Monetizing Games In Emerging Markets

There’s a lot of hard work involved in developing a game, and then helping customers find it and enjoy it. The work’s not complete, though, until you can get players to give you some money for the game — and that’s not easily done in much of the world. While credit cards are ubiquitous in the USA, they are barely used in Southeast Asia, for instance. Some countries use prepaid cards, some use bank transfers, some use a variety of mobile payment methods. For a game developer, it’s a complicated mess.

That’s where a payment services provider like Rixty, a subsidiary of MOL AccessPortal Sdn. Bhd comes in. Rixty offers a variety of ways to let domestic and international customers spend on all types of digital content. One of these methods is letting customers exchange cash for Rixty value (which can then be used on digital content) at over 140,000 stores in the USA and Brazil, or at nearly 500,000 locations worldwide.

Some of the fastest-growing markets for games are in Southeast Asia, but Brazil and Turkey are also booming game markets. The Southeast Asia free-to-play game market has grown to more than $500 million dollars, and the combined market across the three regions reaches nearly $1 billion dollars. “In addition to large populations, these regions boast consumers that over-index for internet usage and are deeply engaged in online entertainment,” said Rixty in a press release. “By using the right mix of the most popular payment methods in each region, game developers can tap into the full potential of these markets.”

Those markets aren’t focusing on retail stores selling games in boxes, but rather online and mobile games that are sold digitally, as well as virtual goods for those games. Rixty’s put together an infographic showing some of the key data for these markets, and the [a]list daily spoke with Rixty’s VP of business development Julie Craft about some of this information.

Rixty believes that these emerging markets will continue to grow strongly, given how many people are still to acquire as customers. “All indicators show these emerging markets now have the infrastructure, proliferation of new devices and new alternative payment options to serve the unbanked and these trends are expected to continue,” said Craft. It’s a good market for games in the future, as long as those games appeal to that audience — and there’s a way for those customers to pay for the game content.

The situation isn’t static, either, and that makes it even more difficult to keep up. “The type and number of payment options is opening up all over the world,” Craft noted. “Since many of these markets traditional have a low penetration of credit cards or online banking, cash payment options are becoming a growing alternative for users to be able to pay for virtual goods.”

“This information comes at a critical time for game developers looking for global growth and monetization opportunities,” said Ted Sorom, CEO of Rixty. “Those focused on the North American and European markets may be surprised to learn what makes these emerging regions so attractive. We hope this infographic and the data we are releasing at GDC will help game publishers gain a better understanding of these key markets and their consumer purchasing behaviors.”

Rixty will be hosting “Maximizing Global Monetization Through Emerging Markets,” a monetization session at the Game Developers Conference (GDC), on Thursday, March 20 from 11:30am to 12:30pm. At GDC, the company plans to release proprietary company data that offers a deeper look at the profiles of online gamers in these territories, including their languages, demographics and online spending habits, with the goal of helping game developers take full advantage of these emerging markets. The audience will also have the opportunity to hear from a panel of executives from some of the world’s top online publishers, including Smilegate, Aeria Games, Wargaming.net and Gaia Online.

 

Subaru Races Against Exploding Sticks

https://youtube.com/watch?v=PvQ9InhEKu0

https://youtube.com/watch?v=ZXOhyn1Lq54

Subaru really through outside of the box with this ad, showing off a 3D printed RC Subaru racing against tension-based sticks that spring up when one is removed. The ad hints at childish fun while implying the real-life racing chops of the racing car.

Source: AdWeek.com

 

‘Mario Kart’ Gets an Honest Trailer

Mario Kart has been racing around for two decades, and there’s more than a few elements that fans both love and loath. “Honest Trailers” creators ScreenJunkies teamed up with Smosh Games to give us a amusing and accurate trailer about the foibles of Mario Kart, which will have its eighth incarnation in May.

 

#BeMoreTea With Lipton And The Muppets

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGUTTgLT51A

The Muppets are getting a new movie, so the advertising and cross-promotional ads are ramping up. Check out this ad where Kermit spreads the word about Lipton’s new campaign for people to #BeMoreTea and break out of the routine.

 

Facebook Drives Most Social Sales, Reddit Grows

Shopify looked at 37 million social visits to client stores to get a bigger picture of which social sites brought home the bacon. While Polyvore had the highest average order value, Facebook converted more visitors into purchases at a higher rate. The big surprise Pay special attention to Reddit, which is seeing more order growth than every other social site, although LinkedIn and Pinterest aren’t doing too shabby either. The top products are clothing or novelty items– think a turkey hat for babies and Sriracha-tinged candy canes.

 

Source: TechCrunch

PS4 Reaches 100 Million Shared Videos

The PlayStation 4 has seen quite a surge in both sales and usage over the last few months, since its initial launch in stores back in November. This week, Sony Computer Entertainment of America detailed another fun stat – the system has seen record “share” videos provided by users.

According to the company’s Twitter page, over 100 million video shares have been captured and broadcasted by PlayStation 4 owners, from a variety of games, including Killzone: Shadow Fall, Knack and several others.

The “share” function is quite a simple one, since a share button is featured on the controller itself, making it easy to connect to the Internet and set up either live streams or video captures. Users can utilize the controller’s Microphone or headset to talk over captured game footage, then present said clips to their friends or others.

More of these clips will make the rounds over the next few months, particularly with upcoming games like Watch Dogs, Infamous: Second Son and next week’s Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes.

Source: Dual Shockers

Trion Introduces Glyph Program For Gamers

In an effort to compete with such services as Steam and Origin, Trion Worlds has announced a new games-oriented platform known as Glyph, which will serve as part of an effort to rebrand the company, as well as help developers find a new audience for their efforts.

Using Glyph, developers can reach out to Trion’s ten million registered users, who have played a number of their games, including Rift and Defiance, among others.

Speaking with GamesBeat, Scott Hartsman, chief executive of Trion Worlds, explained that the point of Glyph will be to make it a cinch to cross-promote new games to the existing gaming audience, particularly opening a door to both free-to-play games and more “hardcore” efforts.

“I don’t have to tell you how much the game industry has changed over the last year,” said Hartsman. “Excitement is happening everywhere. Glyph was a way to open a brand new use for our platform. We want to be a huge force for good. We can give developers more visibility.”

Trion will announce the developers that are on board with the program next week during the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco.

Source: Venturebeat

Warner Bros. Buys Stake In Machinima

At one point, Machinima was one of the dominant YouTube broadcasters on the Internet. However, lately, it’s seen better days, with a report of losses and lay-offs. That said, Warner Bros. is looking to turn things around with the service.

The studio has invested $18 million in the multichannel network, which includes participation from previous investors such as Google, Redpoint Ventures and MK Capital. This brings Machinima’s raised total to $67 million, up from the $35 million raised from Google a couple of years ago.

Regarding the investment, Machinima has been described as a “pioneer and category leader in the YouTube MCN space,” said Thomas Gewecke, chief digital officer and exec VP of strategy and business development for Warner Bros. Entertainment. “We’ve been impressed with Machinima as a distribution partner, and by their focus on creators and commitment to high-quality, exciting original digital content.”

Machinima previously partnered with Warner Bros. with the second season of the Mortal Kombat: Legacy web series, and this deal is likely to bring more similar content to the network, sooner rather than later.

Source: Variety

BBC Launches iPlayer

The BBC has begun rolling out its own specialized media player, dubbed the iPlayer. With it, users can watch their programming through a variety of devices, including consoles, connected televisions, mobile and tablet devices.

The company’s general director Tony Hall presented the player during the New Broadcasting House event in central London earlier this week, He explained that the service was meant to move away from a jukebox-style set-up, with re-engineering taking place with it from the ground up to make it easy to use.

Content is grouped together through Collections, which breaks up programs into series, season, event and even theme. Those who are into “binge watching” will also be pleased with the iPlayer’s ability to automatically line up a next program for viewing.

The iPlayer has begun rolling out in some markets already, while several native apps will launch within the next few months.

Source: The Next Web