companion gaming sxsw 2011

Companion Gaming

Single Brand Engagement Across Multiple Platforms

Chris Early – chris.early@ubisoft.com

March 13, 2011

My background:

Brand Engagement

Why is it important?

Brand Engagement = Loyalty

More frequently …

… for longer periods of time …

… results in more loyalty

Recommendation & Revenues

Revenues Recommendation

Why is this important for games?

Players: Ongoing pleasure and comfort

Creative: We can tell our story

Business: Long term viability

In the past…

So how have we build brand

engagement in games?

Traditionally…

Expansion Packs

&

Sequels

Not Ideal

No concurrent reinforcement of engagement

Long time between engagements

Breaks in engagement results in breaks of loyalty

Concurrent and continual engagement needed

Baseball Example

Concurrent and Continual = Loyal Baseball Fan

How do we…

So how do we

build this kind of

brand engagement

in games?

Companion Games to build

Brand Engagement

Companion Games

to build

Brand Engagement

Concurrent and Continual Engagement

Companion Game Examples

Companion Game Examples

Page of Logos

Fable II

Fable II

Dev: Lionhead

Pub: Microsoft

Rel: Oct 21, 2008

Xbox 360

Role Playing

Base Game

Fable II

Base Game Companion Game

Web

Companion Game

Fable II Pub Games

Companion Game

Card & Board

Pub: Microsoft

Rel: Aug 13, 2008

$10 on Xbox LIVE Arcade CG: Starting Advantage

CG: Cash Exchange

CG: Item Transfer

CG: 2 Months Ahead

Fable II Pub Games

Companion Game

CG: Sold Part of Base Game?

CG: Cash Exchange CG: Continuing Benefit

Fable II A Hero’s Tale

Companion Game

Role Playing

Pub: Microsoft

Rel: September 2008

Free on Web

CG: Starting Advantage

CG: Item Transfer

CG: 1 Month Ahead

CG: Story Prologue

Fable III

Fable III

Dev: Lionhead

Pub: Microsoft

Rel: Oct 26, 2010

Xbox 360, PC

Role Playing

Base Game

Fable III

Base Game

Companion Game

Fable: Coin Golf

Companion Game

Puzzle & Trivia

Pub: Microsoft

Rel: Soon? (6 Months Later)

$TBD on Windows Phone 7

CG: Cash Transfer

CG: Too Late?

Crackdown 2

Crackdown 2

Dev: Ruffian Games

Pub: Microsoft

Rel: Jul 6, 2010

Xbox 360

Action Adventure

Shooter

Base Game

Crackdown 2

Base Game

Companion Game

Project Sunburst

Companion Game

Puzzle & Trivia

Pub: Microsoft

Rel: Dec 15, 2010 (+ 6 Mos)

$2.99 on Windows Phone 7

CG: Abilities Exchange

CG: Too Late?

Toy Soldiers

Toy Soldiers

Dev: Signal Studios

Pub: Microsoft

Rel: Mar 3, 2010

$15 Xbox LIVE Arcade

Strategy &

Simulation

Base Game

Toy Soldiers

Base Game

Companion Game

Match Defense

Companion Game

Puzzle

Pub: Microsoft

Rel: Feb 13, 2010

Facebook CG: Item Bonus

CG: Connectivity Broken Initially CG: Metagame

Source: AppData.com

CASE STUDIES

Case Studies

Dragon Age II

Dragon Age II

Dev: Bioware

Pub: Electronic Arts

Rel: Mar 8, 2011

Xbox 360, PS/3, PC

Role Playing

Action & Adventure

Base Game

Dragon Age II

Base Game

Companion Game

Helper App

HTML 5

Dragon Age Legends

Pub: Electronic Arts

Rel: Private Feb 2011

Facebook

Companion Game

Role Playing

Dragon Age Legends

Companion Game

CG: Item Unlock

CG: Starting Advantage

Dragon Age Legends

Companion Game

CG: One Month Before Base

Source: AppData.com

Dragon Age Legends

CG: Cross Brand Loyalty

Companion Game

Dragon Age Legends Helper

CG: Maintenance / Helper Application

Designed for iDevices, Android, Tablets

HTML 5 Application

Game Helper App

Dead Rising 2

Dead Rising 2

Dev: Blue Castle

Pub: Capcom

Rel: Sep 28, 2010

Xbox 360, PS/3, PC

Action Adventure

Base Game

Dead Rising 2

Base Game Companion Game Story Extension

Dead Rising 2: Case 0

Companion Game

Action Adventure

Pub: Capcom

Rel: Aug 31, 2010

$5 on Xbox LIVE Arcade

CG: Starting Advantage

CG: Cash Transfer

CG: Exp. Transfer

CG: Item Transfer

CG: Story Prologue

DR 2 & Case Zero $$

50%+ ~25% NEW

New Brand Exposure

New Revenue

Bonus

Revenue

Loyal

Engagement

Increased Sales – Increased Exposure

Dead Rising 2: Case West

Stand Alone Epilogue

Action Adventure

Pub: Capcom

Rel: Dec 27, 2010

$10 on Xbox LIVE Arcade

CG: Story Extension

CG: No Linking

Christian Svensson SVP Capcom

“I think that our experience with Case Zero and Case West

has taught us how powerful a tool companion gaming can

be, even on the same platform…

… pulling these off is a lot harder than it looks. There was

literally years of planning and this strategy was a part of

the plan from the very beginning of the project.”

Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood

Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood

Dev: Ubisoft Montreal

Pub: Ubisoft

Rel: Nov 16, 2010

Xbox 360, PS/3, PC

Action Adventure

Base Game

Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood

Base Game Companion Game

Project Legacy

Companion Game

X-Wars

Pub: Ubisoft

Rel: Oct 5, 2010

Facebook CG: Connectivity Difficult

CG: Starting Advantage CG: Cash Exchange

CG: Exp. Exchange

CG: Story Extension CG: 1 Month Ahead

Project Legacy Stats

Source: AppData.com

CG: Continuing Value

Project Legacy Stats

CG: Broad Audience

Source: AppData.com

Companion Game Principles

Best Practices

CG: Connectivity Difficult

CG: Cash Exchange

CG: Exp. Exchange

CG: Story Extension

CG: Broad Audience

CG: No Linking

CG: Helper Application

CG: Starting Advantage

CG: Cash Transfer

CG: Exp. Transfer

CG: Item Transfer

CG: Story Prologue

CG: Cross Brand Loyalty

CG: One Month Before Base

CG: Item Bonus

CG: Connectivity Broken Initially CG: Metagame CG: Abilities Exchange

CG: Too Late?

CG: Story Epilogue

CG: Sold Part of Base Game?

CG: Continuing Benefit

CG: 2 Months Ahead

Principles Extend the Story

Concurrent Engagement

Continual Engagement

Create Residual Value

Coherent Advancement

Standalone Gameplay

Platform Diversity

Difficulties

Cross Platform Synchronization = HARD

People will cheat – how will you handle?

Games are linked – for better or worse

“No man is an island…” - John Donne, 1624

No Man is an Island

ACTIVE GAME MANAGEMENT

QUESTIONS

Questions