
Other people give me
reasons to spend
• Let me show off my
achievements
• Gifting and Reciprocation
• Items gained must be
desirable to others
11. Understand the True Fans
True Fans are happy to
spend money
• Ensure that they get value
for paying
• Don't break the Free Player
experience
• Engage with your most
valuable players
• Avoid the 'hangover'
12. Who are Papaya?
13,611,930 1,050,000,000
$16.45/
37
• Founded in 2008 with $22M raised through DCM and Keytone.
• 90 staff with offices in San Francisco, London and Beijing
• More than 80% of users come from US and Europe
• Popular games earn more than $1 million per year
• Winner of Best Games Service Provider ME Awards 2011
