Social gaming refers to casual games designed to be played with friends on social platforms. It has seen tremendous growth, with over 200 million monthly active users. Key factors driving its rise include the opening of social networks to third-party developers and the growth of mobile devices and internet access. Social games are designed around player engagement loops that use visible progress, positive emotions, and social calls to action to keep players regularly engaged. While initial development and marketing costs can be $175,000-$522,000 per game, successful games generating 400,000 daily active users can yield annual revenues of $770,000-$12.3 million.

1. #SOCIALGAMING
TOO BIG TO IGNORE

2. Wei Chee
ZA Solutions

3. What is Social Gaming?
“Casual games designed to be played with friends
on online social platforms”
- Justin Smith, Inside Facebook
“Casual Gaming is the Arcade Business rising from
the ashes of the 1980s”
- Nicholas Carlson, Business Insider

4. What is Social Gaming?

5. Social Gaming Statistics
¼ of “consumers” play social game
The average social gamer is a 43 year old lady
Female driven industry, 38% play several times
a day
1 in 10 social gamers’ session last >3 hours
83% play on Facebook

6. The Rise of Social Gaming

7. The Rise of Social Gaming

8. The Rise of Social Gaming
World of Warcraft
1,500,000 total users
Xbox live
20,000,000 total users
~ 207,000,000 Social Gamers
Monthly active Users

9. The Rise of Social Gaming
Zynga
360,000,000
Monthly active Users

10. The Rise of Social Gaming

11. The Rise of Social Gaming
The opening of social network platforms for
3rd Party developers
The rise of smart mobile devices
The rise of internet penetration, billing
infrastructure

12. Social Gaming Designs
3 Key Stages of Enthusiast
Player Life cycle Mastery
Regular
Habit-Building
Newbie
Onboarding

13. Social Gaming Designs

14. Social Gaming Designs
Visible Progress Positive Emotion
Stats / Challenges / Awards / Messages Fun / Delight / Trust / Pride / Curious
Player (re)Engagement (social) Call to Action
Task / Mission / Game / Quiz / Gift Customize / Share / Help / Compete
Newbie
Onboarding
Engagement Loop

15. Social Gaming Life Cycle
Monetization Iteration
Iteration

16. Social Gaming Dynamics
Focus on social emotions – friendship, love,
pride, envy, anger
Social first, fun second
No brainer, easy pick-me-up
Target (niche) users
Easy payment methods

17. Social Gaming Trend
Social Activity
Analytics Streams
Group Buying
Virtual Worlds
Gamification
Location-
Aware Apps
Internet of
Things
Social TV
Gartner’s Hype Cycle

18. Social Gaming Trend
Mobile Devices: The Shiny New Toy
Location Based Game
Virtual Social World
Asia Market

19. Social Gaming Cost
1)Development Cost = $100k ~ $300k
2) Initial Marketing Cost = $50k ~ $200k
3) Live Operation = $12.5k ~ $22.5k
Cost of One game launch = $175.5k ~ $522.5k

20. Social Gaming Cost
Market Assumptions:
• Number of games: 4
• Average DAU for each successful game in a year: 400k
• Number of successful games: 1~2
• Assumed monetization: $45/1000 DAU
• Facebook cut: 30%
Total cost of 4 games Yearly Revenue Yearly Revenue
launch (25% success rate) (50% success rate)
$1.96 mil $770k ~ $12.3mil $1.54mil ~ $24.5mil

21. Social Gaming Cost
Case Study:
• Rovio 34th game
• Initial dev cost of €100k++
• Current revenue USD $1mil/month
• OMGPop 36th game
• Initial dev cost USD$250k???
• Current revenue USD $250k/day

22. GAMIFICATION

24. Zanadu
Who are We:
Specialize in multi-user virtual world platform solution
Team:
8+ developer, artist, designer, social media manager
Location:
- Upstairs
- Chiang Mai

27. Thank you!
weichee.lee@zanadu.com.my
fb.com/leeweichee