Download - Social Gaming - SMX Melbourne 2011
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Social Gaming
Jeff Ferguson CEO, Fang Digital Marketing
Board Member, SEMPO LA
Writer, DeadTreeMedia.com
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mobro.co/JeffFerguson
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WHO IS THE SOCIAL GAMER
(HINT: It‟s Not Who You Think It Is)
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It‟s your mum
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Typical Social Gamers
• Casual social gamers: – Women make up the majority; 38% of female social gamers
say they play social games several times a day, vs. 29% of males.
– 40% were over age 50
– 23% planned to spend more on social gaming content in 2011
• Hardcore social gamers: – Were more likely to be male (55%) and under age 40 (57%)
– Spent more money on gaming content
– 59% said they planned to spend more on social gaming content in 2011
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Typical Social Gamers
• Slightly different in Facebook alone
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Typical Social Gamers
• Gender Differences
– Men and women differ in their consumption of, and
attitudes towards, social games:
• Women are more apt to play social games with real-world
friends than men are (68% vs. 56%);
• Men are more inclined than women to play with strangers
(41% vs. 33%);
• Nearly twice as many women as men say they play social
games with relatives (46% vs. 29%).
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Typical Social Gamers
• More diverse than you think…
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Typical Social Gamers
• And they are
good people.
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Typical Social Gamers
• Playing Preferences
– 83% of social gamers cite Facebook as a place where they play social games,
compared to 24% who play on MySpace, 7% on Bebo and 5% who play on
Friendster.
– Social gamers spend 39% of all their time on social networking sites/services
playing games. • The second and third most popular social networking activities among social gamers are chatting
with/messaging friends (17%) and playing non-social (solo) games (15%).
– When asked to choose as many reasons as they wanted for playing social
games from a lengthy list, • Fun and excitement (53%).
• Stress relief (45%)
• Competitive spirit (43%)
• Mental workout (32%)
• Connect with others (24%).
– Only 17% of UK-based social gamers chose "connect with others" as a
reason for playing, compared to 28% of their U.S. counterparts.
– Nearly half (49%) of the times when they log into social networks, social
gamers do so specifically to play social games.
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Typical Social Gamers
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CASUALLY LARGE Casual, Like A Revolution…
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Casually Large
• Four of out ten US internet users play social games,
according to a study from Kabam in May 2011.
• According to the survey results, social gamers are
highly „social‟ on social sites: – They spend 13 hours/wk on social networks, and 9.5 hours/wk on
social games
– 44% use social games “as a form of communication”
– They have 218 social connections, and have made 20 new friends
through social gaming
– They have 16.5 „real-life friends‟ who play the same social games
they do
– 22% say they play harder because their online friends can see their
score
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Casually Large
• Not as big as console gamers, but climbing
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Casually Large
• Still among friends (and family):
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Casually Large
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Casually Large
• Frequent Play
– The vast majority (95%) of social gamers play multiple times
per week; nearly two-thirds (64%) play at least once a day.
– U.S. players tend to play more frequently, with 68% saying
they play daily compared to 55% of U.K.-based social gamers.
– 61% of social gamers say their average social gaming session
lasts more than half an hour; one in ten say their average
session lasts 3 hours or more!
– More than half (56%) of social gamers have been playing
social games for more than a year.
– About one quarter (26%) are new to social gaming, having
started playing in the last six months.
– About a third (35%) of social gamers say their consumption of
social games has increased over the past three months,
compared to 10% who said it has decreased.
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Casually Large
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Casually Large
• Viral Growth/Consumption – Social gamers tend to play their favorite games with great frequency;
• The most popular games for weekly or more frequent play are
• Farmville (69)
• Bejeweled® Blitz (65%)
• Texas Hold'em Poker (63%)
• Cafe World (61%)
• Mafia Wars (59%)
– Word-of-mouth is the most common way that social gamers hear
about new social games; • 57% of social gamers rely on a recommendation or in-game alert from a friend
• 38% said they learn about new games from ads on social networking sites
• 27% cited standard Web searches
– Social gamers have played an average of 6.1 different social games • 39% have played between three and five social games
• 13% say they've played more than 10.
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CASUAL GAMING SPENDING
Virtual Currency Translates Into Real Currency
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Social Gaming Spending
• Virtual goods revenues will reach $653 million in the US in 2011*
– Up 28% from 2010
• Slightly more than half (53%) of social gamers say they've earned
and/or spent virtual currency in a social game
– Only 28% have purchased virtual currency with real-world money and only
32% have purchased a virtual gift
• Nearly a third (32%) of social gamers say they're likely to
purchase virtual items with real-world currency
• Fully a quarter (25%) of social gamers say they've been misled by
an ad or other "special offer" tied to a social game they've played
*eMarketer
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Social Gaming Spending
• Nearly one quarter – 24% – of social gamers have clicked on an
ad in a social game and made an online purchase,
– And 18% have paid to play a game, or to get items in a game.
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Social Gaming Spending
• Virtual Goods: – 42% of social gamers say they would be more motivated to play a
social game that offered real world rewards (coupon, gift card)
– On average, gamers spend $42.70 on in-game items or virtual
currency
– A quarter of the survey participants report buying virtual currency at
least once weekly
– 55% of players would rather earn virtual currency than purchase it
with real money, but 14% have used real money to purchase virtual
currency
– 45% are open to viewing in-game ads to earn virtual currency
– 41% will review the game or spread the word through their social
network page to earn virtual currency
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THE SIMS ON FACEBOOK 4.6 Million Players Daily and Counting
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The Sims on Facebook
• Less than a week after launch, The Sims Social already had 4.6
million people playing daily, and is the fastest-growing social
game.
• The impressive growth statistics for the newest kid on
the social gaming block: – The Sims Social is the #6 game on Facebook
– It is the #10 app on Facebook overall
– The Sims Social is on track to have more players than CityVille • Currently the #1 social game on Facebook, with 14 million players
– Previous versions of The Sims sold more than 140 million copies.
• The Sims Social also incorporates in-game advertising and
launched with Dunkin‟ Donuts as part of gameplay. • Players can give their Facebook friends a “Dunkin‟ Donuts coffee boost.”