Online Gaming and Virtual Communities


A vibrant virtual community is absolutely critical to the success of online gaming businesses. Unlike Digital Tome and CogniToy's games, which do not require an active Internet connection to play, online games are usually played with friends. Because of the tight-knit communities that develop online, gaming sites are known to be among the "stickiest" sites on the Web. Portal sites, like Lycos and Yahoo!, routinely use their gaming zones to place interstitial advertising and to cross-promote other offerings.

Generally, online games are geared toward two target customers: hardcore or casual gamers. Of the approximately 50 million online players, hardcore gamers are a small minority but they are the least price-sensitive. Hardcore gamers, predominately young males, are attracted to massively multiplayer or multiplayer games, often spending over 20 hours per month online. Casual gamers are more interested in little "coffee break" browser-based games which run about 10 to 15 minutes. Casual gamers, older and predominately female, are the fastest growing audience for online games.

Opportunities exist for the independent developer, as the experiences of Samu Games and Tams11 Software indicate, but the high costs of developing and maintaining a massively multiplayer online games will need the support of publishers.

Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Worlds

Currently, the top massively multiplayer online role-playing games, or MMORPGs, each have between 200,000 to 400,000 paying subscribers. Games are sold at retail stores and after the free month of play, the purchaser can opt to continue the subscription for a monthly fee. Thus, the retail model follows that of Figure 2.7.1.

The development costs for a MMORPG can range well over $10 million, but because the games reach so many people, there can be economies of scale. The sheer volume of ongoing subscriptions, combined with the sale of the retail box, add up to a significant sum. However, with new entrants competing for the same hardcore players, there might be market saturation, or a limit to future revenues.

Samu Games: Multiplayer Arena

A dedicated fan base has proven to be invaluable to independent developers like Samu Games of Tulsa, Oklahoma. Formed in 1999 by brothers David and Douglas Michael, Samu Games released the multiplayer war game Artifact in October 1999 and its sequel in November 2000. The real-time strategy game is freely available to anyone to download, but there are benefits to paying for Citizenship, as Samu Games terms it.

At any given time, there might be about 33 war games running simultaneously. Each active game runs continuously until one side emerges as the victor, and the game might last anywhere from two days to a couple weeks.

Samu Games offers a mixture of payment options based on access. The Freeman level, designated for free accounts, is limited to three hours of gameplay per day. For a one-time payment, players are allowed to play a greater number of hours daily in more games according to a five-tier structure. The premium level, Full Access, which allows the player to play all day, every day, in as many as 12 games, is offered as a monthly subscription.

Approximately 3,000 players download the game each month. Typically, 1.5% of the newbie players become Citizens. Samu Games' sole revenue comes directly from subscriptions and a good percentage is from repeat customers, who continually upgrade their access level. One third of the new players come from player referrals. The company refuses to have advertising because it would annoy players.

The active community on Artifact generates most of the content for the monthly newsletter, and fan volunteers serve as in-game administrators. The game itself was designed to support a virtual community, and players use the chatrooms and note systems extensively. The team-oriented nature of the game promotes community building since teamwork is essential to playing the game well.

Samu Games releases periodic bug fixes to Artifact, but other than that, there are no changes made to the game. However, to the player, each active game is different given the variables of players and skills. Samu Games hasn't given up the idea of a publisher or possibly licensing Artifact, but for the time being, it is committed to providing hardcore players with quality entertainment.

Samu Games successfully combines the direct-to-customer model with a virtual community, as shown in Figure 2.7.4. For a two-person company with volunteer staff, this is quite an accomplishment. It proves that when a company caters to its audience, fans are more than willing to devote time to improving and contributing to the community.

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Figure 2.7.4: Samu Games' self-published game, Artifact, is free to play, but access time is sold direct-to-customer via the Web site. The company relies on referrals and low-cost word-of-mouth advertising from its virtual community to increase its subscription rate.

Tams11: Gaming Community

The Tams11 Gaming Lobby which started up in January 2002, is maintained and run by Tamera Shaw-McGuire. A one-woman workforce, she programs all of the card, word, or puzzle games herself. The games appeal mostly to women, who appreciate Shaw-McGuire's personal commitment. The community started to take off in March 2002, mostly through word of mouth, and the site received the Gaming Friends Multiplayer Excellence Award for the 3rd Quarter 2002.

Shaw-McGuire envisioned a gaming community that would be different from the larger, well-known sites. A casual gamer since 1999, she found that she disliked having to deal with the advertising on sites like Pogo and Yahoo!. Her biggest complaint was that those sites were cold and commercialized. She didn't want a "play to win" site, but a place where players could feel more involved with a community. Therefore, she says, "I wanted to make the players feel more at home at my site, knowing that I will try and be there to help whenever I can."

Tams11 members often converse with Shaw-McGuire, pointing out bugs and suggesting new games. Aware of her own penchant to chat online, she created a central lobby where any member can chat with another even if the other person isn't playing the same game. She also put up a tournament lobby that allows members to set up their own tournaments. The games offered are her unique creations but are similar to deleted games from other sites.

Shaw-McGuire's direct-to-customer business model resembles that of Figure 2.7.4. All of the games are free to play offline, but a subscription is required to continue playing online with friends after 30 days. Offline, the games are not very challenging and not much fun. The computer opponent usually loses.

So far, the hobby turned business has enough subscription revenue to cover costs, and Shaw-McGuire is pleasantly surprised that her startup is doing so well. As the community grows, she hopes that her level of personal service can stay constant.




Secrets of the Game Business
Secrets of the Game Business (Game Development Series)
ISBN: 1584502827
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2005
Pages: 275

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