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How to Succeed in the West: Stats, Best Practices and Common Mistakes for F2P Core Games David P Chiu Senior Director of Developer Relations & Business Development Kongregate, A GameStop Company $$$$$$$
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How to Succeed in the West: Stats, Best Practices and Common Mistakes for F2P Core Games (Kongregate F2P Monetization Presentation, Casual Connect Asia 2014)

Jan 23, 2017

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Page 1: How to Succeed in the West:  Stats, Best Practices and  Common Mistakes for F2P Core Games (Kongregate F2P Monetization Presentation, Casual Connect Asia 2014)

How to Succeed in the West: Stats, Best Practices and Common Mistakes for F2P Core Games

David P ChiuSenior Director of Developer Relations & Business Development

Kongregate, A GameStop Company

$$$$$$$

Page 2: How to Succeed in the West:  Stats, Best Practices and  Common Mistakes for F2P Core Games (Kongregate F2P Monetization Presentation, Casual Connect Asia 2014)

What is Kongregate?

• Open platform for browser-based games– Flash, Unity, HTML5, Java, etc.– 96%+ of users already have Unity installed

• 21M+ monthly unique visitors worldwide• Core gamers – 85% male, average age of 22• MMOs, RPGs, CCGs/TCGs, TD, shooters, etc.• Platform level virtual currency “Kreds” for F2P games• Acquired by GameStop July 2010

Page 3: How to Succeed in the West:  Stats, Best Practices and  Common Mistakes for F2P Core Games (Kongregate F2P Monetization Presentation, Casual Connect Asia 2014)

Kongregate is also a mobile publisher of F2P games

Page 4: How to Succeed in the West:  Stats, Best Practices and  Common Mistakes for F2P Core Games (Kongregate F2P Monetization Presentation, Casual Connect Asia 2014)

Some of Kongregate’s Existing Developer Partners

Page 5: How to Succeed in the West:  Stats, Best Practices and  Common Mistakes for F2P Core Games (Kongregate F2P Monetization Presentation, Casual Connect Asia 2014)

Asian F2P vs Western F2P Stats(Quick summary from last year’s presentation)

Page 6: How to Succeed in the West:  Stats, Best Practices and  Common Mistakes for F2P Core Games (Kongregate F2P Monetization Presentation, Casual Connect Asia 2014)

ARPU and ARPPU

Page 7: How to Succeed in the West:  Stats, Best Practices and  Common Mistakes for F2P Core Games (Kongregate F2P Monetization Presentation, Casual Connect Asia 2014)

ARPU and % Buyers

Page 8: How to Succeed in the West:  Stats, Best Practices and  Common Mistakes for F2P Core Games (Kongregate F2P Monetization Presentation, Casual Connect Asia 2014)

ARPU and % Repeats

Page 9: How to Succeed in the West:  Stats, Best Practices and  Common Mistakes for F2P Core Games (Kongregate F2P Monetization Presentation, Casual Connect Asia 2014)

ARPU and % 50+ gameplays

Page 10: How to Succeed in the West:  Stats, Best Practices and  Common Mistakes for F2P Core Games (Kongregate F2P Monetization Presentation, Casual Connect Asia 2014)
Page 11: How to Succeed in the West:  Stats, Best Practices and  Common Mistakes for F2P Core Games (Kongregate F2P Monetization Presentation, Casual Connect Asia 2014)

Asian vs Western Style• Asian games: High ARPPU, tight player funnel

– Monetization caters well to big spenders• Western games: Lower ARPPU, wide player funnel

– Monetization focuses more on initial retention and broad conversion to paid at lower prices

• Some common mistakes by Asian developers when bringing their games to the West can contribute to the lower retention and conversion rates

• What are common pitfalls to avoid and best practices to adopt?

Page 12: How to Succeed in the West:  Stats, Best Practices and  Common Mistakes for F2P Core Games (Kongregate F2P Monetization Presentation, Casual Connect Asia 2014)

What works in Asia doesn’t necessarily work in the West

Page 13: How to Succeed in the West:  Stats, Best Practices and  Common Mistakes for F2P Core Games (Kongregate F2P Monetization Presentation, Casual Connect Asia 2014)

• Puzzle & Dragons (5/8 – 5/15) – #1 Top Grossing Game in Japan– Top ~90-150 Grossing Game in US

• P&D’s US ranking is still great but not as good relative to success in Japan

What’s popular in Asia isn’t always popular in the West

Page 14: How to Succeed in the West:  Stats, Best Practices and  Common Mistakes for F2P Core Games (Kongregate F2P Monetization Presentation, Casual Connect Asia 2014)

• MT Card Battle from LocoJoy– Huge success in China– But much less successful in the US

Can’t expect a game to be successful in the West just because it was successful in Asia

What’s popular in Asia isn’t always popular in the West

Page 15: How to Succeed in the West:  Stats, Best Practices and  Common Mistakes for F2P Core Games (Kongregate F2P Monetization Presentation, Casual Connect Asia 2014)

What’s popular in Asia isn’t always popular in the West

• Many successful games in Asia based on Romance of the Three Kingdoms and Journey to the West

• But Westerners are not familiar with these classical Chinese novels and themes• Less likely to play Asian-themed game (compared to a medieval themed game) • Also have trouble remembering Chinese names for characters and locations

• Hard to follow the game story or even play the game

Page 16: How to Succeed in the West:  Stats, Best Practices and  Common Mistakes for F2P Core Games (Kongregate F2P Monetization Presentation, Casual Connect Asia 2014)

Example: Autumn Dynasty Warlords

• RTS game set in ancient China• Great game but theme only appeals to a niche audience in the West

DO consider how universal the game theme is and if it will appeal to Westerners

Page 17: How to Succeed in the West:  Stats, Best Practices and  Common Mistakes for F2P Core Games (Kongregate F2P Monetization Presentation, Casual Connect Asia 2014)

Auto-pathing and Auto-Combat• The last 2 years have seen a flood of auto-pathing/auto-combat games from Asia• Very popular game mechanics in Chinese MMOs

• Convenient feature that speeds up the game• Reduces fatigue from grinding

• But unpopular with Western gamers• Like interactivity, control and choice• Want to play a game, not watch a game play itself• Feel all auto-pathing/auto-combat games are the same

Page 18: How to Succeed in the West:  Stats, Best Practices and  Common Mistakes for F2P Core Games (Kongregate F2P Monetization Presentation, Casual Connect Asia 2014)

Auto-pathing and Auto-Combat

• If a game has both manual and auto-combat options:

DO show player both options and give ability to set the default (or default to manual combat)

DON’T set the default to auto-combat

Page 19: How to Succeed in the West:  Stats, Best Practices and  Common Mistakes for F2P Core Games (Kongregate F2P Monetization Presentation, Casual Connect Asia 2014)

Attitudes TowardsFree-to-Play and Pay-to-Win

Page 20: How to Succeed in the West:  Stats, Best Practices and  Common Mistakes for F2P Core Games (Kongregate F2P Monetization Presentation, Casual Connect Asia 2014)

Free-to-Play and Pay-to-win• Free-to-play games have become a dominant model worldwide• Asian developers and players are used to paying for power• But some Western developers and gamers still don’t like it• Some Western players avoid games they feel are “pay-to-win” or in

which (big) spenders have too big of an advantage over free players– So avoid appearing outright as a pay-to-win game

Page 21: How to Succeed in the West:  Stats, Best Practices and  Common Mistakes for F2P Core Games (Kongregate F2P Monetization Presentation, Casual Connect Asia 2014)

Free-to-Play and Pay-to-win

• Soften the perception of pay-to-win and avoid sticker shock:

DO hide USD$100+ packages until after first purchase

DON’T scare away potential players/buyers with high prices (Ex. “$400 packages?!?!”)

Page 22: How to Succeed in the West:  Stats, Best Practices and  Common Mistakes for F2P Core Games (Kongregate F2P Monetization Presentation, Casual Connect Asia 2014)

Sticker Stock: Extreme Edition• Chinese CCG game with VIP system

• Earn VIP points by buying Gold (hard currency)

• VIP points unlock VIP levels with increasing VIP bonuses

• At launch, the developer stated outright that 200k gold is needed to unlock VIP10

• Players quickly calculated that it would cost USD$4,000 to unlock VIP10

• Players flooded game’s Comments Section• Even those that liked the game complained

Page 23: How to Succeed in the West:  Stats, Best Practices and  Common Mistakes for F2P Core Games (Kongregate F2P Monetization Presentation, Casual Connect Asia 2014)

Free-to-Play vs Pay-to-win

• Developer removed 200k Gold for VIP10 text at Kongregate’s request• And no new complaints about the USD $4,000 cost of VIP10

DO be careful with messaging and placement of big ticket items in the shop

DON’T come across as the extremely greedy, money-grubbing developer

Page 24: How to Succeed in the West:  Stats, Best Practices and  Common Mistakes for F2P Core Games (Kongregate F2P Monetization Presentation, Casual Connect Asia 2014)

Customer Service Expectations

Page 25: How to Succeed in the West:  Stats, Best Practices and  Common Mistakes for F2P Core Games (Kongregate F2P Monetization Presentation, Casual Connect Asia 2014)

“The Customer is Always Right”• Western customer culture is very different compared to Asia

– Consumers feel more entitled, have higher expectations of customer service – Also more empowered (ability to get refunds, issue chargebacks, organize boycotts)

• Need good community management and customer service teams to keep players satisfied

Page 26: How to Succeed in the West:  Stats, Best Practices and  Common Mistakes for F2P Core Games (Kongregate F2P Monetization Presentation, Casual Connect Asia 2014)

Community Management and Customer Service• The more time you invest playing a game, the more emotionally attached you become• Emotional investment can potentially lead to financial investment as well• Player less likely to spend in with inactive developer

Will the game get updated? Will bugs get fixed? Does the developer even care?

• Creating positive community and showing good customer service Players are more confident that their investment of time and money will not be wasted

• Show the players that you are care about them (and not just making money)• Be visible – engage in chat, forums, etc• Be responsive – reply to common complaints/bugs/questions, purchase issues, etc.• Be informative – give advance notice for maintenance and changes

Page 27: How to Succeed in the West:  Stats, Best Practices and  Common Mistakes for F2P Core Games (Kongregate F2P Monetization Presentation, Casual Connect Asia 2014)

Communicating during a crisisSometimes bad things happen (game does down, major bugs appear) and players will be upset

• Effective crisis management can help calm the storm a little• Be open, transparent and honest

• Post in the game forum to apologize and assure players that you are aware of the problem and are working on it

• Don’t be silent! Players will think that you don’t care about them or the game.• Provide updates regularly even when you have nothing new to report (better than nothing)

“We are still working to get the game back up ASAP. Sorry but please bear with us”

• If you are unsure about when the issue can be fixed, avoid giving specific timelines • Don’t forget to express regret and acknowledge players’ frustration

• “We know that this sucks as those in the middle of a Clan War will lose valuable time and gold from the downtime. We are sorry and we are working as fast as we can.”

Page 28: How to Succeed in the West:  Stats, Best Practices and  Common Mistakes for F2P Core Games (Kongregate F2P Monetization Presentation, Casual Connect Asia 2014)

After the crisis: Customer service is a chance to surprise and delight

• Handle things quickly• Be generous with compensation

• Poor compensation can make things worse• But don’t do something unless you’re willing to do it for everybody• Don’t forget to express regret – an apology goes a long way

• Canned messages or short replies can come across cold or corporate• E.g. “It was fixed. You can play now.” No sympathy

• Example of poor compensation making players angrier:

Page 29: How to Succeed in the West:  Stats, Best Practices and  Common Mistakes for F2P Core Games (Kongregate F2P Monetization Presentation, Casual Connect Asia 2014)

Miscellaneous Best Practices

Page 30: How to Succeed in the West:  Stats, Best Practices and  Common Mistakes for F2P Core Games (Kongregate F2P Monetization Presentation, Casual Connect Asia 2014)

Timing is everything!

• Specify time zones or set a server time and have it be visible so there is no confusion leading players to miss events/sales

• Bar on top of Wartune’s loading screen clearly lists the server time, the next event’s start time and a countdown to it

• If all players are in the same server (not split into US vs EU servers), then have at least 2 instances of an event so players in different time zones can join

• Daylight Saving Time – be aware of when changes occur and make adjustments as needed so you don’t start events 1 hour early or late

Page 31: How to Succeed in the West:  Stats, Best Practices and  Common Mistakes for F2P Core Games (Kongregate F2P Monetization Presentation, Casual Connect Asia 2014)

Timing is everything!• Do not schedule maintenance if no one is around afterwards

to make sure everything went well

E.g. Chinese MMO dev does maintenance 5-7pm China time but everyone leaves work before maintenance is done• Maintenance fails and game is down for 12+ hrs• Big drop in daily revenue• Players unhappy with extremely long maintenance and lack of

response from developer

Page 32: How to Succeed in the West:  Stats, Best Practices and  Common Mistakes for F2P Core Games (Kongregate F2P Monetization Presentation, Casual Connect Asia 2014)

You only get one chance to make a first impressions

• Don't flood with fake reviews and comments as players are smart enough to know

• Don't use art assets and sound effects/music from popular games Players will notice and rate down your game

• Make sure that your game has a good translator

Page 33: How to Succeed in the West:  Stats, Best Practices and  Common Mistakes for F2P Core Games (Kongregate F2P Monetization Presentation, Casual Connect Asia 2014)

Remember: Commitment Matters

Type of Player % Buyers Avg Trx ARPPU ARPU % Players % of RevNon-Repeats 0.03% 2.1 $24.69 $0.01 43% 0%

Repeats (2-9 plays) 0.40% 1.85 $19.61 $0.08 40% 3%

Regs (10-49 plays) 4.68% 2.61 $21.35 $1.00 10% 12%

Committed (50+ plays) 16.53% 7.03 $96.92 $16.02 7% 84%

DO apply these learnings and best practices into your own game

DON’T make the mistakes other Asian F2P developers have made in Western markets

Page 34: How to Succeed in the West:  Stats, Best Practices and  Common Mistakes for F2P Core Games (Kongregate F2P Monetization Presentation, Casual Connect Asia 2014)

THANK YOU

For a copy of the presentation or questions, email [email protected]

For more talks & data visit developers.kongregate.com

For web games contact us at [email protected]

If you’re interested in mobile publishing it’s [email protected]

Follow us on Twitter: @EmilyG & @KongregateDevs