Games dominated a large part of the DM Europe main conference on day two, with Edward Humphrey of Zodiak kicking off and providing an insight into ‘Building digital relationships which transcend the broadcast window’. This he did through by talking delegates through the case study of a Facebook-based role-playing game based on the popular TV show Being Human. It is, he said, the ideal property for such a game, with lots of social media buzz and devoted fans, and gave as many chances for making revenue as you could think of - and some.
Among the tips he shared for success were: “It’s never finished - get it out there”, and: “Don’t be too high brow to chase revenue.” The devoted fans, he said, were prepared to buy anything, “Even things like coffins that we never thought originally would be worth putting into the store. So if they want coffins, give them coffins.”
David Perry (pictured) of Gaikai made a bit hit with the audience as he discussed the failings of the big games companies to keep up with digital distribution. “There is DRM. There is incompatibility.” He pointed out the negative effect that the HD DVD/Blu-ray format war had on the entertainment sector, “But the games industry accepts format wars.”
The games sector has been marked by stair steps of change, rather than gradual evolution, he said. “Digital distribution is inevitable,” he stressed, “and free to play is important to our future.” Social sharing has been virtually unreachable by the big game names, because they make access to games difficult and/or expensive. He demonstrated the 43-click step and 45 minutes it took to load a demo of one of the big name games. “People bore easily and gamers just want a quick taste.” The top method of finding new games was demos, and the top way that gamers think games should be advertised is with in-store kiosks and demos.
Cloud delivery of games is the way forward, Perry said, in the spirit of removing all hurdles between players and games and bringing the game to the gamer. As things stand, was Perry’s message, video games can never be a number one form of entertainment - but if gaming is made more accessible then they might. He cited the example of Best Buy selling consoles at a price that included someone to home-deliver and help set it up. It shouldn’t be that complicated, was his strong message, and with cloud delivery, “We don’t have to explain how it all works, it just needs to work.” A bonus: zero piracy problems on servers.
Nicholas Lovell of Gamesbrief provided some insights into social games and pricing: “Free has been hugely successful.” In the physical world, the traditional pricing was a fixed price that meant it was too expensive for some people and other people were paying less than they would have been willing to pay. He cited the example of a Nine Inch Nails album, which was made available for free download and then had levels of pricing going up to $300 for a 200,000 limited edition signed album. “They sold out in 30 hours.” Lovell’s point: “In the digital world can be more granular. Allow users to choose how much they will spend on your product and your revenues will go up.”
