Some folks showed a bit of concern last week when Facebook’s EMEA director of platform partnerships, Julien Codorniou, was quoted as saying that Facebook would find a way to test certain games with Messenger, as part of a means of monetization, according to TechCrunch. However, the company was quick to correct that error, stating that he simply misspoke, and that it plans to test its advertising system in games through the main mobile app, instead of the separated Messenger service.
With this new business plan in place, Facebook intends to focus on ways for games to earn better money, by working hand-in-hand with developers on new app install ad programs. As a result, Messenger can still mainly be used for its contact services, rather than become plagued with bothersome ads that would send some users storming off.
That’s not to say that games can’t be used in messaging apps, as Korea’s KakaoTalk has proven. The app currently has over 48 million users that utilize its business, which isn’t a bad audience at all considering it’s only been in existence for a couple of years.
However, Facebook wants its focus to remain intact. Founder Mark Zuckerberg explained in a recent Q & A that “messaging is one of the few things that people actually do more than social networking.” As a result, it can stay on a competitive level alongside such services as Snapchat and Viber, without any bothersome features getting in the way.
“We did some tests in the gaming space 18 months ago,” explained Codorniou, speaking with TechCrunch. “Gave it a try. It was not a good option. We had better ways of monetizing the gaming ecosystems.
“(Typically developers) build a mobile app and then pray someone at Apple loves the game and promotes the game. That’s not something we want people to think about on the Facebook platform,” he explained.
As far as general ads through the main app, Codorniou remained supportive. “Our mobile app ads just work,” he said. “These ads on mobile are more reliable. We think you should be able to spend as much as you want for quality traffic.”
Even though some may think Facebook is missing out on an opportunity to expand messaging, it appears keeping it simple could put it on the right track to expanding its audience. Meanwhile, game makers can still flourish on the app once the new systems for monetization – and the tools supporting it – are in place. So, yes, everyone wins – and the Messenger app remains as simple as ever.
