Revenue is about $1 million per month and total downloads are more than 7 million. At an annual rate, that’s about $2.00 per download. This is a pretty rough estimate and doesn’t consider retention or lifetime value.
That number compares favorably to the cost of the app on the iPhone, which is $0.99.
Angry Birds On Android Projected To Generate $1 Million Per Month In Advertising.
There is too much reliance on advertising and not enough on sustainable paid methods, or “offers” such as subscriptions, in-game consumables, and level un-locking to encourage people to pay–and create an actual business.
via ‘Freemium’ beats advertising for online games | Software, Interrupted – CNET News.
I’m an ad guy and usually don’t post stuff on virtual currencies so I’ll stick to articles that give good overviews:
consumers on the whole are showing increasing demand for virtual currency – not only within Facebook but across social networks (like MySpace and hi5), emerging mobile platforms (like the iPhone), and online games in general. (You can track the social games space in detail at Inside Social Games.)
via Facebook Platform Payment Providers Report Strong Growth in Q1.
Chinese gaming company Changyou.com. Ticker CYOU, the new IPO rose 25% today
A good NYT article on the economics of video games:
“The model as it exists is dying,” said Mike McGarvey, former chief executive of Eidos and now an executive with OnLive, which delivers games from the Internet. He said consumers were looking at games for consoles and saying, “This is too expensive and there are too many choices.”
Link. Good growth stats, monetization, market size, and other trend information.
Ballmer on piracy in China:
That's a very American way of thinking, but I give Microsoft more credit than this because I've talked to guys in their gaming unit and they are very knowledgeable about the Chinese market and the issues with piracy.
They've tried to adapt to this market by offering more online based games. It's their way of keeping one foot in the door or a huge market.
An industry exec tells us that ad rates are ramping up along with the
games’ popularity. Video ads displayed while a game is loading (or
alongside a game) are fetching CPMs between $15 to $20, we’re told,
while display ads placed on around the games can garner CPMs of up to
$10. What isn’t selling, we’re told: In-game ads inserted on the fly into games users download.
These numbers are just utterly ridiculous:
"Blizzard Entertainment, owners of World of Warcraft, announced today that the game now has more than 10 million paying subscribers
around the world. Online gameplay costs an average of $15 USD per
month. Those 10 million paying subscribers include 5.5 million players
in Asia, 2.5 million in the US and 2 million in Europe. The Warcraft
brand was first introduced in 1994 and World of Warcraft was launched
in 2001."
“Before it was a battle for a few operating margin points here and
there,” Mr. Schachter said, “but when you look at the Asian companies
like Shanda or something like World of Warcraft, you talking about a 40
percent operating margin business, which is just in a different league
from the U.S. companies. So the U.S. publishers like E.A. have to be
looking at those models with envious eyes, and those companies will
have to experiment.”
This is an interesting in-game ad format:
Modeled after the long-running show, The Price is Right includes
dynamic embedded advertising in less-than-conspicuous places, such as
the parts of the game that include products and prices.
Link.
