Gamer 2.0, Exploring the use of Gaming, Community and Social Media

Gamer 2.0 :
Exploring the use of Gaming
Community & Social Media

Karen O’Brien, Partner

Chris Terschluse, Analyst

Crimson Interactive Services

August, 2009

www.crimson-consulting.com © CRIMSON CONSULTING 2009

Agenda

Research Goals

Current Gaming Trends

Gamer Personas

Gaming Community & Social Media Best
Practices

Introduction to Crimson Consulting

www.crimson-consulting.com 1 © CRIMSON CONSULTING 2009

Research Goals

Overview of current gaming trends and use of social
media and community by gamers

Provide insight into gamer lifestyle, behavior, needs,
desires, and motivation

Highlight best practices of gaming communities and their
use of social media tools


Today’s Gaming Trends


Summary of Gaming Trends

New game experiences and casual gaming have changed gamer
demographics
Gamers want gaming experiences that are customizable and interactive
Multiple revenue models are utilized to monetize games
Gamers now demand social experiences within games
The use of social networks is growing at an exponential rate – especially
among adults
Gamers are avid social networkers, often sharing information such as
photos, videos, or blogs.
Social media has a major influence on consumer purchase decisions

Source: Essential Facts About the Computer and Video Game Industry, Entertainment Software Association, 2009; Crimson analysis

Trends: Changing Gamer Demographics
Gamers are getting older, comprising over half of the US adult population.

Who is Playing Video Games?
US based Gaming Population of
114 million –comprising 52% of
adult population
21% percent of adults report
playing daily

Source: Essential Facts About the Computer and Video Game Industry, Entertainment Software Association, 2009

Online and mobile casual gaming is growing.

Who is Playing Video Games Online

Source: Essential Facts About the Computer and Video Game Industry, Entertainment Software Association, 2009

Casual and fitness games are changing the gamer demographic.

Video Games Appeal to Everyone
Growth in the Casual Game Industry
Online gamers are more educated and earn a higher Nintendo Wii & DS
annual income
Moderate video gamers have an aggregate “In the wake of the introduction of
income of $1.4 trillion, or 35% of the aggregate these two new systems, internal
Nintendo research showed a 42%
income of all video-gamer players, compared to increase in DS purchases among
the $766 billion of avid gamers women, a 127% increase among
people over 30 and a 212% increase
Women among people over 35 during an 18-
month period ending in Spring 2007”
While women account for only 34% of Avid gamers,
they comprise 57% of Moderate and 53% of - Advertising Age, October 15, 2007
Occasional gamers
Most online gamers 30 years old and over are
women. Female online gamers are especially
prevalent among online gamers in the 45+ age group

Source: The Adult Video Game Market in the US Packaged Facts ‘09

Casual and fitness games are changing the gamer demographic.

Video Games Appeal to Everyone
Families
Video gamers with children at home account
for 52% of all those playing games on their
cell phones, 43% of online game players and
46% of those playing offline computer games.

Seniors
The number of 18- to 24-year-old male video
gamers is expected to increase by 7.4%, while
the number of video gamers among 55- to 64-
year-old men will grow by 34.4% into 2012

Source: The Adult Video Game Market in the US Packaged Facts ‘09

Trends: New Gaming Experiences
Video Games are utilized for more than entertainment.

Games offer more than just fun

Health Benefits
Theuse of video games to boost brain power and encourage physical activity
is sweeping the senior population - Consumer Reports on Health (September
2007)
The University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey used the Wii system
to help a patient with cerebral palsy, a movement disorder affecting balance
and coordination.

Exercise Games: Wii Fit & EA Sports Active

Games used for education & training


Augmented reality technology is changing the way we play and interact with
video games

Microsoft’s Project Natal
Technology uses a camera/sensor to track a user's movements, and map that movement to an
avatar/character in the game-space – controller free

Sony Playstation’s EyeToy & Eye Pet
Augmented Reality systems utilizing a motion tracking camera and motion sensors to bring
users into the game


Mobile games allow for virtual game play in real life environments.


Games need to be interactive and dynamic, creating an alternate reality.

Customization
Gamers want to influence the storyline or create their own
Dynamic Virtual Worlds – 2nd Life, Free Realms, WoW
Integration of user generated content (customize in-game
characters, environments, avatars, profiles, and personalities)
Sims 3
Spore
Open API game development and user generated game portals
Little Big Planet
XNA Creators Club


Little Big Planet and XNA Creators Club offer customization of characters,
objects, and levels player as well as communities for sharing
user generated content.

Playstation’s LBP online has a
community of over 2 million users
with an average of 35,373 user-
generated levels uploaded each
week.
As of June 2009, more than
900,000 user-created levels have
been published and these had been
played 200 million times.
Microsoft’s XNA Creators Club
allows users to create and build
custom games. For a subscription
fee, games can be submitted to
Microsoft, reviewed, and displayed
on the community game portal.

Sources: Wikipedia & http://www.us.playstation.com/News/PressReleases/509

Kongregate.com looks to become the YouTube of independently developed
video games

Any registered user can upload any type of game they have created. Users then rate and review the
game – If it garners three stars, it will show up on the list of games.
Weekly or monthly contests are held in which the highest rated game of that month/week wins a cash
prize
Kongregate functions as a social network with in-game chat features, profiles, real time rankings/user
standings
A built in rewards system awards users points for reviewing games, referring friends, and completing
achievements

Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kongregate

Video game developers experiment with crowdsourced video game development

Roundhouse and Firma are creating an online
public community of “cartel” to be involved in
the development of a new game.
Members of the community will be introduced
to a democratic voting system and society.
Developers will place ideas out to the “cartel”
and allow them to decide the direction of the
game, genre, storylines, controls, and even
the name.
Community members will be asked for $50 fee
that will guarantee a copy of the game, and
will provide incentives along the way to
participate
Funded by the community. Goal is to get over
100,000 members, generating $5m in revenue
up front for development

Source: http://news.cnet.com/gaming-and-culture/?keyword=Video+game

Trends: Changing Revenue Models
Digital game distribution has become scalable and accessible while sales on
game consoles and hardware have declined.

Changing Revenue Models
Ad supported/in-game advertising

Subscription Services

Digital Game Services

Offers/Incentives ( Offerpal, Super Rewards, Peanut Labs etc.)

In-Game “microtransactions”


MapleStory touts success through microtransactions and prepaid cards.

Free-of-charge, 2D, side-scrolling MMORPG.
Players interact through chatting, trading,
and mini-games. Game play enhancements
and character appearances are purchased.

In 2007 MapleStory sold $30m of digital
goods in the US alone with a subscriber base
of 6 million – ARPU $20 month

As of May ‘08 prepaid cards used to buy
game items are now the 2nd best-selling
entertainment gift card at Target stores in the
U.S., after cards for the iTunes Store

DFC’s estimated revenue for 2008 ranges
between $150-500m placing it 3rd amongst
top 10 revenue generating MMO’s

“Estimated $1.8 billion
microtransactions or sales of virtual
goods in virtual worlds in 2009,
worldwide” – www.fastcompany.com

Sources: http://www.virtualgoodsnews.com/2009/02/maple-story-nets-150500m-in-revenue-for-2008.html
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121150576226416235.html?mod=2_1567_topbox


IKEA and Ford partner with EA for in-game products.

The Sims 2 offers branded
virtual goods from IKEA &
Ford
Users can design their
rooms to fit their
personalities with IKEA
made items including sofas,
beds, tables, TVs, desks and
much more. Each item is
available in a variety of
colors and patterns for a
customized look
More than 3.3 million Ford
vehicles have been
downloaded in the game,
making The Sims the most
successful Ford dealership
in the world

Source: http://www.gamershell.com/companies/electronic_arts/452016.html

Digital game services offer al-a-carte game downloading for the PC and console


OnLive offers cloud-based gaming services and large scale
community infrastructure.


Trends: Gaming Goes Social
Gaming and Social Media are blending together to create
unique interactive experiences.

Gamer Social Capital
“One of the central elements of
Social Gaming
the video gaming experience in
Mobile Gaming 2009 is its capacity to serve as a
tool to build social networks and
Online Gamer Conversation
communities – both real and
OpenID virtual – as well as to function as
a means of pure entertainment.”
Gaming Communities The Adult Video Gamer Market in the U.S.,
Packaged Facts ‘09
Gaming Wiki’s


Management of reputation and online social capital has grown in importance.

Gamers work hard to build their point totals, achievements, and rankings – now they
want to share them
Reputation tools important to community and can now be displayed on social
networking profiles
GamerCards help gamers network within their communities, forming clans/guilds with
other accomplished players


Gaming conversations, online and in-game, are being aggregated and shared
via social networks and in-game real time streams

Gamers form online
communities through
conversation – discovering,
discussing, and sharing trending
game topics, news, titles, etc.


Facebook and MySpace have rapidly growing gaming portals offering titles
across a broad range of genres.

Facebook and MySpace games allow interaction and game play with friends connected via the
individual social networks.
Games have a major viral aspect encouraging players to invite friends to play games with them
during game play.
Games are embedded in user profiles as applications and offer game play statistics and rankings.
Social gaming developer Zynga is on track to generate more than $100m in revenue in 2009
MySpace recently announced a new focus as an entertainment portal with a focus on gaming


Top Facebook gaming apps engage users through customization, ability to play
and interact with real friends, and constant development of accessories, add-
ons, patches, etc.

Pet Society is a free-to-play app that is monetized through virtual goods and advertising
Virtual goods improve status and health of pets – when an item is purchased an update is
published to the Facebook wall to recognize good care for the users virtual pet.


Games are played and monetized on all forms of social media

Mafia 140 is the first game to monetize through in-game microtransactions on Twitter
Designed by Super Rewards, the purchased virtual currency allows users to pay for virtual goods
that enhance game play such as health, money, ammunition, etc.
Source: http://money.cnn.com/2009/06/23/technology/twitter_140mafia_game_profit/?postversion=2009062316

Trends
OpenID web technology allows for the migration of social games off of
social networking websites

Facebook Connect makes it easier than ever to get new visitors to register and participate by recognizing a unique
Facebook ID
Makes it easy for community members to advertise participation on the site using the Facebook news feed
EA utilizes Facebook Connect with its phone Scrabble gaming app while Zynga uses it in the most popular game on
Facebook: Texas Hold ‘Em

Source:http://www.maclife.com/article/news/ea_announces_facebook_connect_iphone_scrabble_rest_2009_games

Trends
New social gaming platforms create communities around mobile gaming

Social gaming platforms for the iPhone offer friend lists, social profiles, leader boards, discovery lobbies, cross
promotion, achievements etc.
OpenFeint is currently available on 100+ mobile games and open to all developers
Platforms are integrated with Facebook (via Facebook Connect) and Twitter in order to provide real time status
updates of game play as well as off the ability to play, share, and discover games with existing SN friends
Creates viral gaming communities in which games are shared, played, and managed through a simple mobile
application


Social media facilitates strong community interaction: EA’s, The Sims 2, partners
with H&M and Yahoo! for a user generated content, contest.

Sims 2 users could use the expansion’s tool to design their own outfits. Content was uploaded the the Sims 2
website and finalists were showcased on a virtual fashion runway hosted by Yahoo!
More than 1,000 aspiring fashion designers and fans of The Sims submitted designs that were voted on by
more than 100,000 people and viewed by more than 500 million people in the six weekly fashion shows on
Yahoo.
The winning outfit was selected to be manufactured, and will be available in nearly 1,000 stores worldwide

Source: http://pc.ign.com/articles/886/886170p1.html

Gaming wiki’s and widgets are becoming essential for hardcore gamer
strategy and communication.


www.Pietheory.com
Alternate Reality Games blurring the
lines between gaming, learning and
collaboration
Sun Microsystems RIA development
platform, JavaFX utilized a uniquely
different approach that would create
awareness, build buzz and excitement,
encourage trial/downloads and attract a
younger audience of nextgen developers
(ages 18-30).
Pietheory.com is a story-based massive
multiplayer online alternate reality game that
ran across traditional, social and emerging
marketing platforms.
Superstruct is the world’s first massively
multiplayer forecasting game. By playing the
game, you help chronicle the world of 2019-
-and imagine how we might solve the
problems we'll face. It’s about making the
future, inventing new ways to organize the
human race and augment collective human
potential.
www.Superstructgame.org

Trends: Social Networks Are Here to Stay
Adults continue to join social networks.

43% among those who are online, now use social networking sites such as Facebook,
MySpace, and Linkedin – up from 27% percent a year ago – Consumer Internet Barometer
July 2009
Women are more likely than men to use social networking sites (48% versus 38%), but usage
has increased dramatically among both groups in just a year – Consumer Internet Barometer
July 2009

% w/
Age
Profile
18-24 75%

25-34 57%

35-44 30%

45-54 19%

55-64 10%

65+ 7%

Source: Pew Internet & American Life Project 2009

Trends: Gamers are Social Networkers
Gamers utilize social media, especially apps, widgets, and photo sharing.

Apps and Widgets ranked the highest form of media used by gamers in social media
Gamers communicate primarily through groups and blogs over forums
Gamers are 2x more likely to view, upload or share pictures as compared to video

Source: Lotame ID Report: Video Gamers and Social Media 2009

Trends: Gamers Are Social Networkers
Gamers are social media participators and influencers.

Video Gamers are high participators when it comes to actions. This includes
demonstrated activities such as downloading, watching video, or viewing content.
More likely to be influencers: creating, sharing, uploading, rating content.
Blogging was a likely action of video gamers

Source: Lotame ID Report: Video Gamers and Social Media 2009

Trends: Word-of-Mouth more
important than ever
Influencers drive brand affinity
Awareness

1.Close Family & Friends (78%)
90% of consumers surveyed said that
2.Independent Bloggers (59%) they trust recommendations from
3.Contribute to YouTube etc.(49%) people they know, while 70% trusted
consumer opinions posted online
– Nielsen Global Online Consumer Survey, July
Consideration 2009
Known peer influence still tops the list
1.Contribute to YouTube (49%) for purchase decisions, but social media
2. Anonymous Peer Reviews (43%)
3. Family & Friends (42%)
– including corporate and independent
blogs produced by key influencers –
and user-generated content (UGC) from
Action social influencers - play an influential
1. role that meets or beats traditional
1.Close Family & Friends (79%) marketing efforts
2.Anyonymous Peer Reviews (43%)
3.Independent bloggers (21%) - Fluent, The Razorfish Social Influence
Marketing Report 2009
Percentage of type of
influence during specific
stages of the marketing
funnel

Source: Fluent, The Razorfish Social Influence Marketing Report 2009

Gaming Personas


Definitions

Hardcore Gamer; n.
Term used to describe a type of video game player, or gamer,
whose leisure time is largely devoted to playing video games.
Typically, they will play a game to mastery before moving on, in
the process becoming very knowledgeable about individual
games. The opposite of the hardcore gamer is the casual gamer.

Casual Gamer; n.
Casual gamers are occasional video game players who might not
even identify themselves as a gamer. What this group lacks in
enthusiasm for the latest and greatest hardware and engrossing
game play, they make up in sheer numbers.

Source: Wikipedia

Personas – Hardcore Gamer

“I would much rather play video games
Eric than watch TV. I can accomplish goals
Age: 33
and have fun while connecting with
IT Manager
friends from all over the world, sharing
strategies, opinions, reviews of new
games and competing to be the next
major league gamer”

Characteristics His Questions
Tech Savvy What’s the best action/adventure game on Facebook?
Multi-tasker What is the best online community for gamers like me?
Online Critic/Content Creator What kind of gaming related widgets or apps can I download?
Socially Active How can I share pictures and video’s of my game play?
Impatient Can I get the a better value from video game services like
Goal Oriented Steampowered?
Strategic Thinker When is the next MLG tournament?

Source: http://media.onsugar.com/files/upl2/1/15111/22_2009/6f9f39ce8764d638_video_game_couple.larger.jpg

Personas – Hardcore Gamer (continued)
HIS STORY
A university graduate, who has been playing computer games for almost 12 years, and is an avid
video/computer gamer. Eric’s favorite types of games are action adventure, shooter, sports, fighting and his Eric
favorite MMOG, World of Warcraft. He plays at least an hour of online multi-player games a week, Age: 28
participates in major league gaming tournaments, and commonly uses the internet to support his in game IT Manager
activities by reading and posting to blogs, forums, and reviews on websites such as GotFrag.com and
Gamespot.com. He grew up in a single parent household in the Midwest, eats fast food regularly, reads
books often, relies on the internet as a news source, and drives a Volkswagon. Eric is a hard worker,
constantly striving to improve himself and climb the social ladder in the work place. Eric likes to spend
money, especially on computer gadgets. He is fashion forward and admires people who stand out and
express themselves. He watches Comedy Central, HBO, and some of his other favorite shows on
Hulu.com. His favorite websites are BestBuy.com, Techcrunch.com Gamespot, Google, and Facebook.
TECHNOLOGY USAGE
Eric is very tech savvy and spends three and a half +hours online a day. He was an early adopter of the
iPhone, owns an upgraded PC for gaming and constantly communicates with friends online through IM,
social networks and email via the PC and more often the mobile phone. He often purchases computer
products online and often reads websites such as Techcrunch.com, or Wired.com to stay up to date with the
latest technology.
MARKETING
Focused on value and quality, as well as making practical purchase decisions. He Is highly adept at
comparison shopping online and is skeptical of big corporations and advertising claims, although he has a
slight tendency to be brand loyal. Responds to messaging that dares to “stand out” and is straight forward
and fact based.
ONLINE ACTIVITY
Plays solo and multi-player games on the PC and console, visits game sites, and participates in many
online communities and forums, many of which are related to gaming. He has various social networking
profiles and proudly sports his Xbox Live game card on his Facebook and MySpace pages. He always
keeps up to date with forums of his favorite MOGG’s looking the latest patches, add-ons, and developer
blog posts. Eric constantly searches for new and interesting websites utilizing sites like Digg and Reddit, He
passes around user generated humorous content, receives and sends photos, streams radio and video,
downloads music from paid music sites, and likes to download podcasts, game demos, and movie clips. He
plays online multi-player games every week. Previews many products and services and buys online. He will
do the research to make sure he is part of the best site and community online for gaming.


Personas – Casual Gamer

Sarah “During a busy day at the office, online
Age: 39 games are a fun stress reliever that
Executive allow me to have a bit of fun and they
Assistant
help break up the day”

Characteristics Her Questions
Time Stressed What is the best way to download puzzles and card games to
Seeks Moments of Escape my smartphone?
Family Oriented If I subscribe will I get new games too?
Well Organized Which games are my Facebook friends playing?
Adept Purchaser of Products Where can I find fun online shopping games?
& Services Online What kind of online games can I play with my kids?
What's happening in my Twitter network?


Personas – Casual Gamer (continued)
HER STORY
She works as an executive assistant at a medium sized company. She is married, has two children, ages
8 and 11, and works four days a week. She looks forward to spending her weekends with family and
friends, and doesn’t have much time to herself. She balances a busy schedule and spends a lot of the
day on the PC. Several times a day, during a few minutes of downtime, she plays games online or on her
Sarah
cell phone to relax and escape. Recently she has begun to play games on her Blackberry downloading Age: 39
games and applications like Bejeweled or Peggle, and social networking games like Pet Society and
YoVille. She finds the interaction with her friends new and exciting. She mainly likes games that are Executive
‘quick hits” such as Puzzle, Board, Show, Trivia or Card games that are fun to play and can be played Assistant
quickly so she can get on with her work day. She often has lunch at her desk, and tries to get home so
she can play with the kids. She also enjoys playing online educational games at home with her two
children on sites such as FunBrain.com. She drives a Ford Escape. Her favorite shows on TV include
So You Think You Can Dance, Grey’s Anatomy, and Desperate Housewives. Favorite websites include
games.yahoo.com and ign.com during the day during breaks at work, Yahoo for news, IM, email, movie
previews and schedules, and iTunes.com for her music downloads. She loves the shop, especially
online, and is always looks for the good deals and incentives to buy.
TECHNOLOGY USAGE
Sarah is uses the PC all day at work and has a Blackberry provided by her company, she spends more
than one hour a day on her PC and phone playing games. She organizes her busy schedule online,
manages her finances, coordinates her mobile devices with her PC and iPod. She uses a digital camera,
shares photos with friends and prints her own pictures from her printer. She is new to social networks
such as Facebook, but has been recently spending more time on them searching for old friends and
playing games.
MARKETING
Focused on value and quality, as well as making practical purchase decisions and is adept at
comparison shopping. She is skeptical of big corporations and advertising claims, and is not especially
brand loyal. Responds to messaging that dares to “stand out” and is sincere.
ONLINE ACTIVITY
She plays fast access arcade games, mostly her favorite game. She plays it fast, plays it often, she
loves incentivized games, signs up gaming subscriptions on game sites, streams and watches clips from
her favorite TV shows, upcoming movies and news. She keeps up to date with her friends on IM, email
and social networks, sends and receives photos constantly, and downloads music and pod casts. She
also downloads games to her mobile phone. An expert online shopper, she buys clothing and many
other products and services online.


Personas – Technographic Profiles

Eric Sarah

Age, geography, and gender impact the adoption and use of social media technologies
Hardcore gamers are more apt to join social networks and maintain profiles, use social bookmarking and
RSS feeds, and publish blogs, post articles, comments, and upload multimedia.
Casual gamers are more apt to post ratings/reviews of products or comment on blogs and forums

Source: http://www.forrester.com/Groundswell/profile_tool.html

Gaming Community &
Social Media Best
Practices


Innovation to meet expectations for new
technology/ enhanced gaming experiences
Blur the lines between reality and the
virtual game experience
Create new gaming experiences that
offer practical benefits such as
exercise, education, training, etc.
Allow gamers to become long term
contributors and participants within
the gaming community
Encourage gamers to express
themselves through custom profiles,
pages, avatars, characters, or entire
games
Create dynamic gaming titles which
allow for extended game play and
advancement over time (patches,
add-ons, upgrades etc.)


Offer unique, exclusive content on a
daily or weekly basis

Weekly blog posts, podcasts or video
segments discussing game news, reviews,
previews, interviews
Insight into real-time gaming trends and
conversations across the web
Allow users to upload UGC such as game
reviews and ‘lifestyle’ content (allow users
to share what they think is cool)
Surveys and Feedback
Invite users to participate in a survey and ask
questions about what content they would like to
see on the site
Some users will really appreciate that they are
getting to shape the content on the site


Enable the use of extensive status and
reputation management tools
Create dynamic game titles that allow users to build social capital within
the game
Enable gamer profiles that aggregate statistics, achievements, and real-
time game play - allow them to embed and share gamer profiles across
the web and social networks
Provide statistics, user rankings, battles, contests and other tools that
allow members to gauge and improve community status
Incentivize site users - incorporate loyalty programs
Points or achievements for participating on the site,
redeemable for prizes/free stuff, or more games
i.e. Kongregate, GamerDNA, etc.

Give ‘em their props
Have a small section on the site that features
accomplishments of its users or a featured user
Gamers by nature are competitive; recognition breeds
loyalty


Make the gaming experience social

Add viral elements to the game play
Enable users to invite friends to play along and
share gaming experiences – reward them for
invites

Encourage groups to form and offer guild
hosting to support small gaming team
communities.
Create large scale community based
games
Live interactive game shows such as Microsoft’s 1
vs 100 are engaging and fun while community
members compete for real prizes

Enable use of real-time status updates and
offer real-time tracking of community
conversation and game play trends
Encourage users to share and spread web
content through use of social media tools


Utilize social networking tools to enable the
sharing and spread of content
Optimize blogs, multimedia, news etc. with sharing
and bookmarking tools such as Digg, Delicious,
StumbleUpon, Reddit, Twitter etc.
Offer unique content supplemented with User
Generated Content
Integrate with existing mainstream social networking
sites such as Facebook, Twitter, FriendFeed, Flickr,
etc.
Enable the ability to broadcast real-time status updates
across multiple social profiles
Contextual recommendation engines - Highly
customizable recommendation engines for games,
products, or community members built through user
profile context.
Create collaborative gaming wikis for strategies,
tips/tricks etc.


Utilize OpenID technology

Use Facebook Connect or
MySpaceID to streamline the
registration process for gaming
communities
Easy for new members to recruit
existing friends and contacts
Create OpenID custom URL’s for
profile pages to make profiles
portable and transferable across
networking sites
i.e. GamerDNA, Raptr, etc.


Encourage users to upload and share UGC

Allow users to upload and share content such as links, blogs, news,
photos, video, games, apps, widgets etc.

Integrate user generated content with product and ecommerce pages
Including ratings/reviews for products, screenshots, and video clips

Creation of a media portal for video, photos, music and podcasts
Enable ratings/reviews for UG multimedia – much like a YouTube
Feature most viewed/highest rated UG videos

Reward users for contribution to the site through awards, points,
credits, or contests


Generate awareness and engagement
through use of UGC competitions

UGC competitions encourage
participation and community
interaction that will generate repeat
visits and WOM Marketing

The Sims 2’s partnership with H+M
created a tremendous amount of
buzz and awareness for the multiple
sponsors.

Sony Pictures has run competitions
on YouTube where users upload
videos of why they deserve to win a
prize


Put the focus on engagement and
interaction with community members
Utilize brand or site ambassadors/influencers as a means to
connect, interact and promote the community
Create a community events calendar that allows members to
connect and play with similar community members based on
affinity, gender, location, etc.
Xbox Live has an excellent calendar offering game nights for
families, girls etc.
Xbox hosts game nights where members play celebrities and
musicians
Generate blog postings that stimulate conversation
Interact with members - reply to comments or questions
pertaining to individual posts
Engage audience members on popular social networks
Create a social graph across multiple social networks
Create a cohesive web presence by linking and aggregating
multiple social profiles and sites.


Make communities portable and accessible

Create widgets, apps, and
mobile platforms to engage
community members whenever
and wherever

Develop or partner with mobile
social gaming platforms to tap
into new users and connect
with an existing community


Use micro-transactions, updates, patches,
and game add-ons to create a long-term
sustainable business model
Offer free-to-play game titles monetized through
microtransactions

Partner with brands, bringing real life products
and merchandise into the virtual world

Allow users to upgrade, improve, or add to their
existing gaming experience over time

Create long term value for users by combining
gamer reputation management with virtual goods

Offer pre-paid cards in retail locations and online
to streamline the purchase process and target
users with no access to credit


References

Market Research Reports:
Essential Facts About the Computer and Video Game Industry, Entertainment Software
Association, 2009
The Adult Video Game Market in the US, Packaged Facts ’09
Pew Internet & American Life Project 2009
Lotame ID Report: Video Gamers and Social Media 2009, Lotame 2009
Fluent: The Razorfish Social Influence Marketing Report 2009, Razorfish July 2009


Introduction to Crimson

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