2. State of the Mobile Market
We all know it's big...
• 5.6B mobile subscribers
• 900M Smartphones
• 575M Smartphone “app” users
• 120m people play Social games
• 81m play every day
• 49m play multiple times a day
• 31m have bought virtual goods
• 38% play on a mobile phone
3. Why is mobile different?
Players use different
devices for a reason
• Mode of Use
• Context and mood
• Fragmentation
• Reliability of connection
• The most social device?
4. Why Social on Mobile?
Gamers who play
together pay together
• Social discovery
• Low-pressure sharing
• Retention
• Social Capital
• Unlock 'True Fan' potential
5. Case Study: Zombies… OMG
Social Effect last beyond the
initial promotion
• 500k installs in 4 weeks
• 3 days of Pmail promotion
• Social Accelerator effects
6. Talking Mobile: Apple AppStore
App Store is the one
everyone wants to be
• 25bn downloads
• 575k+ apps; 100k + Games
• 100’s of new apps/day
• 17 of top 20 US Freemium
• Increasingly difficult to get
noticed
7. Talking Mobile: Android Market Place
Android market place is the
place for pushing
boundaries
• 700k+ Daily Activations
• 400k+ apps (25.6% Games)
• Polished new games can win
• Billing is challenging
• Alternative AppStores
8. Talking Mobile: Challenging Campaigns
Getting discovered is only going
to get more difficult
• Typical campaign starts at $20k
• Free App of the day less effective
• Users need a reason to download
• Competition is getting fiercer
• Being Free isn't enough
9. Talking Mobile: Fragmentation
Getting on mobile is a
different technical
challenge
• Device OS (upgrades)
• Screen size/resolution
• Controls? 'back button'?
• Processor performance
• Backward compatibility
10. Talking Social: Games as a Service
Social games need to be
services
• Measure Measure Measure
• Designers need to
understand the data
• Iterative improvements
deliver a narrative
• Minimum Viable Product
must still be polished
11. Talking Social: Who are your players?
Different Players buy for
different reasons
• Collector:
– "Got to catch them all"
• Explorer:
– "Where can I go today?"
• Socialiser:
– "I want to be popular"
• Competitor:
– "I'm going to Pwn ya!"
12. Talking Mobile: Who are your players?
Mobile Players play
based on Mood & Mode
• Entertain Me:
– "Keep me from going mad"
• Max my time:
– "Just two minutes to fill"
• Show and tell:
– "Too cool for you"
• Habit Forming:
– "My guilty pleasure"
13. Talking Social: Pricing is everything
Maximise the
opportunity
• Purchases will be a barrier
• Reduce the risk to the user
• Understand Price Elasticity
• Consumable vs Durable
• Billing models affect gameplay
14. Talking Social: Pricing is everything
Maximise the
opportunity
• Purchases will be a barrier
• Reduce the risk to the user
• Understand Price Elasticity
• Consumable vs Owned goods
• Billing models affect gameplay
15. Talking Money: Premium
Anticipation is essential
and it buys loyalty
• Players have to crave your game
• You can't measure the players you
turn away
• Few brands can sustain Premium
• Players are invested in game
16. Talking Money: Advertising
Brand sponsored
experiences
• Monetize those who won't pay
• Media buying is getting much
better
• Most effective when relevant to
the game
• Needs to be increasingly smart
17. Talking Money: Freemium
Give players a reason to
spend money
• Free-players are a vital audience
• First $1 spend must be easy and
rewarding
• Consumable goods (short term)
• Durable Goods (longer term)
• Make it possible to spend $100+
* Apologies to Nicholas Lovell
18. Talking Social: Understand the True Fans
True Fans are happy to
spend money
• Whales can be 1-4% of
audience but <60% revenue
• 86.9% of purchases are to
accelerate play
• 96.65% of purchases are on
consumables
19. Talking Social: Total Lifetime Value
We don't just want a one
night stand
• True fans can take 8-12
days to start spending
• Nagging payment requests
take their toll in time
• Work with the user lifecycle
to keep them engaged
• Avoid the 'hangover' Typical number of
Games an X-City
player where
spends money
20. Talking Social: Compulsion Loops
Give Players a reason to
keep coming back
•Schedule of reinforcement
•Grinding & flow
•Visible achievement stream
•"Just one more turn"
•What happens between
sessions?
21. Talking Social: Social Achievement
Playing the game should
grant me ‘Social Capital’
• Let players show off
• Different reward behaviours
• Gifting and Reciprocation
• Not social if I can't share
• The 'Poke' effect
22. Talking Social: Buy Better Play
Buying things should help
me love the game
• Each purchase must improve
the game
• Linking gifts to purchased goods
• Exchange time for money, but
keep it 'fair'
• Ambiguous strategy boosts
value
23. Talking Social: Tread carefully!
Easy to damage games
with poor Monetization
• Preserve Game balance
• Free Demo & Level packs
generally don't work
• Don’t annoy Free-players
• Nagging quickly gets dull
24. HTML5 + Flash
Do we focus on a Native
or Browser?
• HTML5 + WebGL
browsers on Android
• Will we get consistent
performance
• Needs app-like simplicity
• Papaya Social Splash
(Flash + HTML5 for
Android/iOS)
26. Who is PapayaMobile?
The leading social gaming network for
mobiles with 55 million users and 300+
games.
•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.
27. Any Questions?
Thank you :)
oscarclark@papayamobile.com
Twitter: @Athanateus