VIRTUAL CURRENCY panel...
according to the Austin Game Conference program --Virtual Currency has the power and the potential to alter the casual game landscape but has yet to do so dramatically. What are the next steps? What will the landscape look like when we get there? Leaders in the industry are already putting virtual currency into practice to create
moderated by Susan Choe, StrayFish.com....
Panelists intros:
WILDTANGENT -- Alex St. John, CEO & Co-founder....(publisher of online and downloadable games --with a token-based system for casual games called Wild Coins)
SEAN RYAN, CEO, MEEZ.com (3D avatars that animate in minutes- virtual item based company) -- items make self and items we put brands on -- also opened API for casual gamers to develop.
Erik Bethke, CEO, GoPets LTd....60 different payment models-- operates out of Korea....combo of social networking and virtual pets....
Daniel James, Founder & CEO Three Rings -- Puzzle Pirates.(an online game in which you play a Pirate character in an ocean world)
James talking about Puzzle Pirates -- mostly older audience who buys currency....teen audience and parents who plays the game...tried SMS transactions and encourage kids to make purchases...
James said that they are quite comfortable with large section of freeloaders...feel they (freebies)adding a lot of value to the game and get older people to come...
GOPETS --Bethke explains -- younger audience and older audience...green shell currency free...teaser/lubricant...gold shells sold for real money...principally use PAYPAL...have not experimented with premium SMS stuff....users think of GoPets as phemeral bits of relaxation that they are purchasing...so much easier in Asia...convenience of payment is most exciting thing possible in North America...
MEEZ.com -- Ryan explains that surprisingly the heaviest players are male-- fashion items, sports branded items..girls will come back daily and change dance moves, animation, background and more...BUT when men come in they tend to spend -- men spend without thought -like real life.. Why pay for digital items...people are coming along (in understanding why)-- men as primary purchasers...women more interested in lots of items...
"Lots of enthusiasm and buzz for Virtual Currency" says St. John from WILDTANGENT....need more reason to intro to USA than rationale that 'hit in Korea therefore will be hit in USA' We've been running casual game portals for years...one percent will fill out 4 page credit card form and give you $20 -- real promise in virtual currency. Casual games space-- mom buying stuff for kids and sometimes for herself....can't do automatic payment...can't monetize $50 game with $20 CPM with advertising...I need a lower price point for people to buy units
SELLING GAME SESSIONS
WildTangent started.selling sessions of gameplay, rather than owning an entire game..$20 -- 18 times a month -- about 25 cents a session --- according to St. John's stats...
SPONSORED TOKENS : Can turn to COKE -- 90 percent of Wild Coins in WildTangent's system are paid for by Accuvue and Coke-- and these brands give the Wild Coins to consumers -- go play 270 games...Wild Coin system only alive 1 month -- although Coke signed on in December....The thought by WildTangent was --"What if we modified our DRM and chopped into smaller units?"...So they built technology knowing we had the advertisers in hand -- we do have $1 million bucks from the brands....
Moderator Choe -- look at Korean model-- Virtual currency and item-based model -- growth of Virtual Item, virtual currency Internet PC cafes...popularize in Korea...How will US market be encouraged.?
BETAS FOREVER????
...Bethke from GoPets explains Korean market was suffering from massive amounts of piracy with packaged games and so this prompted them to go to online games and subscription-based online games...have longer beta periods to do big user count....once out to 12 months or 18 months on betas... He adds that Koreans are the only group exporting games to Philipines and Asia and selling IP into Asia -- difficult markets...didn't just give up...BETAS FOREVER....but there are critical parts of this game play we will sell you ...turned a magic switch.
BETHKE --says he moved to Korea two years ago-- you have to finance your game, you have to release it, you have to service it...Think Wild Coins idea is most innovative seen in long time...if you're selling ads in your games your customer is no longer gamers but rather the brands., Korean model most rigrorously thorough model of bringing fun to games...
St. John -- agrees "We will do the deals with the advertisers and allows the gamers to make great games..."....
Bethke -- "People will say that oh those wacky Koreans will do anything"...but not true IGE - gold sales in WOW - Virtual Currency is here! Habbo Hotel and a few of us going out and try...$30 in one month if you like and $500 in one month had one user spend $1500 in a month.
WHEN DO YOU THINK ABOUT VIRTUAL CURRENCY & YOUR GAME....
How do I know that you have the blank? -- design (virtual item) into game process from the beginning and secondary market will come later...for example a horse in WOW...explains Ryan from Meez.com.
PLAYERS BUYING SESSIONS:
St. John from Wild Tangent explains players are more comfortable buying each session -- even guy that paid $500 -- not ready to buy...buy individual sessions...chop them up in sessions...Virtual currency --cool can't wait to see if that takes off....something as simple as chopping a game into sessions works really well...several thousand users in beta...
Ryan from Meez.com interrupts saying-- we were selling sessions in 1998 and that didn't work...(blogger note-- always two sides to the coin --pun intended)
LOTS OF MISTAKES IN THIS MARKET-- everyone of these games demands user name/password and credit card -- reregister and signup for new currency system...St John explains that one of things they did with WILD COINS - is offer another pay system like PayPal...could make a difference for a good game versus great game...
2 Kinds of Currency Recommended
Bethke-- if you're building a game with virtual currency and virtual items-- I would recommend that you have two kinds of currency or money system...mixture of doing something for time and payment...time-rich currency for people with lots of time and cash-rich currency for people who will pay....
ITEMS -- some items affect appearance, UI affecting items...if you pick up pickups -- can't use item unless you buy switching control...beginning player doesn't care--advanced player 100 switches..sell UI...according to Bethke.
Panel slowing down--going to send so don't lose post-- see if anything else worthwhile comes up for a next post....Joyce Schwarz on location at the Austin Games Conference...for hollywood2020.blogs.com.
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