Part 1.5 : Facebook games - The return !

I decided that I have to finish the web games part to get into more serious matters. The point is that there is more money that one would think involved in them. They are presented as harmless time sinks but they are much more. They are also strong publicity platforms, used to forge marketing tendencies and not only (see the amount of donations Zynga gather for the recent calamities in Haiti).


Before concluding I want to share the money making techniques involved in the process. There are a few, but this is in my humble opinion the most improvable aspect of the business so they may change soon. The most obvious one is the publicity. The majority of the Facebook games however, understood that marketing external products may be alienating the users and as the bulk of the income is coming from the game itself, they just promote other games. I have briefly described the ingame trading in the previous post, now I just want to point out the techniques.


The easier to understand is the Poker based games. You can buy ingame money with real ones. Other applications give you various items or “boost packages” to enhance your gaming experience. Now, why would you buy such products? Here is where a successful design comes into place.


Most of the games need little to no effort to advance with no previous experience or skill requirements. That is good for gathering the masses but it lacks the competitive aspect. That translates into a lower percentage of paying customers and they have to make up by growing their player base.


Others (usually not found on Facebook) have targeted a different audience. It is a fierce battle for a certain segment that inclines towards more challenging experience. The learning curve is stepper and retention (the people who tried and did not quit after the first week) is lower. But there are advantages still. There are more or less the same people that play “real” games at home (12 to 50 male predominant) and they are more willing to pay for the a little edge. Travian is the most know one and is full of adversities between people organised in alliances. You can get back to the individual that pillage your virtual village last night if you buy some premium points allowing you a bigger army. Many other games are trying the same receipt, constantly improving the design. That is good for the players.


Just keep in mind that being more informed about this stuff is meant to help you to play them, not the other way around.