In this technique, the user is allowed to download a game directly from the online platform by paying a certain fee. The major advantage for this is reduced distribution time, lesser cost burden on end user and also the availability of the game for simultaneous launches in different countries.
Social Networking sites:
With the exponential increase in the number of users on the social networking sites such as Facebook, Myspace etc, game developers have discovered clever ways to come up with games which have a social factor to them. With around 350 million active users of facebook, gaming firms have found out newer and better ways to develop simple but highly addictive games. A common example for this is the game Farmville is a real time situation game which was launched as am application in Facebook. It is estimated that the users of Famville are about 10% of the users of Facebook. Other games using social networking sites to sell themselves are Slapster which is an application on Orkut and Mafia wars.
Simulation games:
These types of games provide real time situations in the game. It creates a virtual world in which real situations are incorporated. A perfect example for this is the Stock Market game on the website moneycontrol.com. In this game the user is given a certain amount of virtual money using which he has to trade on the stock market on a real time situation basis. His trading will be exactly as per how the stock market is moving but only with virtual money.
Educational Games:
These games are specifically designed to teach people about a certain subject, understand concepts, inculcate analytic skills, and understanding about certain subjects like history. They include board and card games, and video games. These games are commonly referred to as edugames. Math blaster, treasure quest, reader rabbit are some examples of this type of games.
Technology based trends:
Hardware changes : mobility
2009 has been the year of the netbook and it is expected to have moderate growth for netbooks in 2010, at only +19%. Still, with the expected Apple tablet computer and many competitors that are all the rage at CES this week, we should see further convergence between laptops/netbooks/tablets/smartphones. With it may come the long announced reign of mobile web, which could impact gaming more than we have seen so far with mobile games, as we might be able to see games totally designed for nomadic use and real-world interaction (via geolocation, augmented reality, etc). Again, that could open the door for nice cross platform apps and mobile extensions of PC or web-based games
2009 has seen the growth of netbook and the coming year it will have a moderate growth at around 19%. With Apple tablet computer coming this year we should expect to see further union of laptops, smartphones, netbooks and tablets. With the new trend of mobile web, which can impact gaming world drastically we may expect to see games specially designed for nomadic use and real world interaction which could result in cross platform applications and mobile extensions of PC.
Hardware changes : consoles decline and transformation
So far, console manufacturers' answers to digital distribution and now to complete digital replacement (Onlive, Gaikai, etc, which might well become a reality in 2010 if the technical side follows, and connected TVs) has been rather limited and patchy. The recently announced Game Room should be available to non-subcribers, though, but it could take advantage of the Facebook/Twitter interaction for them too. PlayStation Home so far has 10M registered players, but in last July it was stated that only 25-35% logged in more than once. Total revenue was at that time $1M/month. If the service has found a niche community of active players, that could be a quite good ARPU. It remains to be seen if the service can be a profitable platform for free to play multiplayer games such as the recently launched SodiumOne. Nintendo's digital distribution offering is still limited, and Wii's connectivity ratio is lagging behind rivals (35-45% of the Wii installed base is estimated to be connected, as opposed to around 60% of Xbox 360s, hence the Wii Ambassador promotion at the end of the year.). Generally, console and package game sales have been tough in 2009: just in the UK, home consoles hardware unit sales have been down 25% and software -12%. As the recession amplified the latent shift to online models, it is going to be very tough for incumbents to adapt quickly enough. EA seems to go in a good direction with Playfish acquisition, but is likely to have to undergo a real shift of culture and priorities, and 2010 looks again like a painful transition year.
It has been observed for years that console manufactures' could not come up with the firm and permanent answer to digital distribution. Few examples can be given as the recently announced Game Room may take advantage of Facebook or Twitter interaction. PlayStation Home managed to bagged 10M registered users but only 25-35% logged in more than once. The console and package sales have not been so impressive and the recession has boosted the shift to online models.
User Acquisition becomes a big issue again in the new gaming universe
As developers are turning into publishers and the new landscape emerges, the main problem for game operators is to acquire users for their services in a fragmented and competitive environment. Social games have been an opening through which it was possible to acquire a lot of users for very cheap and very fast. As the social graph spills out of social networks and extend to every game on the web, and as social networks restrict aggressive viral practices, reaching a critical mass for a service is likely to become tricky again, to the point that a lot of observers are thinking about the return of a new kind of publisher, with pockets deep enough to buy enough users from start. So far, free to play games browser and client games have been good at acquiring users via partnerships with media and community sites, and recourse to specialized ad networks (CPMStar,Ad2game, etc). Good cross promotion strategies have been using low CPA games as a "bait" to convert players to higher CPA, more profitable client games - something Gameforge has done since Metin2. As we discussed earlier this year, 2010 will probably see a lot of activity as operators try to appropriate this crucial part of the value chain, by buying media, ad networks (see the recent Shanda's purchasing of Mochi Media), community sites, etc, and the strongest actors in the user acquisition and channelling business, including big mainstream Internet media companies, considering going further down the chain by starting their game development and operations divisions or making acquisitions in that space.
The major issue for game operators in coming years will be to acquire and retain the users for their services in such a fragmented and competitive environment. Social games will be the prime tool through which this can be possible which will cost very less and can reach to the end user quickly. Till now client games and free to play games browsers have been good at acquiring users with the help of community sites and media. In 2010, we ,ay expect lots of activities as operators try to appropriate cross promotion strategies of value chain by buying ad networks, media, community sites etc.
Deeper service integration and developer resources changes.
It is increasingly business and operational excellence that will drive a developer's sucess, and there will be more integration of marketing and community management at all customer touchpoints. As most game developers will have to become operators/publishers, it is likely to make sense for a lot of them to hire a limited number of staff with expertise on publishing topics (marketing, customer support, billing, hosting, etc) and work with specialised service vendors for each of these topics. Of course, some of the biggest players will internalise those functions, but most will prefer to outsource this, keeping a few very experienced people internally to manage the relationship. Also, data- metrics capture and analysis is going to be a very important competitive advantage, so data capture systems and data analysts should be in high demand in 2010, and maybe more companies in that service field will emerge. By next year, we also expect that expertise on virtual goods design, marketing and sales will be pushed to the next level.
Business and operational excellence will drive a operator's success and we can expect more integration of marketing and community management at all customer touch points. Coming days can see reduction in team size and most of operators will prefer to outsource the services like marketing, billing, hosting etc. Data- metrics and analysis should be in high demand in 2010.
Future of online gaming
Shift in the domain of the online games:-
Previously the online games used to be more like puzzles, word games, brick games etc. This has been slowly changing and we may expect to see more strategy oriented, civilization games to come up over the next few years. Already companies like E.A have started releasing demo versions of popular games like counter strike, so that it can be launched as an online game in the near future. Also one can see that popular video games like tetris are now being made online games. With the popular names they have their online games are also set to become major hits. Hence online games will move from being an easy pastime to becoming multidimensional, competitive gaming with cutting edge technology. Also online games are used as a medium for brand promotion. In the future online games can also be used as a powerful tool for traffic management, training and education etc.
Shift in behaviour of gamers:-
Online gaming as a source of entertainment is competing with music, cinema, sports etc. It is predicted in the U.S that the online gaming industry will overtake music in terms of entertainment by the end of 2012. This means that playing games online will be the most common form of entertainment in the U.S. This is a major shift on the part of the users from conventional entertainment like cinema to multiplayer online games. As far as India is concerned the market is still in the nascent stage. The concept allowing children to play games on the internet is still seen as a means to spoil their future. However with continual shift to faster broadband connections in homes and offices, very soon India will be rising steeply in this industry. A large number of Indians are also users of social networking sites which is seen as the biggest market for online games.
Other key likely developments
Bipolarization of gamers:
With the growth of online gaming and multiplayer gaming, the gamers will be divided into two groups. Casual gamers and Hardcore gamers. The casual gamers will be those who just play for fun or as a hobby. They comprise of mainly older generation. They will continue to drive the online gaming industry.
The second segment called the hardcore gamers will move from the core gamer segment to the multiplayer segment. There is also a scope that these users will use pre-paid gaming cards for multi player gaming.
Growth in both PC & mobile gamers:
The growth in the number of subscribers for P.C's and mobiles will help the online gaming industry to grow. The main attraction being playing multiplayer games would gradually attract more users towards P.C based gaming. This would eventually lead to consoles being limited to the higher strata of the society.
