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The Importance of Being Social

Oscar Clark Evangelist

PapayaMobile Inc

Humans are social animals

• We all play games in some

form

• We all respond to social

pressures

• We all crave esteem

• What's self-actualising?

Image found via Flikr (Erica Glasier)

What is a social game anyway?

Social games are about

sharing experiences

• Friends & like-minded

• Discovery of new content

• Sharing public success

• Reasons for habits

• Showing off creativity

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!"

Give players reasons to spend money

Players want to be

entertained • Purchase points are barriers

• Reduce the risk to the user

• Price Elasticity of Demand

• Players buy to show off

• Exchange money for time

Freemium

100:10:1 ratio (or

1:10:100 Rule*) • Free player are critical to success

• Make it easy to spend the first $1

• Goods to show off (creativity & skill)

• Consumable which help gameplay

• Make it possible to spend $100+

• What about the ethics?

* Apologies to Nick Lovell

Understand the True Fans

True Fans are happy to

spend money • Ensure that they get value for

paying

• Don't break the Free Player

experience

• Engage with your most valuable

players

• Avoid the 'hangover'

Advertising

Sponsored

experiences • Can be a vital revenue stream

• Media buying is getting better

• Effective when relevant

• Needs to be increasingly

smart

• Is Freemium incentive

enough?

...in the end it's all about the game

Who are Papaya?

• 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

• Winner of Best Games Service Provider ME Awards 2011

1,050,000,000

$16.45/

13,611,930

37

Any Questions?

Thank you :)

oscarclark@papayamobile.com

Twitter: @Athanateus