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David Barnes
April 5th, 3:46pm
1 comment
How Ngmoco Rules Free to Play Games
This presentation from Ngmoco -- creators of recent iPhone hit We Rule -- on their strategic shift from premium to free to play "Facebook-style" games is just brilliant. Massive thanks to SF Rock for posting it.
Here are highlights, with some comments from me. And there's a link to the full slide deck at the bottom.
With a paid app, you get a burst of revenue when you reach a peak in the chart; then it dies off quickly. With a free-to-play app you continue to earn long after your chart peak. Total earning volume is much higher for the same level of downloads.
With free-to-play games you can launch much earlier. Ngmoco creates an "MVP" (minimum viable product) in 3 to 9 months, launches, and then continuously updates the game through its lifecycle.
Note that the minimum viable product for them is "something that can get to the top of the free charts on the iPhone". If you're aiming to build a loyal, smaller audience over time then your MVP will probably be far more minimal than theirs. What's your minimum viable product? How can you make it even simpler?
A flow chart for free-to-play game design...
And a text explanation in case its too small.
See all the slides on SF Rock, including:- A break down of their revenue sources
- Information on Ngmoco's business model and growth plans
- The benefits to them of the free to play model
