How gamemaker gets players to pay

STOCKHOLM, Sweden — With 100 million people logging on every day for a fix of its games like Candy Crush Saga, global gamemaker King is showing rivals not just how to hook players, but how to get them to pay.

King is the latest among European tech firms like Rovio, creator of mega-hit Angry Birds, and Mojang, behind Minecraft, to make it big on the global gaming scene. But its stunning profitability in an industry littered with firms who failed to make money from popular games has made it a totem for others seeking to emulate its success.

King’s focus on the multi-billion dollar mobile games market – creating short, addictive puzzles for the fastest-growing part of the gaming industry – has helped it reap profits rare in its field. Though the company does not publish numbers, industry experts have estimated its revenues at $1 million-$3 million a day. Media reports now talk about an IPO valuation of $5 billion after a source recently said the company had filed to go public in the United States.

King was set up in Sweden a decade ago by friends working at the same tech startup and got 34 million euros funding from Apax Partners and Index Ventures in 2005. It has been profitable since, a fact that analysts put down to its ability to persuade players to pay several times over to continue the same game. Its “freemium model”, in which games are free but players can pay for add-ons or extra lives, has been particularly effective because of the success of Candy Crush, described by some analysts as a global phenomenon.

“Candy Crush is one of the biggest mass market consumer games in years,” said Adam Krejcik at Eilers Research in California. “They have been profitable for a while. This game has certainly brought them into a new category.”

The puzzle game, in which players line up gleaming 3-D sweets to knock out jelly, chocolate and liquorice, is available online, on smartphone and Facebook. It has held the No. 1 spot for apps on Facebook for nine months and is Apple’s top-grossing U.S. app, more popular than Spotify and TripAdvisor. King also says it is considering new platforms for the game such as smart TV.

Globally, mobile game revenues generated through Apple iOS & Google Playstore are expected to exceed $10 billion this year, according to Krejcik. Roughly half of those are revenues generated by seven publishers including King, DeNa, GungHo Online and Electronic Arts.




Bite-sized

According to King’s Chief Creative Officer Sebastian Knutsson, Candy Crush is addictive because it’s equal parts pain and fun and fits consumers’ short attention span.

“We talk internally about.. bite-sized entertainment, and we think that fits the mobile generation of today… short game rounds as opposed to having a super deep, long game,” he said.

Knutsson, one of the five founders of King who between them hold 25 percent, is also part of the 10-strong Swedish team that came up with Candy Crush. It combines elements of other popular games – the shiny graphics of Bejewelled, the candies of Candy Land and the grid-like action of Tetris.

“Candies felt like something that everybody would have a positive feeling about.. And I wanted something that could have shine and glossiness without being something unattainable,” Knutsson told Reuters in a Stockholm office where meeting rooms have names like Bubble Witch Lair, after the game.

Players lured by the appealing graphics of Candy Crush can pay for more lives, or must wait for 30 minutes before they may start again – though some cheat and move the clocks on their smartphones ahead so they can continue. The game’s appeal was broadened by its social aspect: Players can share their progress on Facebook, swapping lives as well as tips on how to crack the various levels. Others share their pain: “Die Candy Crush. Die.” writes one player, stuck at level 60, on King’s Facebook page.

King says its decision last year to shift its focus to its mobile platform was pivotal because that market was booming and the game suited it well.

The candies worked well on mobile screens, Knutsson said. Analysts note the game is easy to hop in and out of, making it a good time killer for mobile players, yet offers new challenges to give players a new twist when they play again.

“We knew it would be big on Facebook but I think the mobile success is what really took us by surprise,” Knutsson said.

The game’s success led CEO of arch-rival Zynga, former Microsoft Corp Xbox boss Don Mattrick to admit: “I’ll fess up, I’m a candy crush player and I’ve enjoyed it.”

California-based Zynga’s trajectory demonstrates the fate of many others in the industry. In 2009 it developed social game FarmVille – a huge hit in which players harvested crops and raised livestock – but is now struggling to make money from it because it is still based on Facebook as players migrate in droves to mobile. Zynga’s stock price has slumped 65 percent since a high-profile $1 billion IPO two years ago and it is now slashing staff numbers while closing offices.


Next level

Market researcher Newzoo estimates global game revenues across all platforms to reach $86.1 billion by 2016 as the number of gamers reaches 1.55 billion. It expects the fastest growth to come from mobile gaming, which will make up almost 30 percent of the total, up from about 17 percent this year.

Accordingly King – currently offering 150 games and boasting more than a billion gameplays each day – is lining up its next mobile games, readying alternatives for when its immense audience is no longer as mesmerized by its cascading candies.

Analysts expect the company to launch a mobile version of Farm Heroes Saga, a game in which players must match 3 items, which is already Facebook’s second-most popular app. King is already starting to roll out a mobile version of Papa Pear Saga, currently available on the web and on Facebook, in which players bounce and dive into barrels.

In the meantime, it plans to build on growth in Asia, the latest market to succumb to Candy Crush, which is gaining popularity there along with Supercell’s Clash of Clans.

“These are really the first western productions to break into the top 10 or the top 20 in the app store in Japan,” said David Gibson, a senior analyst at Macquarie in Tokyo.

source: interaksyon.com

HandyGames now available for free on Nokia Asha Touch

MANILA, Philippines - Enjoying your fun and affordable Nokia Asha Touch smartphone? Wait till you hear about the 35 new titles released by HandyGames and Nokia to ensure an even better mobile gaming experience for you.

Based in Giebelstadt, Germany, HandyGames is a developer and publisher of mobile games and has been producing award-winning games on various platforms since 2000.

Through its partnership with Nokia, HandyGames hopes to continue expanding to keep everybody entertained in the future.

To whet your appetite, here are some of the 35 new titles you can now discover and download for free from the Nokia Store:





• Aporkalypse. According to an old prophecy, the four Pigs of Doom should proclaim the end of the world in a distant future. But something went terribly wrong and the gates of heaven and hell have already opened. Now it is up to the greedy Hunger Pig, the heavily armed War Pig, the contaminous Pest Pig and the ghostly Death Pig to stop this madness.

• Arcadius. Stardate: 3024. The Earth has been attacked by hostile individuals and has been entirely destroyed; few survivors managed to board freight ships to safety. You are a spaceship fighter pilot. Avoid the security drones and pick up energy sources to upgrade your weapons. Prepare to fight for your life or to the death against the galactic invaders.

• Cyberlords – Arcology. It’s the year 2173. The power of government is in decline and the world is controlled by gigantic mega-corporations. People may have no political power, but they still have control over their own bodies. Powerful NanoGear implants grant superhuman abilities and transform bodies into deadly weapons.

• Guns’n’Glory. What would the Wild West have been without its charismatic villains? Boring. So take a walk in the cowboy boots of Billy the Kid, Jesse James or Butch Cassidy to become a real, low-down bad guy. Form your own gang by recruiting cool cowboys, crazy Mexicans and brave Indians.

• IQ Knights. Enter a chivalric fortress and face the challenging tasks that await you within each area of the castle. Solve all puzzles within these halls to convince the nobles that you have what it takes to be their new king! Arm yourself with your ancestors’ dice and use logic to win the day.

• My Model Train. You always wanted to become a train driver, but never had the space or the money for your own model railway in your hobby room? Then download My Model Train, the first highly detailed mobile train-simulation, to your handset. It’s your task to solve logistic problems as fast as possible by operating switches, signals and reversal-tracks.

• Panzer Panic. War has broken out on your notepad and your leadership ability is needed to beat the enemy in ferocious tank battles. Make use of the environment and move various obstacles to protect yourself from opposing ink fire or to block your enemy’s path. Destroy all opposing panzers by accurately shooting your ink bullets while making sure that you don’t run out of ink fuel.

• Romans and Barbarians. Render Rome a service and build up your own realm as a mighty emperor. Set up a powerful army and become a great general because of the threatening menace at the horizon: Wild barbarians are moving toward Rome to destroy your city and to steal your precious Sucus. Be well prepared for their warriors, shamans and hungry wolves.

• Tattoo Tycoon. Look behind the scenes of the tattoo culture and build your own tattoo empire. Set up a perfectly furnished studio and prove your skills at handling your employees and tattoo machine.

• The Egyptians. After an immense earthquake the land lacks a ruler and discontent leads to bloody battles among the tribes. An ancient god awakens and sends the lord of the scarabs, Khepera, back to earth. It’s time for an alliance of the tribes to fight together against the forces of evil and to free the land. It’s up to you to lead them and to accomplish a victory by using constructions, inventions and tactical warfare.

• Townsmen 4. The dark age has cast a spell over you. You find yourself in a small monastery, surrounded by pagan settlements and hostile monastic orders. Besides brewing and baking bread, it’s your daily task to convert as many souls as possible. You deal with sacred writings, say masses and recruit enough monks, who will help you lead the monastery to wealth and prestige.

• Voodomino. Learn black magic and play for your life. Voodomino spices up the traditional game of Dominoes with dark rituals and deadly curses. Play against your friends and lure them into sneaky traps. With luck on your side you can influence your future. Each tile has its own motif, from poisonous snakes to powerful Voodoo dolls. Can you acquire all the magic tiles?

So if you own a Nokia Asha Full Touch device such as the Nokia Asha 305, Nokia Asha 306, Nokia Asha 309 and Nokia Asha 311, visit the Nokia Store (http://store.nokia.com/) and download these exciting games.

source: philstar.com

Candy Crush Saga, Facebook Favorite, Heads to the iPhone

King.com has been producing nothing but hits on Facebook since it launched its first game on the platform in April. So much so that it’s now the #2 creator of social games on the social network, second to only Zynga.

Now it is releasing one of its most popular games to date, Candy Crush Saga, on iOS. It’s available for iPad, iPad mini, iPhone and iPod touch in November.

The Bejeweled-like game currently has an astounding 5 million daily active players on Facebook, making it the 4th most popular game and largest casual social game on the social network. The mobile version of Candy Crush Saga will offer a similar gameplay experience to the Facebook version and will keep track of player’s leaderboards, progress, and virtual goods purchased across both platforms.

“One game after another is a hit, because we take games that are hit before [Facebook],” Riccardo Zacconi, CEO and co-founder of King.com told Mashable.

The company first releases all of its games on King.com in the form of a single level timed game you play along with your friends, trying to achieve the highest score in the allotted time.

When a game is successful in that form, King them turn it into a saga franchise and releases it on Facebook, and later mobile.





Candy Crush Saga is following in the footsteps of King’s Bubble Witch Saga that the company launched on Facebook earlier this year and on mobile in August.

Zacconi says that players that started playing Bubble Witch on Facebook often play on mobile, but return to the Facebook game as well.

“This is increasing gameplay by 50% on top incrementally,” he says.

There’s no denying Bubble Witch Saga’s popularity. The game is currently the 10th most popular iPad app in the United States, and the 4th most popular iPad game in the App Store.

Gaming on Facebook as a whole is growing, and growing fast. The social network recently revealed that 251 million people played games on Facebook in September 2012, up from 226 million in September of 2011. Right now gaming on the social network is anyone’s game, and it looks like King is up to the challenge.

“We have a very simple strategy: to launch good games and the best games everywhere,” says Zacconi. “For me this is the most important launch this year.”

Candy Crush Saga will be available for iOS in November and later for Android.

source: mashable.com