Keeping the Promise of Casual Games Entertainment for

Keeping the Promise of Casual Games: Entertainment for Everyone John Welch CEO, Play. First Casual Games Summit @ Game Developers Conference 08 February 2008

about me • • • Degrees in Math & C. S. Career in product management SEGA (Sega. Soft Networks): 1998 -1999 Shockwave. com: 1999 -2004 Play. First: 2004 -present Almost 10 years in casual games

in the beginning

these were the casual games

but ‘casual’ cameof this because to mean

what exactly is a ‘casual’ game today?

casual means accessible Is the game accessible to a “significant number” of people? • attractive theme? • friendly to new / occasional users? • fun enough to do again / bring friend in?

casual means accessible Is the platform accessible to ‘everyone’? Physically: Do most people want to buy it? Can they find it in a store/online? Socially: Do most people want to play it, tell their friends about it? Mentally: Do most people feel comfortable, or are many intimidated? Behaviorally: Do most people have time for this?

is mobile casual? Everyone has one Even buy-1 -get-3 -free support games Conservative view today: • Neither is yet ‘casual’ • because everyday folks don’t download games on their mobile phone Future: • Everyone has one everywhere all the time… • and uses it for apps & games • doesn’t get more accessible than that

are consoles casual? Grandparents are playing Wii Sports with their grandchildren. Conservative view today: • Exceptions, not rule • Only kids buy/play console games • Consoles not emotionally available to adults Future: • Entire family accesses interactive media via some box connected to the television

pc: most casual + most hard core “the internet” ~= “America” $349 $6, 496 Reality today: • 76%of American’s have PCs • 238 million U. S. Internet users • Most exceed casual MSR’s • Most play casual games • And then there’s Wo. W on a $6500 Dell XPS 720

the promise

all people read, watch, listen • to diverse genres of media • on diverse ‘platforms’ • are games really different?

everyone should play games!

a neat idea • “Games” have always been for everyone. – But “video games” never were. • Let’s make video games a universal form of entertainment!!! – This sort of just started happening in the late 1990’s w/ Pogo, Shockwave, Yahoo, etc. – We put a label on it: “casual games” • 5 years ago “we” all fit in one room

vision Elevate video games to become a first-tier form of entertainment enjoyed by everyone

we are making progress • Our customers truly are ‘everyone’ – 28% of the total worldwide online population are “gamers” [Comscore - May, 2007] • Gaming is the #1 activity (length of time) on the personal computer – 34% of all adult Internet users play games weekly [Parks Associates - 2007] • Even game development teams are becoming more diverse – 26% of Play. First game production staff is female [I counted]

good money here $12 Billion Market N. A. Game Software: 6% growth (ESA) $10 Billion Market w/ 35% growth rate $5 Billion Market CGA: 20% growth

even the vc’s have noticed

but action will follow

are we done?

Are we done CREATIVELY? • done inventing genres? • only for nerds?

Are we done ECONOMICALLY?

Are we done CATEGORICALLY? • Demand ($$$) has always been on the console • Supply coming from two directions • Are we getting squeezed out? Maybe our turn is simply over!?

no!

we are the future! Retail publishers + platforms great at serving core audience • Don’t get the web will make mistakes we already made • Budgets, schedules, thinking are all wrong can’t do it small

how long do we have? …even though this is a tech-savvy part of the country… I guarantee you that we don’t have 50% penetration into the Bay Area homes with video game consoles… … they’re too hard, they’re too expensive and they’re too intimidating, I’ve never played with a controller, the game comes up and I have no idea what I’m doing … Everyone loves playing games. I don’t care who you are. Yet we put a barrier in this industry (for) people who didn’t grow up … with a controller in their hand. Peter Moore, president of EA Sports, San Francisco Chronicle Jan 2008

what a few smart people can do • • Dwarf best console innovations like Dance, Guitar Hero, Wii Sports All created by a few founders who are now really wealthy • Internet = platform where YOU can innovate w/out permission – where YOU have advantages over the big players.

we need to change

not good enough 2007 Highlights • • 6, 000 Diner Dash clones 2, 000 Mystery Case Files clones Philosophical dilemma over is the “ 3 -in-a-row” dead Real innovators are cloning Club Penguin What did we do to grow this market? ? ?

our customers agree Customer Poll: Are you happy with the creativity and innovation in casual games today? 42% “Absolutely, I find new games all the time” 50% 8% “Occasionally I’ll find a No, they all seem the same to me” Casual gamers want more innovation! Source: Play. First. com survey – warning – not a highly scientific approach! gem of a game:

how about our business model? Customer Poll: How do you feel about current purchasing options for casual games? 28% “I’m happy with the $20 model” 71% “I want different options, such as subscription or pay-per-level: ” The majority of casual gamers want more innovation

some progress here • Play. First: – Diner Dash: Hometown Hero • Multiplayer, avatars, episodic content • Only 1 out of 30 games we published • Only 1 portal would launch it (Yahoo!) – Play. Gold stored currency • Wild. Tangent – Wild. Coins ad-friendly micro currency (see next slide)

rationale for lack of innovation • Portals won’t let us innovate; they only want stand-alone $20 games • Our customers are happy; they don’t want anything different. • Reality = innovation is difficult

imho

please consider • Portals – Differentiate your service. – Share the customer. – Say ‘yes’ to the innovators. Say ‘no’ to the cloners. – Limit participation to allow suppliers to recoup investments. • Publishers – Take all financial risk: higher budgets, lower royalties – Build YOUR brands: story, characters, ongoing content – Invest in innovation: “genre filler” OK, copy not OK • Developers – Be the artist, not the banker. – Beware the glut!

when we succeed ‘Casual’ goes away as a category. We will have delivered on our promise that games are for everyone.