位于芬兰赫尔辛基的Applifier公司去年创建了一款帮助小型游戏发行商获得更多Facebook新用户的交叉推广工具。最近该公司又面向Facebook等平台的游戏推出了一个类似于门户网站的应用，支持用户搜索自己喜欢的游戏。

这款名为Games on Applifier的门户网站应用旨在帮助开发商解决当前的一大难题——游戏曝光率不足，产品搜索困难。在这个新产品层出不穷的市场中，开发商要获得足够的用户关注已日益艰难。

Applifier

游戏邦获悉Applifier去年创建的交叉推广工具条，是一个设置于用户所玩的Facebook游戏上方的一系列链接。它的功能与社交游戏开发商Zynga的交叉推广工具条相似，其目的都是让用户关注其他游戏。不过与Zynga的不同的是，Applifier主要为小型开发商提供服务，让他们结合起来抗衡Zynga的强劲竞争力，Applifier将这些公司称为“反攻同盟”。这些独立开发商通过这项服务，在去年秋季总共收获了1亿次以上的免费点击次数。

但Applifier公司的董事长Jussi Laakkonen表示他们并不满足于这一成就。虽然Facebook已经通过用户好友之间的分享，为新游戏和应用开辟了搜索渠道，而且还支持用户自动分享有用的信息，不过Applifier的这款新应用却有更超前的解决方案，那就是根据匿名用户的访问次数，为用户提供个性化的游戏推荐服务。用户和开发商均可免费使用这一服务，该应用现已在Facebook平台登陆。

当用户在Games on Applifier注册后，系统就会根据他们玩过的游戏类型，推荐用户可能喜欢的新游戏。除此之外，用户还可以看到一个排名靠前的游戏列表，浏览好友最喜欢的游戏。Laakkonen认为，这项服务可以同时满足用户和开发商的需求，让前者找到更好的游戏，而后者则可免费获取新用户。当玩家点击Applifier应用中的某款游戏时，他们玩游戏时并不需要局限于Applifier网站，而是彻底进入这个单独的游戏世界。

这个应用不但可让玩家找到自己偏好的游戏，而且会向他们的邮箱发送游戏推出新功能或作出调整的消息，这种做法很有助于提高用户留存率。开发商可以使用这种功能，向玩家发送信息通告，吸引他们不断回访游戏。游戏邦获悉该应用将于数周后正式推出这个邮件信息通告功能。

Applifier cross-promotion service

社交游戏开发商Funzio总裁Anil Dharni表示，他们推出的《Crime City》能够获得数百万的用户，离不开Applifier交叉推广工具条的帮助，他很期待Applifier推出的新功能。虽然Zynga拥有Zynga Message Center，但Funzio等小型开发商却有Applifier的工具可与之抗衡。采用Applifier服务的开发商目前的用户总数超过了5500万人。

Applifier成立于2010年4月，现有20多名员工，在旧金山设有一家工作室。其竞争对手包括Tapjoy推出的Appstrip。该公司目前已通过MHS Capital、Profounders Capital、Tekes、Lifeline Ventures以及天使投资者融资200万美元。

Laakkonen在2008年创办的公司原来主要开发社交游戏，但发现游戏上线后难以获得足够的曝光率，所以就转向了开发交叉推广工具条，目前有200多款游戏均采用了Applifier的服务。（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，转载请注明来源：游戏邦）

Applifier launches a portal to discover social games on Facebook

Applifier helped small game publishers get millions of new users last year by creating a cross-promotion tool for Facebook games. Now it is creating a portal-like app for games on Facebook and other platforms so that consumers can find what they want.

The new Games on Applifier portal app attacks one of the big problems of a world with too many apps: discovery. It’s harder and harder for developers to get noticed with hundreds of thousands of competing apps in the market.

Last year, Applifier created a cross-promotion bar, basically a strip of game links that sits above the game a user is playing on Facebook. Much like the cross-promotion bar of dominant Facebook game maker Zynga, the Applifier bar was meant to draw attention to other games. But rather than Zynga games, the Applifier bar linked to games of other small developer companies competing against the Zynga powerhouse. Applifier calls these companies the “rebel alliance,” a reference to Star Wars. That led to more than 100 million free clicks for a bunch of independent game makers last fall.

But that’s not enough, said Jussi Laakkonen, chief executive of Applifier, which is based in Helsinki and has an office in San Francisco. Facebook already makes the discovery of new apps possible through sharing by friends. It also can automatically share usage info on the user’s stream. Now the Games on Applifier portal app lets users discover new games with personalized recommendations from millions of anonymous game sessions. The service is free to players and publishers, and it is available now as an application on Facebook.

When players log in on Games on Applifier, they can get personal recommendations based on the games they have already played. They can also see a list of the top games and view their friends’ favorite games. Players get access to more fun games, and publishers can reach new audiences for free, Laakkonen said. When players click on a game within Applifier, they do not play the game while still inside the portal. Rather, the player enters a stand-alone game.

The portal helps with retention, or hanging on to players, since they can follow their favorite games and get inbox updates when there are new features or changes. Publishers can send notifications to players that will get them back into the game. The inbox capability will launch in a couple of weeks.

Anil Dharni, president of Funzio, said that his company’s Crime City grew to millions of users in part because of the Applifier cross-promotion bar. He said he is looking forward to the new features. That gives small companies like Funzio tools that are similar to what the largest Facebook game maker, Zynga, does with its own Zynga Message Center. Applifier’s members had more than 55 million users.

Applifier was founded in April, 2010, and it now has more than 20 employees. Rivals include Appstrip from Tapjoy. Applifier has raised more than $2 million from MHS Capital, Profounders Capital, Tekes, Lifeline Ventures and angels.

Back in 2008, Laakkonen’s company started as a social game developer. It launched a game but couldn’t find a way to get users to notice it. Then it switched gears to work on the cross-promotion bar. There are currently more than 200 games available on Applifier. （source:venturebeat）