From Virtual Economy to Actual Revenue

Using In-App Purchases in Mobile Games (research by www.soom.la)
Tips for Virtual Economy Design + Case Study
Tips for In-App Purchase Store Design + Case Study

Transcript

1. Yaniv Nizan, Feb 13 FROM VIRTUAL ECONOMIES TO ACTUAL REVENUE
2. Yaniv Nizan – Short Bio • Monetizing Videos • The Other gaming EyeView • Monetizing blogs • Advertising INTENTclick • Monetizing games • In-App Purchase SOOMLA
3. About SOOMLA • Established August 2012 • Backed by private investors including Oded Vardi • 100% month to month growth since launch • Over 1M end device installs • 5,000 Fans in Facebook
4. The SOOMLA Framework • Series of Open Source Projects • Mission: To allow indies to collaborate • Do it once do it well • Cross Platform
5. The SOOMLA Store Designer • In-App Purchase Store SDK • Creating seamless stores • Management Dashboard
6. SECTION 1 5 VIRTUAL ECONOMY MISTAKES
7. Mistake 0 – No Virtual Economy 91% of Revenue is in Selling Coins Users spend over 50% of the time in the store
8. Mistake 1 – Focusing on Selling • Increased User Engagement • Users will buy if they have coins Soft Store Game Play Focus on Earning
9. Mistake 2 – Balance = 0 • Give users some coins • Show them the Store before the game
10. Mistake 3 – Goods lasts forever • Rentable or consumable are Better • Opportunities for tweaking • Sell Everlasting items only for hard currency
11. Mistake 4 – Single Currency • Having 2 or 3 currencies gives more opportunity for tweaking • Allows some of the goods to be purchasable only with real money
12. Mistake 5 – Boring • Users should be exposed to new goods as they progress in the game • Complex Dependencies
13. Section 2 CLASH OF CLANS CASE STUDY
14. Clash of Clans • $500K / day • Record Breaking ARPU
15. 2 Games in One • Building a Clan • Accumulating wealth • Investing in buildings • Training Soldiers • Fighting • Deploying troops • Waiting to see the result
16. 2 Games in One • Building a Clan • Accumulating wealth • Investing in buildings • Training Soldiers • Fighting • Deploying troops • Waiting to see the result Resource Management Puzzle
17. Virtual Economy in Clash of Clans • Perfect balance • Time is always missing
18. Clash of Clans in the Model Tip Clash of Clans Focus on Earning Multiple ways to earn. Virtual goods impact earning Starting Balance > 0 YES Virtual goods don‟t last Soldiers are killed, buildings are destroyed Number of Currencies 2 Soft currencies, 1 Hard Interesting Store Each items have multiple levels. Complex unlocking rules
19. Section 3 5 Tips for Store Design
20. Tip 1 – Item attributes • Product Comparison • Reduced Complexity • Allow easy modification
21. Tip 2 – Meta and ROI Items • Items that are “no brainer” • Coin magnet • Double coins • Currency Limitations • Gold storage
22. Tip 3 – Double Verification • Verifying „soft‟ transactions • Reduces the mental difference • Get the player used to verifying • Make actual purchase easy
23. Tip 4 – Hard Items • Some items are only available for hard currency purchases
24. Tip 5 – Levels/Upgrades • Selling different levels of the same item • Shopping becomes an achievement • Keeps store fresh • Simplifies store
25. Section 4 CSR RACING CASE STUDY
26. CSR RACING • $12M / Month • Users spend more than 50% in Store
27. 2 Games in One • Building a Car Fleet • Accumulating wealth • Investing in Cars and Upgrading • Tuning Car • Racing • Shifting Gears • Waiting to see the result
28. 2 Games in One Resource Management Action / Puzzle • Building a Car Fleet • Accumulating wealth • Investing in Cars • Tuning Car • Racing • Shifting Gears • Waiting to see the result
29. Store
30. Stupid Simple • Virtual Goods • Cars (with levels) • Only 5 upgrades (with levels) • Infinite combinations • Everything is translated to 4 attributes
31. CSR Racing in the Model Tip CSR Racing Item Attributes Everything boils down to 4 attributes Meta and ROI Items No specific item but it‟s an ROI driven game Double Verification Yes Number of Currencies 1 Hard, 1 Soft Interesting Store Everything is in levels Infinite options
32. Yaniv Nizan, Feb 2013 FACEBOOK.COM/THE.SOOMLA.PROJECT BLOG.SOOM.LA PROJECT@SOOM.LA