Whales
Zynga , the big player behind CityVille, FarmVille and Mafia Wars, among others, now has 6 (!) games in the top 10 of Facebook games. Zynga uses the Free2Play revenue model with these games. CityVille is the showpiece with almost 100 million monthly active players. Since it is impossible to generate income from all these players, the focus is on those players who bring in the most income. According to Teut Weidemann of Ubisoft, Zynga owes more than 50% of its turnover to less than 1% of the players. In jargon, these are the so-called 'whales'. These players are therefore pampered by Zynga. Once a year they receive an invitation and are flown over for a special party in Las Vegas.
There are now many companies that want to take advantage of the micro transaction revenue model. However, this revenue model requires a large group of players to recoup the investment. According to Paul LaFontaine of Playdom, you need at least 15 million players to recoup the investment in your online social game. It is therefore important to first look at the market in which you are launching your game. The Netherlands alone is quickly too small with 4.6 million active Facebook users.
Real-time social gaming
It is clear that we are in the era of social games. We can see from our friends which game they are playing and what their progress is in the game. Social gaming is big, which is why Hyves has also responded to this trend by launching its own game portal.
According to Illka Paananen of Supercell, the era of social games is not over yet and we are heading towards some interesting developments. For example, games are becoming even more accessible. The threshold to try a game is lowered by making the game easier in the beginning. Also, games that currently charge money (such as via the AppStore) are also becoming free to play.
Players will be spoiled more and more when it comes to good graphics, music and gameplay. This certainly also indonesia phone number list applies to games on mobile platforms, due to improved techniques such as new versions of Flash and HTML5. A forerunner in this is the new game Magic Land by Wooga . This Facebook game was launched during the GDC and contains a simplified HTML5 version for playing on the go, in addition to a Flash version. It will therefore be increasingly possible to game wherever you want. For home use, we will mainly use tablets, smartphones on the go and the PC and Mac at the office.
The last development that Illka Paananen mentions is the arrival of real-time social gaming. Currently, social games are mainly played asynchronously. This means that the game itself always continues, but that you are not constantly playing. For example, in FarmVille you have to sow and harvest your crops at different times. In the meantime, the game simply continues. In all these social games you can share your progress, but you cannot play together at the same time. New social games make it possible to play with each other in real time. At the same time, you are in the same game and can influence each other's decisions. For example, in a future version of FarmVille you could sell the crops that you have grown yourself directly to your friend who has taken on the role of a greengrocer in the game.
If you want to take the plunge into the world of social gaming, then according to Jussi Laakkonen of Applifier, racing games are an interesting market. It turns out that many game lovers are looking for good online racing games, but that the racing games that are available are not found very attractive. One of the expectations for the GDC Europe 2012 is therefore new online social racing games, where we can play against each other in real time. So get your Super Nintendo out of the attic and breathe new life into your racing skills with Super Mario Kart.