Casual Games: Where It’s All Going: Casual Games: Where It’s All Going Rob Glaser Founder & CEO, RealNetworks


Where It All Started: Where It All Started


Games For The Rest of Us: Games For The Rest of Us


Why Did It Take So Long?: Why Did It Take So Long? Before the Internet: No easy way to try casual games No dedicated place to learn about & buy them Lots of shovelware In the early Internet period: Web games became popular, but advertising didn’t work well, so no way to get paid! Not enough bandwidth for easy downloading


Slide7: Broadband To The Rescue! US Households with Broadband Sources: Jupiter Internet Access Model, Updated 2005 (US Only) (millions)


Great Growth Potential Worldwide: Great Growth Potential Worldwide Source: eMarketer, May 2005


Where We Are Today: Where We Are Today Industry-standard Try-Before-You-Buy model has yielded a robust PC download business Dozens of successful individual games Profitable subscription services Growing customer bases in 3 regions North America, Europe, and Japan Real downloads over 750,000 games a day


Challenges And Opportunities: Challenges And Opportunities Integrating with off-line properties New ways to monetize game play New connected platforms New markets & new interaction models


The 98% Opportunity: The 98% Opportunity 750,000 downloads/day, but Only 2% result in a consumer paying for a game Early ad models didn’t work because either Consumers found the ads intrusive, or Consumers ignored the ads


The 98% Solution: Advertising Done Right: The 98% Solution: Advertising Done Right Ads *must* be designed right, not overly intrusive Ads *must* feel contextually correct -- sponsorships, skinning, and product placement are all parts of good execution. Fortunately, a successful model to build on: Clicktopia – our Dutch online game experience


Slide14: Pre-roll Banner


Slide15: New Banner Reminder


Slide16: Original Banner Leave Behind


Integrating Ads into Downloadable Games: Integrating Ads into Downloadable Games Rich media between game levels Real partnership with Eyeblaster We will test & try multiple models “Extra” free game-play Full free games for library games Other windowing models


Casual Games & New Platforms: Casual Games & New Platforms Mobile Next generation handhelds Next generation consoles


Mobile is a Great Opportunity: Mobile is a Great Opportunity Massive number of IP-enabled devices The ultimate go-everywhere device Casual games are a great fit with the constraints of mobile phones Small screens Relatively slow processors 70.5% of mobile game revenue is in casual games


Luxor and Other Great Casual Games are Leading the Way: Luxor and Other Great Casual Games are Leading the Way


But, 2 Big Issues: Device fragmentation But, 2 Big Issues


EMERGE -- Our Solution to Fragmentation: EMERGE -- Our Solution to Fragmentation Panasonic X60 Nokia 3200 From a single code base, EMERGE supports Over 300 handsets (BREW and J2ME) More than 100 carriers 11 languages Some features filtered out to find the optimized balance for each handset to create as rich a user experience as possible SonyEricsson F5001


How EMERGE Can Work For You: How EMERGE Can Work For You EMERGE dramatically reduces porting costs 1/3 or less compared to other porting methods Currently partnering with game developers: For More Information: http://mrgoodliving.com/emerge


Nintendo on DS/Train your Brain is Capitalizing on the Health and Education Benefits of Casual Games: Nintendo on DS/Train your Brain is Capitalizing on the Health and Education Benefits of Casual Games Current research opens even more markets and opportunities – games are good for your health! Research has shown that gaming activity that uses problem solving skills will slow age-related declines in mental ability. Gaming has also been shown to help with pain management and education


XBOX 360 Live Arcade: XBOX 360 Live Arcade Bringing the casual download model to the console It’s early, but conversion to purchase is encouraging Xbox is bringing a new demographic to casual games The hardened gamer stops slaying dragons to play a game of Uno? Yes…


Casual Games & Community: Casual Games & Community What is it? Shared high scores IM and chat around or during game User generated content Message boards Ratings Multiplayer games Competitive Collaborative Different users have different goals and desires Key is to offer a wide range of choices Now is the time to experiment


Learning From Around the World: Learning From Around the World


Model is to Pay for Items & Social Status, Not Basic Game-play: Model is to Pay for Items & Social Status, Not Basic Game-play


Casual Games: Ready for Prime-time: Casual Games: Ready for Prime-time Together, we’ve built a very successful PC games business Major growth opportunities in many dimensions: PC ad-supported Casual Games done right Mobile and Next Gen Handhelds & Consoles New underlying models around community & social status Worldwide Growth While there are challenges, if we work together the future opportunity is limitless!