Bejeweled Blitz has been one of the first games to be fully integrated between Facebook and iOS and one of the most successful. In December 2011, PopCap launched a freemium version of Bejeweled Blitz on iOS (iPhone / iPad): previously, the game was available only on iPhone as a game mode inside Bejeweled 2, a premium product. This session will cover the decision process that led PopCap to launch the product as a freemium offering and the launch process itself, and highlight the most important lessons learned from it. The session will also focus on the most important aspects of launching and operating a cross-platform social product (mobile and Facebook).

1. Setting Bejeweled Blitz free
Lessons learned moving from premium to freemium on iOS
Giordano Bruno Contestabile, PopCap Games
March 5th, 2011
Twitter: @giordanobc

2. My job: managing the business…
…even though I suck at it!
 My excuse: half of those people work at PopCap
• But so do I
• Oh dear!
• I suck!

3. Some quick facts
 Launched in late 2000
 History: Bejeweled, Bejeweled 2,
Bejeweled Twist, Bejeweled Blitz,
Bejeweled 3
 Key platforms: PC/Mac, Facebook,
iPhone, XBox360, DS
 Units: > 55 million
 Installs: > 200 million
 MAUs: > 25 million
 Users: 500 million+

4. One Very Long Minute
History of Bejeweled Blitz on Facebook & iOS
 Bejeweled 2 iOS Client launched 2 days after iTunes app store opened (Summer 2008)
 Bejeweled Blitz on Facebook launched in November 2009
 Blitz mode and FB Connect added to Bejeweled 2 iOS client (April 2010)
 Major Feature Launches: Rare Gems; Daily Spin; Keystones Tutorial
 One of the first games to be fully integrated FB and iOS
 2+ years from launch, still consistently popular:
• Facebook: top 10 games by DAU (3M+)
• iPhone: top 10 top grossing games

5. Doubling Down
on Bejeweled

6. Why Change?
 From mode in a paid game to freemium game
• Reach much wider audience
• Update more nimbly; follow Facebook closely
 A new iteration of a great premium game
• Feature set and game rules from Bejeweled 3
• Lose the version number: an evergreen product
that continues to evolve over time

7. The Great Maneuvers
Launch Timeline  Soft launch of Bejeweled Blitz in Canada iTunes app store (12/1)
 Worldwide launch of Bejeweled and Bejeweled Blitz (12/8)
 Retirement of Bejeweled 2 + Blitz (12/8)
Products One of few titles with Premium and Freemium business model
 Bejeweled Blitz (Freemium)
 Bejeweled (Premium $0.99 download)
Launch Goals  Top 10 Premium Title
 Top 10 Freemium Title
 Rating of 4.5 stars or more
 6M Freemium downloads in 1 month
Downloads
Highest App Store
Rankings
Current App Store
Rating
Bejeweled Blitz Well over 10M 2nd Free / 3rd Grossing ½
Bejeweled Premium Well over 1M 1st Paid 
Retiring one game, launching two new ones

8. Changeinmetricsfrompremiumtofreemium
Key Metrics Change
Downloads Daily Average Downloads 9X
Daily Active Users Weekly Average 5X
Revenue Daily Average 5X
Did It Work?
… and stillgrowing (every week hasbeen bigger than previous one)

9. Comparing iOS to Facebook
Key Metrics iOS (FB = 100)
Daily Active Users Weekly Average 33%
ARPU DARPU 196%
Engagement Games played / day 208% (52!)
Retention 7-day retention 200%
Monetization % of paying users 205%

10. Learnings – behavior iOS vs FB
 On most metrics, iOS users are 2x higher than Facebook users
 Contributing factors:
• “Always on, always with me” nature of mobile
• Bejeweled Blitz strongly suited to bite-sized gaming
• Efficient Apple ecosystem, in particular for billing
 We see significant FB / iOS cross-over in user base
• New FB users discovering the game through iOS first

11. The Power of Free

12. Premium Vs. Freemium: Downloads
Freemium client has 9x as many downloads per day vs. premium
Bejeweled Blitz
Bejeweled

13. Many Play For Free…
 As expected, ARPPU declined when switching from paid to free
• Higher percentage of free players
 ARPPU still higher, but closer, to Facebook

14. …But Enough of Them Pay!
 Increased user base driving much higher revenues

15. Facebook Connect: A High Barrier
Approximately 20% of Blitz iOS
downloads have activated
Facebook Connect, unlocking
full game content
 FB Connect required to unlock full features
 Ongoing campaigns to incentivize users to connect

16. Facebook Connect: A High Barrier
 Benefits of full integration FB / iOS:
• Opportunity to leverage the same social graph
• Cross-promotion and higher awareness
• Big part of what makes the game fun
 Drawbacks:
• Only 20% of iOS users connect with Facebook
• Extremely complex to maintain and operate
 Conclusions:
• Worth it if it improves the game
• Try to make FB Connect optional on mobile

17. Reacting to feedback

18. AppStoreRatings&CustomerFeedback
Initial Rating
½
Action Taken
Results
½
• Game speed was
intentionally slowed to
match that of Facebook app
• Initial app store ratings were
impacted by customer
complaints about speed
• Rating reached a low of 2 ½
stars
• Directly responded to
customer comments with the
message: “we are listening to
you and making changes”
• Stopped requiring players on
old Bej2+Blitz app to
transition to new app
• Able to resubmit and launch
new version with faster
speed within three days

19. ResultsofCustomerResponse
 Ratings of new version significantly higher, and
buoyed overall rating of app
 Stabilized App Store ranking
 Additional updates planned to address remaining
and ongoing feedback
Updated app
(with faster speed & iPad
support) releasedSource: Distimo Monitor Source: Distimo Monitor

20. Lessons Learned
 Don’t mess with everyone’s favorite game!
 Listen to feedback and address it
• Make sure the team is ready!
 Make sure that updating the game is easy
• Anything that can be server-side, should be!

21. Lessons Learned
 Be proactive
• Happy users are less likely to rate your app
• A “rate our game” interstitial works well
• Don’t try to force them
• Be honest in your messaging (“if you like us...”)

22. Business Model

23. Boosts
 Low-priced in-game effects meant to be used regularly
 Balanced not to grant excessive advantages
• The better player will still score higher on average

24. Rare Gems
 Higher-impact bonuses
 Can be activated every few games, appearing randomly
 Require skill to be fully taken advantage of
 Entertainment value as important as effect

25. Daily Spins
 Slot machine mechanic granting in-game currency
 1 free “daily spin” every day
 Additional “daily spin” can be purchased

26. Key tenets
 “Play forever”: no pay walls or limitations for non-paying users
 Game is fun and balanced also without paying
 Pay to have fun, not because the games forces or punishes you
 Server-side code to tweak economy in real time
 Events really important: busy marketing calendar

27. Our secret? Science!
mF =↑eng + ↑ret + ↑mon
…that I just made up!
More fun = more engagement, retention and monetization
A simple equation…
If players are having fun they will play, stay and pay

28. Marketing Efforts

29. Marketing Mix
Ads on Bejeweled Blitz
Facebook
“Free App Of The Day”
programsMobile Ads
“Apple Love”

30. Result analysis
 Vast majority of downloads from:
• “Apple love”
• Chart position
• Organic searches
• Existing Blitz players
 Free app programs didn’t drive significant installs
 Encouraging conversion from paid advertising
• Very high CPI in December ($0.50 / $1)
 Organic growth more valuable than paid growth
 Sustained efforts more effective than “burst” actions

31. What’s Next?

32. Next Steps for Bejeweled on Mobile
Bejeweled Premium
• Updates every 2-3 months with
additional game modes and
content
• iPad
Bejeweled Blitz (Freemium)
• Monthly updates
• Add new features close to FB updates
• Continue to address customer feedback
• Encourage and incent players to unlock
full features by activating FB Connect
• Android

33. The Challenge of Android
5 (key resolutions)
4 (2.2, 2.3, 3, 4)
100+
25%
250M
10+
Fragmented
Open (?)
Screen resolutions
Supported OS versions
Phone models
ARPU as % of iOS
Active user base*
Distribution Channels
Ecosystem
Platform
*Estimated
3
2 (iOS 4, iOS 5)
10
100%
250M
1
Integrated
Closed

34. A Billion New Players!
★ iOS
★ Android
★ Gree
★ DeNA
★ …
★ Facebook
★ Google+
★ QQ
★ Vkontakte
★ …

35. Thanks!
Questions?
@giordanobc