The premise of free-to-play games is in the name—players
can play for free and open their wallets only when they need
virtual items or upgrades to enhance their gaming experience,
an approach broadly referred to as the microtransactions model. Your Tech Advisor
The mechanics of gameplay vary—they can be synchronous or
asynchronous—and examples of free-to-play games include
MapleStory and Lord of the Rings Online.
The main advantage of this business model is to remove the
barriers of retail cost and subscription fees, which tend to be
formidable disincentives to play games, especially for casual
gamers. Those segments who do not consider themselves
“gamers” are much more likely to spend a substantial amount
of money on free-to-play games than they are to purchase
games at retail outlets. For example, in the game Lord of the
Rings Online, players have the option to buy extra quests,
cosmetic gear, rare mounts, experience boosts, and more to
enhance game play. Bumble apk game
Players often cite the microtransactions model as a way to
reduce their gaming expenditures because it allows them to
spend according to their budget and play patterns. However,
Parks Associates research reveals that people who spend money
on these games tend to spend amounts that are comparable
to the cost of traditional games.
In particular, gamers who spend money on Facebook games
average about $29 USD per month in spending while those
who pay for virtual goods and upgrades in free-to-play games
spend about $21 USD per month on average. These amounts
are not too far from the $24-$27 per month spent by incidental
and occasional gamers on new console games.
Social games are layered on top of social networks. They
utilize the underlying social network platform and need to
conform to its guidelines, which usually include privacy,
spamming, and monetization constraints.
• Social games are asynchronous multiplayer games. Gameplay
is designed as asynchronous (instead of synchronous, as
in traditional videogames). This setup eliminates the requirement
for players to be online at the same time as their opponents
and allows social games to be played without huge
commitments of time. music download free
• Social games are extremely viral and can scale up their
user base in a short period of time. Zynga’s FarmVille gained
10 million daily active users in its first six weeks in the market;
CityVille reached 20 million users in 11 days1, making it the
fastest-growing game in history.
• Social games are mostly casual in nature and require little
up-front development costs. However, since social games
are ongoing services, expertise in providing Internet services
and customer care is essential to a company’s success. It is
not uncommon for operational and service costs to account
for 70-80% of a game’s total cost. Finding cost-effective infrastructures
to accommodate huge customer bases of millions
of players is critical. check balance on number
• Social games provide impressive amounts of user data.
Game developers are able to fine-tune their games after
launch, based on users’ behavior. They can detect lapses
in user interest and take measures to revive interest in the
game (such as launching new virtual items, special offers,
etc.). These steps are nearly impossible (or prohibitively expensive)
to do with traditional boxed games.