With the explosive growth of mobile games, many developers have shifted focus almost exclusively to mobile projects. Where does this leave social games? Is it still possible for developers to succeed on Facebook or other social networks? This session will offer insights for developers from the publisher’s perspective, as well as highlight key considerations in making your game into a global hit.

1. The End of Social Games
Confidential
Flash GAMM Moscow 2013
Stephen Lee, Executive Director, Business Development
?

2. • About 6waves
• Social and Mobile Games
– The Headlines
• Mobile Realities
• The State of Social
• Tips for Developers
Confidential 2All Rights Reserved.

3. ABOUT 6WAVES
3Confidential All Rights Reserved.

4. The Leading Independent Publisher of Social
Games on Facebook

5. What Do We Do?
• 6waves helps social games to scale quickly and
globally, allowing developers to focus on making
and maintaining great games
5Confidential. All Rights Reserved.

6. Global Users Network
6Confidential. All Rights Reserved.
22%
3%
1%
28%
30%
6%
20M MAU - 3M DAU
10%

7. Global Partners
7Confidential. All Rights Reserved.
Global Offices (Hong Kong | San Francisco | Moscow | Tokyo | Beijing )

8. THE HEADLINES
SOCIAL AND MOBILE GAMES
8Confidential All Rights Reserved.

9. Not too long ago…
9Confidential. All Rights Reserved.
• Social Gaming Explosion

10. Zynga and other Large Players
10Confidential. All Rights Reserved.

11. In the Meantime…
• Smartphone Growth
11Confidential. All Rights Reserved.

12. Mobile Market Is Attractive
• New and exciting hardware / software
• Captive audience
• Lower development costs
• Higher monetization
• Viral growth
12Confidential. All Rights Reserved.

13. iOS Still Leads the Way
13Confidential. All Rights Reserved.

14. Android is Gaining Ground
• Growth of Mobile
14Confidential. All Rights Reserved.

15. Android Growth
15Confidential. All Rights Reserved.

16. Mobile and Tablet Explosion
16Confidential. All Rights Reserved.

17. Massive Mobile Hits
17Confidential. All Rights Reserved.

18. More recently, in Social…
18Confidential. All Rights Reserved.

19. Rise of Mobile Companies
19Confidential. All Rights Reserved.

20. Mobile Investment & Growth
20Confidential. All Rights Reserved.

21. MOBILE VS. SOCIAL
QUICK SURVEY
21Confidential All Rights Reserved.

22. More Mobile Startups
• GDC Survey of over 2,500 Game Developers
22Confidential. All Rights Reserved.
• 53% independent
– almost all within the last two years
• 38% developed for mobile on previous project
• 58% planning mobile for next project
– 90% iOS
– 75% interested in Android
– 15% Windows Phone

23. Where will your next game be?
23Confidential. All Rights Reserved.

24. MOBILE REALITIES
24Confidential All Rights Reserved.

25. 25Confidential. All Rights Reserved.

26. Mobile Discovery Issue
26Confidential. All Rights Reserved.
• How will my game get discovered?

27. Costly User Acquisition
• Must maximize both Virality and Retention to
ensure ROI
27Confidential. All Rights Reserved.

28. Competitive Landscape
28Confidential. All Rights Reserved.
Top 25 developers account for half of
all iOS revenue.
Source: Canalys

29. Why Go Mobile?
Seems to be:
• High-potential
• Shorter dev cycle
• Higher monetization
• Viral
29Confidential. All Rights Reserved.
But actually…
• Highly competitive
• Shorter life cycle
• Expensive acquisition, not
sustainable
• Big companies dominate
revenue

30. THE STATE OF SOCIAL
30Confidential All Rights Reserved.

31. Mobile Has Changed Social
• Decreased launch DAU/MAU numbers
• Reduced player attention span
• Forced developers to improve user experiences
• Traditional leaders have struggled to adapt
• Is this the end?
31Confidential. All Rights Reserved.
NO

32. Desktop Games Are Thriving
• Record number of people playing games
• Increased Game Installs by 75% year over year
32Confidential. All Rights Reserved.

33. Facebook Revenues
• Payments to Developers
33Confidential. All Rights Reserved.
Zynga Other Developers Overall Games
- 37%
+ 60%
+ 12%

34. Competitive Landscape
• Level playing field – anyone can succeed
• Developers are experienced and well-armed
• Proven channels for developers to grow games
• Platform continues to improve
– No preferential terms
– Deprecating FB Credits
34Confidential. All Rights Reserved.

35. Plenty of Room for Facebook Hits
35Confidential. All Rights Reserved.

36. Facebook On Mobile
• Improved Acquisition, Discovery, and Virality
36Confidential. All Rights Reserved.

37. Social Graph Vital to Monetize Mobile
• Facebook Penetration in top Grossing 100 apps
37Confidential. All Rights Reserved.
81/100
70/100
iOS Android
Source: Facebook earnings call Q1 2013

38. The Importance of Being Social
• Even if you’re 100% set on developing for
mobile, it doesn’t make sense to rely only on
mobile
38Confidential. All Rights Reserved.
• Social is a proven way to improve the stats of
your games and increase your odds of success

39. Candy Crush Saga
• The Social and Mobile “Sweet Spot”
39Confidential. All Rights Reserved.

40. TIPS FOR DEVELOPERS
40Confidential All Rights Reserved.

41. Tip #1: Think Global
• Think about genres, languages, themes
• Know your intended audience
• Target areas of opportunity
– Avoid “Red Oceans”
41Confidential. All Rights Reserved.

42. New and Emerging Markets
42Confidential. All Rights Reserved.

43. Tencent
43Confidential. All Rights Reserved.
Huge Market Gaming Network
Top Games on Tencent are netting over
$3M USD
Over 560 Million on Tencent alone
Tencent Revenue Distribution

44. Yabage
44Confidential. All Rights Reserved.
Gaming Culture High Monetization

45. Tip #2: Think Cross-Platform
• Maximize user touchpoints as easily as you can
45Confidential. All Rights Reserved.

46. Tip #3: Spread Your Bets
46Confidential. All Rights Reserved.
• Increase probability of payout

47. Tip #4: Strength In Numbers
Consider Partnerships
• Especially if you’re working on multiple
platforms
• Especially in hard to crack markets
– Additional revenue with minimal effort and risk
• Look for:
– Established players
– Proven platforms
47Confidential. All Rights Reserved.

48. Tencent
48Confidential. All Rights Reserved.
Marketing Regulatory Issue
Licenses are require to operate
Online Games in China.

49. Yabage
49Confidential. All Rights Reserved.
Localization Developer Support

50. Thank You
stephen@6waves.com
Confidential 50All Rights Reserved.