[casual_games] RE: Business models

[jonathan at gametrust.com]

I agree, the state of the market right now is not conducive to growth or
innovation.

 

Distributors need to keep content fresh, which increases the 'churn rate' of
games on their sites.  Even some top-quality games only see the front pages
of casual game portals for a week's time. and I'm sure most people on this
list know the subsequent drop-off  :-(. 

 

In turn, developers speed up production of their games. and it's clear that
innovation has taken a back seat to polish of late. To hedge risk, it
clearly makes more economical and practical sense for the average
development studio to clone a hit game and add a new feature, or even just a
new theme. The result is a market dominated by clones and distributors who
are weary to add innovative ('unproven') games to their sites.  Plus, as a
consumer, I'm almost compelled to not buy some games because I know in 2
weeks time another will be released that is exactly the same; but with new
features, better graphics, etc.  This is not healthy for any of our
businesses. 

 

I think the answer, for the time being, lies in alternative business models.
IMHO, developers should focus more on getting a lot out of one title, rather
than getting little out of several.  Increased competition and broadband
penetration will continue to drive the size and complexity of casual games
upward, so relying strictly on download sales for revenue will soon become a
thing of past. There are many more consistent and enduring revenue streams
available for casual games through online communities (advertising revenue),
cash tournament play (aka 'skill-gaming'), subscriptions, and even virtual
merchandise.  Game Trust's GameFrame platform provides developers with APIs
that open the doors to these revenue streams on our network of partners.

 

Thoughts?

 

Jonathan Greechan | Game Manager 

Game Trust, Inc. | www.gametrust.com 

jonathan at gametrust.com  | 212.367.7336 x126

MSN: jonathan at gametrust.com

  _____  

From: casual_games-bounces at igda.org [mailto:casual_games-bounces at igda.org]
On Behalf Of Margaret Wallace
Sent: Thursday, September 01, 2005 2:58 PM
To: 'IGDA Casual Games SIG Mailing List'
Subject: RE: [casual_games] RE: Business models

 

One pervasive trend I see in the Casual Games market is that production
budgets are continuously going up and so are production cycles  --  but the
"churn rate" for the majority of casual games on portals is higher than
ever: a week or two at best. 

 

All of this leads me to question: At what point do you see minimizing
returns for these hefty production budgets and development cycles? 

 

Of course, part of the answer lies in continuously churning out hit games,
however, I worry these conditions may impede growth and innovation. 

 

Thoughts?

 

 

-----Original Message-----
From: casual_games-bounces at igda.org [mailto:casual_games-bounces at igda.org]
On Behalf Of Allen Varney
Sent: Thursday, September 01, 2005 9:14 AM
To: casual_games at igda.org
Subject: [casual_games] RE: Business models

 

Brent Lowrie wrote:

 

   (((This is the unknown that most new developers fear and having access to
this sort of information would help more new developers break out of indie
development and into commercial deals.)))

 

   "Break out of indie development"? This makes indie gaming sound like a
second-string, minor-league affair. I argue indie game developers are in a
far better situation, both economically and culturally, than the
increasingly beleaguered developer of retail computer games.

   For a discussion of the benighted state of retail game development, see
Greg Costikyan's article in the current issue of The Escapist magazine:

 

   http://www.escapistmagazine.com/issue/8/3

 

   And to see why I think casual-game designers are far better off in the
long run, see my article "Casual Fortunes" in the same issue:

 

  http://www.escapistmagazine.com/issue/8/14

 

-- Allen Varney
www.allenvarney.com <http://www.allenvarney.com/> 

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