2012 Arkadium Social Gaming Monetization Research

Part 2 – Purchaser Behavior

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Research Overview

Research Objectives:• Gain an understanding of items that social game players are likely to purchase within

games on Facebook• Identify the genre of games that are most likely to monetize the end user• Understand the profile of monetizing Facebook gamer

The second portion of the research focuses on identifying some behavioral characteristics of the social game purchaser.

Data Collection:• Web survey (Peanut Labs eRewards)• Audience: US users 18 years and older• Survey length: 48 questions• Survey period: March 30th, 2012• 1,576 responses

Survey Qualifications: • Live in the United States• Be 18 years or older• Have played a game on Facebook

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Research Highlights

• Why do players purchase?– 51% purchase to decorate and personalize– 44% purchase to gain an edge

• What do players purchase?– 46% of purchasers buy game upgrades– 52% typically stay in the $0-$5 range for in-game purchases

• Where do players purchase?– 69% are purchasing in Sim or building games– 79% spend in two or fewer games per month

• When do players purchase?– 67% of buyers wait more than a week before they are convinced

to purchase in a Facebook game– 49% of buyers report they are still playing all of the games in

which they have purchased after six months

7/13/2012

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Purchaser Behavior – Why?

• 51% purchase to decorate and personalize their game• 44% purchase to gain an edge over competition• When asked about future purchase motivations, 42% indicated they

were very likely to purchase if given a special promotion or discount

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Purchaser Behavior – What?

• Game currency and game upgrades are the most popular categories of items to purchase

• Note: Game currency is often used to purchase most of these other items

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30%35% 37%

58%

36% 35%30%

46%

31%

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Items Purchased

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Cost of Purchase

• 52% of purchasers indicated that they typically stay in the $0-$5 range for in-game purchases

• 24% report that the most they’ve spent in-game is more than $20 on one purchase

Less than $1

$1-5

$6-10

$11-20

More than $20

15%

37%

26%

13%

8%

Typical

Less than $1

$1-5

$6-10

$11-20

More than $20

10%

24%

23%

20%

24%

Most

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Purchaser Behavior – Where?

• 69% of purchasers have purchased in Sim or building games• Casino and card games is a distant 2nd, with 27% having purchased

there

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Games per Month

• Nearly half of all purchasers only spend in one game per month• 79% spend in two or fewer games per month

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Purchaser Behavior – When?

• 67% of buyers wait more than a week before they are convinced to purchase in a Facebook game

Time playing before purchase

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Still playing after 6 months…

• 49% of buyers report that they are still playing all of the games they have purchased in

• Only 8% aren’t playing any of the games they purchased in six months ago

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Purchase Drop Off

• 29% of purchasers stop buying in a specific game because the game became boring or due to financial reasons

• 23% indicated they had moved on to another game

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APPENDIX - PURCHASER DATA

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Purchasers Overall When you play a Facebook game, do you ever…

Earn virtual currency? 94%Spend virtual currency? 94%Purchase virtual currency with real-world money? 75%Purchase a virtual gift for yourself with real-world money? 53%Purchase a gift for someone else with real-world money? 45%

How likely are you to purchase virtual items with real-world money in the future?Extremely likely 25%Very likely 22%Moderately likely 26%Slightly likely 19%Not at all likely 9%

Influences to spend real-world money on a Facebook game:Unlock story/narrative content 40%Gain edge over competition 44%Game too diffi cult otherwise 24%Ability to decorate and personalize 51%Influence of friends 16%

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Purchasers Overall Virtual items are you interested in purchasing: (Select all that apply)

Score or performance boosters 30%Energy or stamina 35%Gifts 37%Game currency 58%Game expansions or game content 36%Limited time or special offers 35%Holiday items or decorations 30%Upgrades 46%Complete quests or levels 31%None of the above 4%

Type of Facebook games most likely to spend real-world money: (Select all that apply)Simulation or Building (Cityville, Social City) 69%Strategy (Empires & Allies) 23%Role Playing (Dungeon Rampage, Monster Galaxy) 21%Arcade or Action (Bejeweled Blitz, Mahjongg Dimensions) 22%Casino and Card games (Texas HoldEm Poker) 27%Trivia (Family Feud) 14%Sports 10%Other (please specify) 6%

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Purchasers Overall How much real-world money do you typically spend per month on Facebook games?

Less than $10 46%$10-$19 26%$20-$49 18%$50-$99 7%$100-$499 2%$500 or more 2%

Less than $1 15%$1-5 37%$6-10 26%$11-20 13%More than $20 8%

What is the most real-world money you have spent on one purchase in a Facebook game?Less than $1 10%$1-5 24%$6-10 23%$11-20 20%More than $20 24%

Money typically spent on one purchase in a Facebook game:

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Purchasers Overall

N/A 15%Less than $1 8%$1-5 18%$6-10 20%$11-20 24%More than $20 15%

1 39%2 28%3 11%4 2%5+ 6%

Only once per game 37%Several days 19%Several weeks 17%Several months 19%Several years 8%

Budget for real-world money you spend on Facebook games in 1 month:

How many Facebook games do you spend real-world money on every month?

Length of time continue to spend real-world money on a Facebook game:

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Purchasers Overall

All of them 49%Most of them 26%Few of them 17%None of them 8%

More than 1 week 67%Less than 1 week 17%Less than 1 day 7%Less than 1 hour 4%N/A 5%

What makes you stop spending real-world money on a single Facebook game? Endgame reached/Run out of content 25%Game becomes boring 47%New game has captured your interest 37%Financial reasons 47%Other (please specify) 6%

How many are you still playing?

How long did you play before you purchased something?