The free-to-play gaming landscape is more competitive than ever. What does it take for a small company to not only survive - but thrive? Hear first-hand from Margaret Wallace, entrepreneur and CEO of Playmatics. She has had over ten years of experience running her own gaming start-ups and has also spent a lot of time working on the "other side of the table" at traditional publishers and with large media companies. Offering some crucial advice to small companies and indie development houses on the opportunities in the free-to-play space, she will provide data and first-hand experiences around negotiating this ever-changing space.
What is the marketplace outlook in 2013 and beyond for free-to-play gaming, especially for small or early-stage start-ups? What winning strategies can be adopted? In addition to establishing a baseline on the market as it stands, other opportunities and best practices in the space are discussed - including the role of "fun" in the whole equation. Questions covered include the how private investment vs. traditional publishing deal impact product choices and realities, adopting a platform strategy, whether it makes sense to work with brands - and what are some contractual and product pitfalls to avoid in order to mitigate risk.
23. Winning Formula?
Advice in pseudo code:
If (cost_per_user >
avg_revenue_per_user)
sell_or_quit();
* If you can.
24. Winning Formula?
Advice in pseudo code:
If (cost_per_user >
avg_revenue_per_user)
sell_or_quit();
* If you can.
25.
26.
27. What Does It
Take These Days
to Be Successful
in the Free-To-
Play Gaming
Space?
28. What Does it Take
to Be Successful?
“You need to constantly iterate on
that service even after it launches …
…constantly trying to acquire users
for a cost that is below their lifetime
value.”
29. What Does it Take
to Be Successful?
“Good games. Socially connected.
Endless playability.
…Flexible price-points from $1 to
$1,000 per player.”
30. What Does it Take
to Be Successful?
Adequately Measuring Success
31. What Does it Take Monthly Traffic
New Traffic
to Be Successful? Strategic Partnerships
Affiliate Partnerships
Adequately Measuring Success Search Engine Marketing
Viral/Word of Mouth
Search Engines
Registrations
Usage and Behavior
35. Biggest Mistakes?
“You must be able to acquire customers
virally and/or through rev share deals.”
“CPI customer acquisition has gotten to the point that nobody makes
money but the ad provider.”
Sourcehttp://www.wwd.com/media-news/digital/game-on-createthe-group-social-fashion-foray-6202881““We believe that taste can be cultivated and learned and we’re using game mechanics to facilitate that. That’s our unique angle. Like any life skill, having good taste in fashion is not universal, but something that can be cultivated and learned,” Wallace said. “Everyone has an opinion about fashion — and this tells you whether your taste measures up. Over time, players will be able to improve their taste, learning from these experts and others in the community.””
Insight from my informal survey of industry leaders in the F2P space.
High Council of Time Lords
Seth Sivak’sQuote
Credit for the Formula:Omar AbdelwahedSenior Online Producer at 2K Sports
Credit for the Formula:Omar AbdelwahedSenior Online Producer at 2K Sports
Credit for the Formula:Omar AbdelwahedSenior Online Producer at 2K Sports
Credit for the Formula:Omar AbdelwahedSenior Online Producer at 2K Sports
Credit for the Formula:Omar AbdelwahedSenior Online Producer at 2K Sports
Credit for the Formula:Omar AbdelwahedSenior Online Producer at 2K Sports
Seth Sivak’sQuote
Derrick Morton Quote
Derrick Morton Quote
Derrick Morton Quote
Derrick Morton’s Quote: Fail and move on. When you fail, admit it's a failure and move on to the next thing quickly. Don't think you can make a low performing game a hit. If a game isn't hitting benchmarks for Return Play and DAU/MAU there's a 95% chance you can't fix it. It's fundamentally not fun to play and you need to move on. IF you have good Return Rates but you're not monetizing, you may have a shot at fixing it.
Seth Sivak’sQuote
Derrick Morton’s Quote - First focus on making your game socially connected at it's core, then find creative ways to get your game in front of consumers either through publishers or partners.