the power of free-to-play

The Power of

Free To Play

Adrian Crookadriancrook@gmail.com

www.FreeToPlay.biz

“Free” In the Real World

Free To Poop

No cost to public or taxpayersProviders recover costs/profit via ads on exterior

Free To Rock

Download only launch

Free / Name Your Price

40% conversion

$3M revenue

Still debuted at #1

Free To Fly

Nearly free, 5€ flights across EuropeAirline derives revenue from cargo, incidentals, etc

Back to games…

What is Free To Play?

NOT a genre NOT a platform

Numerous revenue models Players play without paying Increased player base allows for

alternate monetization

KartRider

160M users world-wide

Runescape

$60M annual revenue

Webkinz

7M unique users per month340% growth in 1 year

Club Penguin

Bought by Disney for $700M

All Eyes On FreeThe Battle for Attention

NPD: 91% of kids PC Online gaming = f2p

Current F2P Revenue Models

Virtual Item Sales

Unlimited ARPU – users decide ceiling Value drivers

Rarity/price Visibility

Dual currency systems Attention-based Real money-based

Basics 5-10% conversion rate Functional, decorative, consumeable, etc

Merchandise

Barbie Girls 9.5M users in 9 months

Webkinz $20M retail in 24 months

Maple Story CCG

Information Sale

Food Fight Surveys for Vcash

Potential 36K users daily Avg 2 surveys/user 25c per survey $18K/day ANNUAL: $6.6M

Other Revenue Models

Advertising Banners, PPC, Video, Sponsored Items

Auctions/Player Trades Live Gamer, Entropia, Station Exchange

Subscription Tiers RuneScape, Club Penguin, DR

Event/Tournament Fees Shot Online (Golf), Ultimate Baseball

Real Estate/Land Use Fees SL, Entropia

Affiliate TrialPay, $uperRewards

Donations Kingdom of Loathing

More on www.freetoplay.biz

Looking Forward…

F2P Design Tips

Respect the free players! Support integrated graphics Be browser-based (or small dl) Offer regional payment systems Provide short compulsion loops Defer user sign up

F2P Growth Challenges

Virtual property Linden v Bragg

Slow broadband 6mbps US vs 45mbps Korea

Rising dev costs Battlefield Heroes

F2P Growth Challenges

Second Life slowdown Electric Sheep layoffs; UX issues

Secondary markets IGE; unsanctioned item sales

Kids-only games NPD: After 18, kids leave F2P

F2P Trends & Opps

New F2P platforms: social networks, iPhone $upercash, EA Blueprint

Breaking down the walled garden model Metaplace, WoW Armory, DR Char AP

NPD top sellers as F2P games “We’re looking at the sort of game that five, six or

seven years ago, they would have been putting in a box and selling on retail shelves. With the new technology, we can deliver this through the browser.” – Mark Faulkner, Jagex

Adrian Crookadriancrook@gmail.com

www.FreeToPlay.biz