how long kids play virtual worlds
DESCRIPTION
A report by Dubit on the popularity of children's virtual worlds and the length of time children stay engaged with them.TRANSCRIPT
Dubit -
Games Children Play - Longevity
Games Children Play
Dubit -
Games Children Play: The Study
At Dubit we are constantly researching which games children are playing.
We’ve been there from the beginning: we began with the rise of virtual worlds, witnessed the growth of iPads and Apps, and the gradual acceptance of paying for digital content.
So, from all this time in the industry - what have we learnt?
This particular study looks at longevity: how long can you expect a child to stay in your game or website as an active player?
In this study of 500 children from the UK, aged between 6 and 12 years-of-age, we focus first on Virtual Worlds and Adventure Games.
And we provide this data as a benchmark for any virtual world out there, or for those planning their digital strategy.
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0%
25%
50%
75%
100%
Moshi Monsters
Club PenguinBin Weevils
Neopets
Monkey QuestStardoll
Fight my MonsterRunescape
Wizard 101Webkinz
IMVUPoptropica
This ranking demonstrates that, well, there are always industry leaders. In the UK, the homegrown ones tend to do well, with over half the country’s kids having played or playing Moshi Monsters.
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Virtual Worlds: Past & Present
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0%
25%
50%
75%
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Moshi Monsters
Club PenguinBin Weevils
Monkey QuestStardoll
Wizard 101Neopets
Fight my MonsterRunescape
PoptropicaWebkinz
IMVU
Played Playing Now
When we look closer at who is playing now, the gap between the top three widens, and Bin Weevils seems a little “last year”, slipping down in player terms to be around the same level as Monkey Quest, Wizard 101 (newish kids on the block) and Stardoll (the old dame). So - what is the normal attrition rate for these audiences? How quickly do kids leave? For this, we will focus on the three largest players.
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Virtual Worlds: Past & Present
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When we plot audience data from our survey of kids who have played the top three, we find that there is a consistent churn rate of users. Normalising the attrition rate, we have a curve and formula (do ask!) to predict performance across virtual worlds: after 4 months, the best sites still retain 40-45% of their users.
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Longevity: The lifetime of a typical user of a Virtual World
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Moshi Bin Weevils Club Penguin
Months Playing
%ag
e U
sers
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Although you would expect to lose a significant number of users in the first 3-4 months, the number you hang onto up until THIS point determines the long term success of the game. After four months, the pitch of the curve levels off, for all games, with little differential churn.
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Longevity: The lifetime of a typical user of a Virtual World
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Moshi Bin Weevils Club Penguin
Months Playing
%ag
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As an example, hanging on to a extra 7% or 8% at four months raises the Club Penguin userbase and keeps it higher for longer: many of these are likely to be paying, “committed” members.
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Longevity: The lifetime of a typical user of a Virtual World
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Moshi Bin Weevils Club Penguin
Months Playing
%ag
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In contrast, Bin Weevils has the highest churn rate in the first three months, and its downward momentum continues - potentially reflecting that users in the first few months are not as engaged with their character, the game mechanic and the return loop as much as in other games. Adding more marketing will not affect this.
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Longevity: Bin Weevils and the impact of poor initial retention
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Bin Weevils
Months Playing
%ag
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0%
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Got bored
My friends stopped Cost
Found a better gameFinished it
My parents asked me to Other
Club Penguin Moshi Monsters Bin Weevils
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Longevity: Why kids move on
So the first four months requires a strategy to connect and immerse the kids in the game. Unsurprisingly, boredom is the key factor that kids cite when asked about why they left a particular game. Ongoing rewards for participation, and updating content, would mitigate against the primary causes. But also, note how important “social” is to their ongoing play: multiplayer activities are also a key contributor to a game’s success.
Dubit -
0%
25%
50%
75%
100%
Club Penguin
Moshi MonstersBin Weevils
More than once a day Once a day Nearly every day Couple of times a weekOnce a week Every few weeks Less than once a month
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Longevity: The importance of “social”
So, one of the advantages of Virtual Worlds is this “immersion” factor: upgrading your character, playing with friends, and accessing new content. Social elements on Moshi are less than in the other two games: whereas 14% of players play Club Penguin on a daily basis, only 5% of Moshi Monsters players do likewise.
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Features
• Longevity • Frequency
• Virality
• Discoverability
• Conversion
• Play styles
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Games Children Play
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Kids Research
• Market analysis • Prototype and concept testing
• Competitor analysis and market scoping
• IP / trend spotting
• Design & ideation
• Monetization strategies
• Ethical marketing
• Transmedia modeling
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Dubit: Research, Build & Launch digital experiences for kids brands
Kids Game Development
• Game design and ideation
• Character and brand design
• Game development
• Virtual Worlds and Casual MMOs
Kids Apps
• iOS and Android games
• Interactive storybooks
Launch
• Game promotion and player acquisition
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Dubit: Just a few of our customers
Dubit -
If you’d like to know more about what we do checkout our website dubitlimited.com or send Matthew an email: [email protected]. We love to talk!
Address The Half Roundhouse Wellington Road Leeds West Yorkshire LS12 1DR
Phone (+44) 113 3947 920
Email [email protected]
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Dubit: Get in touch!