my last panel of the conference
Q: Is there the danger of a virtual good bubble?
AS: Virtual economy still appears to be healthy even though regular economy is tanking. People have different entertainment profiles, so they develop loyalties towards certain worlds.
MM: There is no demand for virtual goods. There is a demand for games, which will cause gamers to start valuing the context of the game.
DP: People just want choice.
Q: Conversion rate from free to pay to play?
AC: In social networking space, we have about 30-35M monthly active users. approx 12-15M come to super rewards offer page on monthly basis, 50% would click on one of the offers. 20-25% would complete the offer. in sum, = 5% of users are converted.
MM: This is a bad distinction. a $5 paying player is essentially a free player and a $2000 player is not.
AS: you must separate by game type. an engaging multiplayer game at its height of popularity, close to 50% of users will be paying in some way. if its just a virtual good or softer avatar game, then 5%.
DP: we have 7M users, $70-$75/player - lifetime, but there is also a cost per player. we do not feel like we are doing a great job - we are listening to people talk about the “funnel” and that is really important.
Q: What is the psychology of getting someone playing for free to convert to paying?
DP - charge a very low amount to do the first option. ex: $0.05 to gamble.
AC: allowing users to try before they buy, by having them fill out a survey, etc., so they are not pulling out their credit card, but they are participating. you want to try to reach them at the 8 minute point, where they have played with the game enough to like it but not get bored with it.
AS: you need to let the user first get engaged with the game. so there must be some levels for free. then you want them to compete to reach a higher level. competition ultimately makes people pay. but if its a competitive game, then you must make sure there is a level playing field - you cannot buy your way into a skill game. also, dating games have a different psychology - you want to impress someone.
Q: What % of revenues are from hardcore players (whales) versus avid or casual user?
DP: Console games which do not have this additional virtual goods layer, then they are missing a crucial revenue opportunity. Imagine Halo or Gears of War with a vitual good aspect.
Q: How do you set your price points?
DP: Start high because you can always adjust down, but users hate it when you adjust up.
AS: Watch for inflation - do they have enough to spend it on? do they value it enough?
MM: Try auctions and let your users decide.