Mobile Game Development in the West vs. East

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Mobile Game Development in the West vs. East

• Luke Stapley Cross Platform

Please view my notes for more information
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Mobile Game Development Introduction

• How Big is Mobile Gaming in the West?
• The Differences Between Mobile Gaming and Other
  Gaming Platforms
• How do Developers Work in the Western Game
  Industry
• How do Publishers Work in the Western Game
  Industry
• What Are The Profit Schemes In Western Mobile
  Markets
• FAQ

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How Big is Mobile Gaming in the West

• The Western Market
• USA (English, Spanish)
• Canada (English, French)
• Australia (English)
• UK (English)
• Western Europe (English, French, German, Spanish)

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How Big is Mobile Gaming in the West?

• 58 of Americans and 61 of Europeans are playing
  games.
• Mobile Game industry will make an estimated US
  22.8 billion in 2013 for North America
• People spend more than 126 minutes a day using
  smart phone apps.
• In 2012, Worldwide Smartphone users have on
  average 37 apps on their phone.
• People using smart phones play video games on
  average of 14 minutes per day. (11)

Sources GSMA, The Mobile economy 2013
newzoo.com ABI Research ESA, Essential facts
about the computer and video game industry
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Difference Between Mobile Gaming and Other Gaming
Platforms

• Console/Handheld Gaming
• PC Gaming
• Popular Gaming in West vs. China
• MMORPG
• Mobile Gaming
• Amusement/Arcade Gaming

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Console/Handheld Gaming

• Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo
• Banned in China since 2000, Consoles in China are
  a grey market area.
• Many game developers overseas use China for game
  assets and more recently full games.
• Rumors of opening up console gaming in China are
  growing.

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PC Gaming

• Gaming in the West vs. East
• 68 of gamers play on a PC
• Windows gaming is still King!
• Most gamers buy online using Steam, Origin,
  Amazon.com, GOG.com, or other means.
• Gamers are playing both Indie and High-end games
  in all different game styles
• MMORPG numbers are falling

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Amusement/Arcade Games

• Very popular in the early 1980s to late 1990s
  has now become a niche market due to PC and
  Console gaming.
• Very difficult market to work with in the West
  due to its low sales.
• High sales now are only in Casino games for
  places in Las Vegas and Atlantic City.

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Mobile Games

• Mobile gaming has been increasing by 35 in the
  past year with over 100 million gamers.
• Estimated to make 12.7 billion in the USA market
  in 2015
• 32 of mobile gamers pay money for games
• 36 of all game players have a Smartphone.
• Most players now have multiple options for
  playing and paying for a game (purchase, in-game
  ads, micro-transactions, demos)
• Most OS creators are now catering to game makers
  to help promote their devices

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Mobile Market Share
Source Comscore, May 2013 U.S. Smartphone
Subscriber Market Share
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Source Kantar Worldpanel
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Average Western Mobile Gamer

• 83 of gamers age 11 35.
• Nearly split among genders.
• Best tracking system? Stickiness (DAU/MAU)

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Case Study Puzzle and Dragons

• Created by the company GungHo
• Downloaded gt 19 million times
• Estimated 4.5 USD million/day
• 2013 (est.) over 1 billion USD

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Is it time for Chinese companies?

• The market for social and MMORPG are filling up
  with Chinese games
• Many game companies announce interest at 2013
  ChinaJoy

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How do Developers Work in the Western Game
Industry

• Getting money for your game idea
• Make the game
• Integration with social sites
• Selling your game to the user
• Monetization
• Marketing

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Getting money for your game idea

• Venture Capital
• Prior Successful Game Profits
• Start from Scratch

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Integration with social sites

• Facebook
• Creating cross platform play
• Creating better social experiences
• Adding more monetization to game makers
• Twitter
• Etc.

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Selling Your Game to the Player

• Marketplaces
• What is expected for a marketplace?

And more
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Monetization

• F2P (Free to Play)
• Purchasing
• Direct Purchase
• Demos
• In-Game purchase
• Cross promotion

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Marketing

• Allow a Developer/Marketing company to market
  your game.
• Marketing your game on your own
• Creating great name players remember and great
  icons for the game that helps the player want to
  try.
• Advertise in Ad networks
• Using social networks (Twitter, Facebook, BBS)
• Continue retention rates (push notifications, new
  updates, optimize, etc.)
• Watch how gamers play your game
• Analytics

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How do Publishers Work in the Western Game
Industry

• What is a Publisher
• What can they do for you?
• Payment of game (profit sharing?)
• Advertising the game
• In-Game Advertisements
• Etc.
• What do they want?

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What is a Publisher?

• They work with strong creators releasing games
  that are usually seen as better games than most
  self-published games
• Usually will have resources that a developer may
  not have (User acquisition, monetization best
  practices, in-game sales, analytics, etc.)
• Help collaborate with the developer to make the
  game better for the player.

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Publishing models in the West

• Two different types
• Investment of the company
• Paying the company for the game with low
  percentage of added revenue.
• Direct advisement of a project
• Paying a company for creating the game through
  milestones.

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Publishers Advertising

• Publishers can create their own advertising or
  use other sources

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Paid User Acquisition
Source Jameel Khalfan, Casual Connect When
Publishing Works for Free to Play Games
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FAQ on Western Game Development

• How do advertisements work in mobile games?
• Does my game have to have high tech graphics,
  sounds, and big teams to be successful?
• Can I do licenses with my game?
• What types of games do westerners play? Good game
  elements?
• What should I look for in my game that I might
  not know about?

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My Contact Information

• Luke Stapley
• CEO, Cross Platform
• QQ 860873360
• Skype gameaddicthotline
• Email Luke_at_xpfgames.com
• Website www.xpfgames.com