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econsultancy报告:2010年社交游戏营收将近10亿英磅

发布时间:2011-01-10 09:46:20 Tags:,,,,,

社交游戏在2010年取得了爆炸性的发展,不但让无数玩家每日沉陷其中不能自拔,还引来了不少传统企业(如中小企业、本土企业、大型企业、跨国企业等)的争先投资。

据市场咨询公司Econsultancy最近发布的报告显示,目前的社交游戏市场规模已接近10亿英磅,预计2011年的这一数据还将持续攀高。

社交游戏是一种可以与他人共同体验、充满互动元素和内容的在线网页游戏,得益于社交网站、手机应用的发展,社交游戏领域在过去两年中取得了飞跃式的突破。这也就意味着,市场营销者应该忘掉那种传统的单人在线游戏体验,关注这种正成为主流趋势的在线互动游戏模式。

游戏邦通过Econsultancy和Toluna共同执行的一项调查了解到,社交游戏几乎是男女通吃,老少皆宜。大约20%的女性用户是社交游戏玩家,男性社交游戏玩家的这一比例是18%。虽然16至34岁的年轻用户比例相对较高,但35 -54岁的玩家也达到了16%,55岁以上用户也有8%。

社交游戏要吸引非游戏玩家,关键是要切入用户的兴奋点。对许多开发商来说,运动类游戏是个不错的选择,但却鲜有业内评论家预料到农场游戏的火爆场面,不过要需要指出的是,像《FarmVille》这类游戏已经太多了,不会再受到追捧了。

The Western Market

The Western Market

inside Network的Justin Smith也曾指出,2010年西方社交游戏的市场规模已达8.35亿美元(如上图所示)。虽然Zynga暂时称霸了这一领域(游戏邦注:该公司2009年营收达2亿美元),但仍有无数开发商和热门游戏在这一市场上同台竞技。亚洲将成为这一行最有发展潜力的市场,因为中国、日本、韩国规模庞大的玩家正是开发商力夺的对象。

在2010年,手机应用和游戏市场也呈现出勃勃生机,说到手机游戏,就不能不提到令人上瘾的《愤怒的小鸟》(Angry Birds)。《愤怒的小鸟》并不能算是严格意义上的手机社交游戏(因为它只是一款单人体验的游戏),但苹果Game Center社交游戏平台问世后,玩家就可以通过这一平台与家人好友共同玩游戏,分享游戏积分。

McDonald's-FarmVille

McDonald's-FarmVille

作为一个新兴的市场营销渠道,还没有专项研究、实例调查证明企业向社交游戏投资的成效究竟有多大,但还是有不少公司已经盯上了这个潜力无限的市场。比如沃尔沃、迪士尼、麦当劳和7-Eleven等家户喻晓的品牌,都已先后携手社交游戏,展开一系列市场营销活动。

因为游戏虚拟商品和货币的销售,社交游戏已收获了十分可观的利润,而那些庞大的用户群体又恰好是传统品牌的目标用户,社交游戏的营收选项就更丰富了,现在主要包括:

*品牌内容植入

*虚拟商品

*游戏内置广告

*展示广告

*消费勘察服务

社交游戏在2011年会发展到更高级阶段,吸引更多用户群体。最新型的游戏将把用户在现实生活中的兴趣、爱好结合到社交游戏体验中,游戏开发商也会获得更多与相关品牌合作的机会。

例如,Playfish、EA Sports在2010年与FIFA合作开发了一款足球游戏《FIFA Superstars》,最近又通过Facebook平台推出了另一款美式橄榄球游戏《Madden NFL Superstars》就是这种发展趋势的有力证明。(本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译,转载请注明来源:游戏邦)

Social gaming trends for 2011

Social gaming exploded last year. More consumers are now playing these sorts of games online, and brands (ranging from SMEs and local businesses to blue-chips and multinationals) are beginning to invest in this space.

The sector is now worth close to £1bn, and is expected to show further growth in 2011.

This post, which coincides with the launch of our Social Gaming Smart Pack, contains a brief overview of social gaming, why it’s important, and how it can be used for marketing.

Social games are web-based games that can be played with other people and include interactive elements or content that can be shared online. The last two years in particular have represented a sea change for the online gaming industry, partly down to the integration of gaming with social networks, as well as the growing popularity of downloadable apps on mobile phones and smart phones.

So what’s changed? Well, social networks have provided games with a layer of social “plumbing” – gaming has been transformed from a lonely, individually-played activity, to a universal social experience that can be shared with family and friends.

The competitive element associated with sharing achievements publicly has also been a key driver: the fact that everyone in your social network can see your score is powerful, as it has a real-life impact.

This sea change means that as marketers we also need to forget the traditional stereotype of the pallid, geeky, online gamer playing by himself on his computer in his bedroom. Social networks have allowed gaming to come to the mainstream, and research by Econsultancy indicates that it’s casual gamers who are typical consumers of social gaming content. Social media has also introduced non-gamers into the space.

Consumer research undertaken by Econsultancy and Toluna shows that men and women are almost equally likely to play social games; some 20% of females are social gamers compared to 18% of males.

Social games are also played by people of all ages, although there is a slight bias towards younger demographics, as the chart below indicates.

Tapping into passion points is key to introducing non-gamers into the space, but the popularity of some games may be more surprising than others.

Sports games are an obvious choice for games developers, but fewer industry commentators could have predicted farming games to be as popular as they have been. But it’s important to remember we’re not in FarmVille anymore.

As the infographic (“The State of Social Gaming”) below indicates, the market was worth $835m in 2010, according to Justin Smith of Inside Network.

Although Zynga dominates the gaming space (generating $200m in revenue in 2009), the market is flooded with a wide range of gaming developers and many popular game titles. Asia is a key market to watch as there are a number of Chinese, Japanese and Korean players that are showing strong growth potential.

In 2010, we also witnessed the explosion of popular mobile apps and games, and I couldn’t talk about gaming without mentioning the awesomely addictive Angry Birds.

Strictly speaking, Angry Birds may not adhere to the definition of what encompasses a social game (you play it alone), but there are signs that Apple is looking to join the party. The launch of Apple Games Center last year meant that players can now share scores of individually played games with family and friends, as well as the wider gaming community.

So there’s no denying that social games are big. And, they’re here to stay. But what does this mean for marketing?

As with any emerging channel, it can be difficult to justify investment. partly due to the lack of case studies and best practice examples. However many companies are already investing in the channel.

These include household names such as Volvo, Disney, McDonald’s and 7-Eleven. In terms of hard, tangible metrics, social gaming has shown to be highly profitable, thanks to the substantial revenues reaped from the sales of virtual goods and currency. Beyond sales, social gaming enables brands to interact in communities that are guaranteed to have a high level of engagement. A number of monetisation options are available to brands, including:

•Branded content

•Virtual goods

•In-game advertising

•Display advertising

•Lead generation offers

In 2011, we will see the continuation of these trends, and further growth in the industry. Social games are becoming more sophisticated, and so will continue to gain popularity with consumers. The newest games will create unique social experiences by tapping into users’ real-world interests and hobbies. Games developers will also be increasingly partnering with relevant brands.

For example, in 2010, Playfish and EA Sports partnered with FIFA to create football game, FIFA Superstars. More recently, the developer also launched the American football game, Madden NF Superstars on Facebook. It’s an exciting space even in its relative infancy, and there’s plenty more innovation to look forward to in 2011. (source:econsultancy)


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