PopCap Games公司最近公开了其营收情况，从中可发现Facebook游戏营收在其2010年的1亿美元营收中占据了相当大的比重。

该公司董事长戴夫·罗伯特（David Roberts）拒绝透露具体的数据，仅表示共2010年营收中有38%来自PC下载游戏业务，34%来自手机游戏，还有14%是在线游戏的贡献。据他所称，这“14%”的在线游戏营收中大部分来自Facebook游戏，由此可以估算出该公司去年在Facebook平台的营收约为1000万美元。据AppData数据显示，该公司最近的MAU（月活跃用户）是1670万，DAU（日活跃用户）是420万。从MAU数据来看，该公司是Facebook排名第7的开发商；从DAU数据来看，它在Facebook排名居于第三位（游戏邦注：该公司仅向Facebook投放了《宝石迷阵闪电战》和《祖玛闪电战》这两款游戏）。

bejeweled_blitz

值得人们思考的是，PopCap投放Facebook的产品虽然属于街机风格的游戏，但却有办法在该平台顺利创收。街机风格的游戏由于其玩法过于休闲，游戏时间也较为短暂，所以其ARPU（每用户平均收益）值也相对较少。但据罗伯特所称，《宝石迷阵闪电战》去年夏天在Facebook推出游戏虚拟货币促销活动时，该游戏在8月份的营收就达到了100万美元。甚至有新闻发布材料称该公司每月“社交游戏营收”达到250万美元。

虽然很难解释为何PopCap游戏可以打破街机游戏难以在Facebook平台创收的魔咒，但罗伯特表示他相信这与游戏选择的创收方式有关。PopCap一直是业内公认的“慢热型”游戏开发商，总是经过长期的开发过程，然后进行数次的游戏玩法优化和调整，罗伯特称只有这样才可以创造出人们喜欢玩的高质量游戏。另一个关键因素就是品牌知名度，PopCap旗下的游戏品牌（例如《宝石迷阵》、《祖玛》、《Peggle》等）均已登陆Xbox Live Arcade或任天堂DS平台，这就增加了玩家在多个平台发现并体验这些游戏的概率。

尽管该公司仅有两款游戏在Facebook露面，但他们一直在尝试向这个平台推出其他游戏产品。PopCap联合创始人及战略发展副总裁John Vechy表示，公司已取消了三个不同的Facebook版《植物大战僵尸》，不过在中国的人人网仍有该游戏的中文版。但该公司表示这并不意味着《植物大战僵尸》一定就是PopCap的下一款Facebook游戏，并称他们推出中文版游戏与此无关。

PopCap最新成立的工作室4th & Battery的开山之作《桀敖马》（Unpleasant Horse）也即将与iOS用户见面。（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，转载请注明来源：游戏邦）

PopCap Games Monetize “Better Than You’d Think” on Facebook

As part of its move toward an initial public offering possibly before the end of 2011, PopCap Games is making some of its revenue information public, including the tidbit that Facebook revenues generated a significant portion of its $100 million 2010 revenue.

PopCap Games chief executive David Roberts declined to give specific numbers during a joint interview with Inside Social Games and Inside Mobile Apps, but his press presentation broke down the company’s 2010 revenues to 38% PC download, 34% mobile and 14% online. Roberts said “most” of that 14% came from Facebook, which could mean the the company made around $10 million on Facebook last year. According to our traffic tracking service, AppData, the company has about 16.7 million monthly active users and 4.2 million daily active users as of today. This makes it the #7 game developer in terms of MAU and the #3 in DAU with just two games — Bejeweled Blitz and Zuma Blitz – available on Facebook.

What makes all of this especially interesting is that PopCap games seem to monetize well on Facebook despite its games’ arcade genre categorization. Arcade games generally have smaller average revenue per user margins because the gameplay is so casual and the play sessions are so short. But according to Roberts, when PopCap monetized Bejeweled Blitz on Facebook through the sale of Coins last summer, the game reached $1 million in revenues by August. A slide included with the press kit says that total “social revenue growth” is up to $2.5 million per month.

It’s hard to say exactly what makes PopCap games immune to the monetization woes of other arcade games, but Roberts believes it has to do with how monetization is built into the game. PopCap is known for being “slow” among game developers, taking a long time to develop a game and later iterate features that impact gameplay and Roberts says this makes for a more quality product that people are happy to pay for. An additional factor may be brand recognition; each of PopCap’s franchises (Bejeweled, Zuma, Peggle, etc.) are available on multiple platforms like Xbox Live Arcade or Nintendo DS, which increases the likelihood that players will both see and engage with the games wherever they can find them.

For the moment, Bejeweled and Zuma are the only two PopCap franchises available on Facebook, although the company has been experimenting with its other brands. John Vechy, PopCap co-founder and VP of corporate strategy and development, told us that the company cancelled about three different Facebook versions of Plants vs. Zombies; although a Chinese version exists on SNS RenRen. We were told not to take this as a hint that Plants vs. Zombies would be the next PopCap Facebook game — a bullet point on the PopCap Asia press presentation asserts, “What happens in Asia stays in Asia.”

PopCap Games’ next project from the company’s recently announced 4th & Battery studio, Unpleasant Horse, is due on iOS very soon.（source:insidesocialgames）