Digital Game Sales For July 2013

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SuperData released data for top digital game sales in July 2013, which we run as part of a monthly column on [a]list daily.  

For methodology, SuperData collects anonymized user data directly from publishers and developers, looking at spending by more than 2.8 million unique paying online gamers across 50 publishers and 450+ game titles.

Joost van Dreunen, co-founder and CEO of SuperData, provides insight for the report.

The overall digital games category totaled $1.1 billion in sales in the month of July, representing a year-over-year increase of 5.4 percent. Major growth drivers were social games and the summer sales in PC DLC, which offset declines in subscription-based MMOs and console DLC.

Social Games

Overall revenues for social games improved to reach $164 million compared to $133 million last month. The underlying metrics for social games are improving, with July’s conversion rate reaching 2.11 percent across all categories. Nevertheless, we foresee a decline for the category in August because of the summer season.

In early July, King dethroned Zynga as the leading social game developer on Facebook by number of monthly active users (MAUs) despite having a much smaller portfolio of titles. With social platforms maturing, game companies that offer more complex gameplay and make better use of social functionality will continue to do well. King’s  Candy Crush Saga generated an estimated $438,000 per day in July.

Free-to-Play MMO

The overall audience base for the free-to-play category declined slightly in July, likely due to the month as a prime vacation period. The total number of free-to-play MMO gamers dropped to 45.8 million. Overall spending remained strong however, with an average revenue per paying user just south of $40.

Trion World announced that End of Nations, a real-time strategy game, is to become a multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game that features “heroes” with special abilities. With a growing number of MOBA titles announced for the coming year, it is clear that the saturation of the free-to-play MMO market is accelerating.

Pay-to-Play MMO

The total number of subscription-based MMO players continued its decline to 5.8 million in July. This is consistent with market leader World of Warcraft’s announcement that it lost 600,000 subscribers since its previous quarterly report. The overall segment contracted 9 percent month-over-month as revenues totaled $76 million.

After buying back $5.8 billion in shares from Vivendi, Activision has gained more autonomy in its decision-making and has indicated a departure from the traditional subscription model. The company’s Blizzard division is currently in the process of selecting a new direction for its unannounced project, code-named Titan, which it has stated is “unlikely to be a subscription-based MMO.”

Mobile

Mobile games continue to do well, totaling $271 million in revenues in July, up 32 percent from a year earlier. Overall conversion rates have been consistently above 5 percent, indicating that mobile gamers are becoming increasingly accustomed to spending on mobile games.

In July, it was again Candy Crush Saga from King and MARVEL War of Heroes from Mobage that featured as top grossing apps in the US. Kabam’s The Hobbit: Kingdoms of Middle Earth came in as the third top grosser across all app stores, taking the spot at the expense of Supercell’s Clash of Clans.

Facebook’s announcement to enter the mobile games market as a publisher may bring a wind of change to the top of the mobile games food chain, which has been dominated by a small group of titles. However, the effects may be a few months out as Facebook is selectively working with medium and small game developers.

Noteworthy mobile game launches in July were Magic 2014  from Wizards of the Coast, which hopes to repeat the success its predecessor by offering more varied and improved multiplayer game play. Indie darling LIMBO from Playdead was released on iOS after winning a slew of industry awards on PC.

Downloadable (PC and console)

The PC DLC summer sale across digital distributors such as Steam and GamersGate drove an estimated increase of 15 percent in downloadable PC sales in the U.S. for a total $158 million. This offset the decline in console DLC sales, which is currently at one of the low-points of its digital cycle with little expected change until the upcoming holiday season. We expect the eagerly anticipated GTA V  to invigorate sales in September.

Despite losing licensing rights to the NCAA, EA’s NCAA Football 14 was a top-seller in July, proving the strength of the franchise. In all likelihood, EA will continue the series under a different name. Total sales for the DLC category were $286 million in July, 2013, up 5 percent from the month before, but down 13 percent year-over-year.

A note from the author: Over the summer SuperData secured several important data sets. With more transactional data available we’ve been able to adjust our models and improved our accuracy. As a result the observant reader may notice a change in some of our previously reported averages. For any questions regarding our methodology, don’t hesitate to contact us.

For full reports, visit SuperData Market Data.

About the Author

Joost van Dreunen, Ph.D., is CEO SuperData Research, a market intelligence provider specialized in online games. He has written extensively on online audiences, monetization strategies, virtual goods, social games, free-to-play, online gaming and entertainment.

Eminem Debuts Track In Call Of Duty: Ghosts Trailer

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Activision turned the volume up to 11 with a new Call of Duty: Ghosts trailer, featuring rapper Eminem debuting Survival, a loud and aggressive track from his upcoming fall album. The rapper’s new album, the follow-up to 2010’s Recovery, is expected to be released by the end of the year.

Activision revealed the multiplayer component of its forthcoming Call of Duty: Ghosts during a special presentation in Los Angeles. Afterward, Eminem appeared in a video with news that a Survival video is on the way. The combination of a best-selling rapper and the best-selling video game franchise is a solid PR coup that will help boost visibility for the game.

Activision has worked hard to make this new Call of Duty game special. The sequel has seven new modes, 20 new killstreaks, 30 new weapons and customization features galore, including the ability to fight as a female soldier for the first time in the series. Maps can also dynamically change over the course of the game, as a result of the player’s actions.

“This is the biggest overhaul of multiplayer since the original Call of Duty: Modern Warfare,” said Mark Rubin, Executive Producer, Infinity Ward. “We’re pouring our hearts and souls into making Call of Duty: Ghosts multiplayer the best it can be on next gen and current gen alike. With all the customization options, our new Create-a-Soldier system, dynamic map events, new perks and killstreaks, tactical player animations, new Squads mode, Clan support in-game and on second screen, it’s the complete online experience.”

In addition, two special editions for Ghosts have also been unveiled, including a Hardened edition and a special Prestige edition, which comes with a mountable digital camera that supports 1080p. The game hits the shelves on November 5.

The multiplayer trailer shows off tight editing with Eminem’s track:

Check out the special editions of Call of Duty: Ghosts in this “breachin’” video:

 

Xbox One Home Gold Sharing Plan

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Microsoft continues to make big changes with its Xbox One game console. Following the news that the Kinect will no longer be required to run games for it – as previously thought – the company has now introduced a new Home Gold plan that will let multiple players in a family take part in Xbox Live Gold membership.

The post at Xbox Wire features an explanation by Xbox VP Marc Whitten. It allows for a number of people to make use of the Gold-level features for the system, including streaming video services, online multiplayer and Skype, among others, even if the main account holder isn’t logged in to the system. In addition, rather than just being assigned to a specific account, anyone can now play any games downloaded to the system.

There’s no word on what pricing will be for the package, as it previously sold for $100 for four Xbox Live Gold accounts before Microsoft halted the sales. We’ll let you know once an official price is given. The Xbox One game system ships in November.

Source: Xbox News {link no longer active}

Steam’s Jason Holtman Joins Microsoft

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Jason Holtman spent the last eight years helping Valve’s Steam business evolve into the go-to business for online PC gamers. Now he’s about to do the same thing for Microsoft’s Windows store.

Holtman has joined up with the company to help it focus on PC gaming and entertainment strategy. Though he didn’t go too far into detail about the position, he did confirm he joined the company.

“Yes, I have joined Microsoft where I will be focusing on making Windows a great platform for gaming and interactive entertainment,” he said. “I think there is a lot of opportunity for Microsoft to deliver the games and entertainment customers want and to work with developers to make that happen, so I’m excited to be here.”

We’ll see how well Jason does over the next few months. We wish him the best of luck.

Source: GamesIndustry International

Xbox One Delayed For Eight Markets

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Microsoft was hoping to deliver its next-generation Xbox One hardware worldwide upon its release later this year, but, unfortunately, a few of the markets are seeing delays.

According to the company, the console will still ship in November to the United States and United Kingdom, along with Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, Spain and New Zealand this year. However, it will have to wait until 2014 in these markets: Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Netherlands, Norway, Russia, Sweden and Switzerland.

The company stated the reason for the delay involved the localization of dashboard and voice command support, as well as readying the right amount of launch content.

“While we wish we could launch Xbox One simultaneously in these markets, there are many factors that determine the timing of specific market launches,” the post stated. “This includes work to localize the Xbox One dash, incorporate additional voice languages, and build partnerships to bring apps and meaningful local content to each country.”

It continued, “We understand this will be disappointing news for our fans in the impacted countries, and we are doing everything we can to bring Xbox One to you as soon as possible next year.”

Source: Polygon

App Spending $75 Billion By 2017

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Apps are quite popular these days on mobile devices, whether they’re practical apps, promotional apps or games that people want to play. Now, we’ve learned that their popularity will mean big bucks down the road. We’re talking a massive market.

Juniper Research reports that games and other apps will account for $24 billion, and the market overall will hit $75 billion by the time 2017 rolls around. Tablets will also continue to sell in their own right, as consumers are likely to spend $7.8 billion a year at this point, growing to $26.6 billion in just four years’ time.

The report also indicates that less than 25 percent of total consumer app spending will come from pay-to-download sites, though some apps will allow developers to monetize players through advertising in their programs – even without a purchase.

Source: GamesIndustry International

New PlayStation 3 Model Rumored

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Sony has a number of PlayStation 3 bundles on the market, ranging from the basic 120 to 250 GB models to more deluxe packages, like the fancy red 500 GB God of War package or Assassin’s Creed model. However, now there’s a system for those who want just the very basics from the system. We mean totally basic, too.

Rumor has it that Sony will ship a new 12 GB — yes, you read that correctly — model of the PlayStation 3 to U.S. retailers starting next week, on August 18th. Selling for $199, the system will include 12 GB of flash memory. That’s fine for watching stream-based services like Netflix and Hulu Plus, but not so ideal when it comes to storing downloaded games. Savvy users can install their own hard drive to upgrade the storage, however.

This system has been introduced in Europe, but Sony stated in the past that it wouldn’t be releasing it here in the United States. Sony still hasn’t given official word on the system’s release, but don’t be surprised if you see it pop up next week.

Source: Ars Technica

More Roku Gaming Ahead

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We know that Roku is the go-to service when it comes to viewing on-demand content as well as other streaming services, but who knew it would grow to be a good gaming machine as well

The company has struck a deal with SDK maker Marmalade, clearing the way for several popular games to come to the service including the platforming game Herman the Hermit and the popular puzzle game Cut the Rope, among others.

Roku is no stranger to games with Angry Birds on its service for some time. However, this marks the first time it’s making strides to adding more games to to the service like Plants vs. Zombies.

We’ll let you know when the games are added to the service, but you can expect them sometime this fall.

Source: GigaOm

‘Grand Theft Auto V’ Gets L.A. Mural

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Since the legendary Figueroa Hotel is right next door to the Los Angeles Convention Center, it’s no surprise that its side is often used for advertising purposes, as it’s seen ads based on Max Payne 3 and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim in the past. Now, it looks like Rockstar Games has returned with yet another new ad which is its biggest yet.

A huge Grand Theft Auto V mural is being painted on the side of the building featuring the three main characters from the game in different windows. What better way to showcase larger-than-life characters than with larger-than-life images? This week is a big one for the game, as Rockstar will be unveiling the online multiplayer portion this Thursday, introducing players to a vast, trouble-filled world.

Grand Theft Auto V releases on September 17 for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

Source: Videogamer

Coke Brings PlayStation All-Stars To Mobile

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Sony created a huge culture clash last year when it brought several of its popular gaming characters together for PlayStation All Stars Battle Royale on both the PlayStation 3 and PS Vita. For those who couldn’t get enough of that game – or just want more All-Stars action – Coke and Sony have put together a promotion for Europe.

Sony has teamed up with Coca-Cola to produce a new mobile game called PlayStation All-Stars Island. In this free game, players can take on a Temple Run-like game based on the Uncharted franchise, featuring its main hero, Nathan Drake. The game is available for both iOS and Android devices It’s pretty simple right now, but Sony intends to add more Coke Zero related content to the game, including characters from Infamous, LittleBigPlanet and Gravity Rush, as well as appearances by Jak and Daxter, as well as Ratchet and Clank.

No word yet on whether this promotion will make it to the U.S., but we promise to drink a Coke if it does.

Source: MCV