Posts Tagged ‘f2p’

Gameforge CEO Klaas Kersting declares Free-to-Play “Will Dominate Soon”

Thursday, August 20th, 2009

As we reported at the end of June, the head of one of Europe’s most important gaming destinations, Klaas Kersting delivered his keynote speech yesterday at the GDC Europe event. Titled, “Changes in the Games Industry – Free-to-play vs. Payment Models,” Kersting shared his thoughts, advice, and experience when dealing with the free-to-play business model.

gdc_europe_09As reported by Mike Rose from Gamasutra, one of Kersting’s key takeaway points was that “free-to-play will dominate [the gaming industry] soon.” Obviously, coming from Europe’s largest developer of free-to-play browser and client based MMO games in Europe, Kersting has a bit more insight than the average Joe. His reasoning and philosophy come down to experience. He readily acknowledges that full-priced retail (i.e. in the box) games are still the defacto choice for a number of publishers, but a number of problems including piracy, market competition and overcrowding, and the “one time earning” factor are forcing traditional sales methods and resulting revenue numbers to drop. Eyeballing both Ubisoft and EA, Kersting pointed out that both manufacturers have seen a 51 and 20 percent (respectively) drop in sales numbers.

Stating his antithesis to this ‘traditional’ method of distribution, Kersting states that Online distribution is really a no brainer. Making points to appeal to both producer and consumer, Kersting says that an online distribution method has “close to zero” overhead operating costs, while at the same time the consumer, “wants to get what he is looking for as easy and fast as possible.” In other words….why should I go to the store, or order via amazon, and then wait? Providing a digital distribution method quenches consumers’ gaming thirst then and there, not a few hours or days later.

Talking to his own company’s methods, Kersting says, “give the game away for free. Why not?” Once this game is given away for free, producers then have a captive audience ripe for the sale. “Then give the player an opportunity to buy something,” he says.

However, Kersting and company aren’t living between the clouds. Driving a company to the top of the free-to-play destinations has taken some clever maneuvering and some smart business. To this end, Kersting comments that, “Free is not a business model – of course price matters. But free is the beginning of other business models.”

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NHN USA brings another free-to-play FPS MMO to US shores: Alliance of Valiant Arms

Wednesday, June 3rd, 2009

After wetting appetites earlier this year with the announcement of the anticipated F2P FPS MMO (too many abbreviations?) Huxley, NHN USA yesterday revealed at E3 that they’ve got another Unreal Engine 3 based title waiting in the wings.  Alliance of Valiant Arms is a free-to-play, microtransaction supported title that takes place in a parallel universe present day Europe, and centers around a hypothetical World War III.  The title will be available via the eight million members strong ijji.com.

vailiantarms“With the addition of games like Alliance of Valiant Arms, ijji.com is quickly becoming known by FPS gamers as the place where guns never cool and the smoke never clears,” said Philip Yun, CEO, NHN USA, which hosts ijji.com. “We are more and more discerning when deciding which titles to bring to the hardcore gaming portal, and A.V.A. simply blew us away. Not only does A.V.A. offer a unique urban warfare setting, but the combination the game’s realism and stellar engineering make it an intense, consuming experience our fans will have a hard time pulling themselves out of.”

A.V.A  was developed by REDDUCK, and ijji.com recently secured the North American publishing rights via Neowiz, who services the game in Korea via Pmang.  The title has an expected launch date of late 2009, perhaps just in time for the post-thanksgiving holiday season to commence.

The battle rages on between the European Union (EU) led by France and Great Britain, and the Neo Russian Federation (NRF), and is set in dense urban environments.  Once the conflict spreads to German borders, the United States leaps into action on the EU side.  Steve Butts’ coverage over at ign.com outlines the play action,

The game plays out in rounds with players taking on the role of one of three different classes. The Point Man is the scout of the group, capable of getting in and out quickly but not able to hold his own in a protracted firefight. The Rifleman is a nice mid-range class that can hit hard and fast. For long range fighting players can take the role of the Sniper. Each group has a wide range of weapons and you can setup your loadout for each class before the match begins. A selection of additional items for each weapon can impact their stats, giving you even more control over your combat abilities.

As the game will be microtransaction financed, it’s a pretty good bet that the ‘additional items’ available for each weapon will be featured in the in-game item shop and be available for purchase.

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Nival Online and Gala Networks Europe to launch Allods Online – Autumn 2009

Thursday, April 23rd, 2009

Known as Rage of Mages in Europe and North America, Russian developers Nival Online and Europe’s go to free-to-play publisher Gala Networks are proud to announce that they’re making Allods Online available via the gPotatoe.eu gaming portal.  Allods Online is an MMORPG based on Russia’s most successful gaming series.

allodsWith purse strings in the $12m range, this new title marks the largest budget title in Russian game development in history.  The Nival Online time has recently received the ‘Best Online Game’ and ‘Best Game Developer’ awards at the 2008 Russian Game Development Conference.

This f2p brings European MMO fans into a unique universe of epic fantasy and intense conflict woven into a deep and well-developed storyline.  The setting of this “Fantasy meets Space Opera” struggle takes place on the post-apocalypse planet of Sarnout, and the subsequent formation of the Allod islands.  These islands float in the Astral, a massive living substance that up the game world.  Gameplay takes place on these Allods, where players explore and battle monsters, beasts, and even each other.  Players will also have the opportunity to put their wits and brawn to the test with larger than life Astral Battles, those that occur between various ‘Astral Ships’ manned by multiple players, focusing on cooperative teamwork to achieve victory.

Staying true to the genre, Allods Online features fantasy MMORPG play, with numerous quests, PVP combat, massive exploration opportunities, character development, and plenty o’ social interaction with other players.  Players may choose between six races and eight character classes before having to decide on their faction: The League or The Empire.

“We have spiced up a full-blown fantasy MMORPG with the most compelling elements of space opera and science fiction, with epic battles between huge Astral ships,” said Sergey Orlovskiy, founder of Nival Online. “At the same time, we are keeping a deep focus on characters. Allods Online is not about Astral ships, but about the people on them.”

“We are excited to work with Nival Online who has proved their mastery of PC and online games for over a decade” said Hyun Hur, CEO of Gala Networks Europe. “We are confident that Allods Online will have a major impact on the overall online games industry and demonstrates that top quality games can be free, giving players a strong alternative to subscription-based MMORPGs.”

Mark those calendars now, as Allods Online comes online in autumn 2009, and will be available in German, French, and English via the gPotato.eu gaming portal.  Keep up to date at: allods.gpotato.eu.

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Challenge Games raises $10 Million in Series B funding

Friday, September 19th, 2008

Love is in the air in Austin.  Or at least lots of investment cash.  Challenge Online Games of Austin, Texas has recently raised $10M in series B funding.  Globespan Capital Partners spearheaded the investment, with Sequoia Capital also contributing.

Challenge Online Games, Inc. currently has two free-to-play titles; Duels and Baseball Boss.  These titles combine the collectability and trading associated with collectible card games and sports cards with the popular MMORPG format.  Both games also feature an ease of access of community applications.  Challenge Games’ Duels facebook application was the first MMORPG to be fully integreated directly with facebook.  Duels and Baseball Boss differ from traditional MMORPGs in their play style: Instead of hours and hours of marathon play sessions, both titles are designed to be played in asynchronous, short-form turns.  Meaning, each round can be played in 5-15 minute intervals, without a player feeling that they are missing out on any ongoing action.  This play format also facilitates long distance and ‘when I have time’  play vs. players from across the street or around the world.

“Challenge Games is addressing a real need in the market,” said Eugene Yoo, Vice President at Globespan Capital Partners. “Short form, free-to-play, web-based games have the potential to pull new consumers into the category. And the engaging gameplay of their titles appeals to the active casual and hardcore gamer as well.”

“We believe this funding further demonstrates that we are bringing innovation and value to the gaming industry,” said Andrew Busey, founder and CEO of Challenge Online Games. “This funding will help us accelerate the growth of our business through the development of new games, explore partnership opportunities and potentially acquisitions.”

Again, both titles are free-to-play.  Challenge Games also offers VIP memberships via subscription fees, which provide players additional benefits including the ability to purchase special and unique items and cards to enhance the overall experience.

Challenge games was founded by veteran entrepreneur and gamer, Andrew Busey.  Busey is the author of Secrets of the MUD Wizards, was instrumental in the development of Mosaic; creating iChat, and building WebCenter.  Prior to Challenge Games, Busey co-founded Pluck which enables social media on top tier media outlets including TheStreet.com, USA Today, and Reuters.

For more on Challenge Games, visit them at: www.challengegames.com

For more on Globespan Capital Partners visit them at: www.globespancapital.com

For more on Sequoia Capital visit them at: www.sequoiacap.com

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What will gamers pay for?

Monday, July 21st, 2008

In the rapidly developing economy of Free to play, micro transaction based games being turned out every day, it’s sometimes hard to see the good from the bad.  Mon Macutay, Marketing Manager for Level Up Phillippines recently published a great article on what gamers will and will not pay for.

Macutay outlines how and why Free to Play games are micro transaction based, and what exactly gamers will pay for, and what will drive them away.  Below is an excerpt from Macutay’s article:

Why They Won’t Pay

Repeat after me – Your players will not pay if…

  • There’s something wrong with the game – cheats, exploits and bugs are your top bane. Work with the developers to fix the game FAST… or else, you’ll start losing players. Technical problems are a fact of life in the industry. Suffice it to say that I’ve seen some through my watch. But trust me, we hate it just as much as you do when there’s something wrong with the game.
  • You can get away without paying – if the game design is poor… i.e. you can just farm your way and get strong even without paying, then there’s something wrong with the game (see above). The average joe must spend a little more time doing this than someone buying items from the item mall or paying for premium. If they don’t… Houston, we got a problem.
  • It’s a damn boring MMO world – that’s where the creative genius of the community team comes in. This is why publishers do events… all to make the players happy, have something to do, and yes, to eliminate boredom. Besides, you don’t want to kill monsters 24/7 eh?
  • Service Sucks – Customer service is an integral part. Not just in the gaming industry but in any business. And any company would welcome changes to improve upon this. A satisfied customer is more likely to play more and THEN pay.

Why They WILL Pay

  • Right Pricing – The key to a good F2P game is how the Item Mall is designed and how the prices are managed. A lot of conflict boils from developer vs. publisher debates on pricing. Don’t model your price on the country where the game was designed, damnit! Price the items too high and you’ll get a very small conversion rate. Price it too low and you run the risk of damaging game balance and integrity. In this war, it’s the consumable items that will win you the battles.
  • There’s nothing wrong with the game – This is the direct opposite (obviously) of the above. There might be MINOR bugs, but not enough for the community to be pissed off. This means that the game is great and you’ll just have to work your butt off for it to stay that way.
  • The items give VALUE – perhaps one of the most important reason why players will pay. Case in point, if all the items you sell are just better versions of the normal loot. Example, a potion that just slightly heals better – then that’s just a lazy excuse for game design. Chances are, you could play without it. During testing, you should’ve spotted this like a wolf inside a sheep’s pen. Look at the how specific items give real value to the players – not just as individuals but also as groups (when going on instances, at arenas or during territorial battles). Buyers of games seldom check this fact.
  • It’s a fun game – If the game isn’t like 80% of other MMO’s out in the market (which are basically clones of each other), then you’ve got your work cut out for you. At the end of the day, when you yourself play the game, if you don’t have fun, don’t expect your future players to enjoy it either. That’s a no-brainer.There’s nothing new – A good game will soon fall to pieces if there are no new updates. I’ve often observed games going through the hype of pre-launch, launch and then they go spiraling down for a crash landing a few months into it because there’s no new content. Make sure you have something new at least every quarter. You don’t want a community of gamers (all into the level cap) without anything to do, right?

To read the rest of this article, visit gmtristan.

To this, we say…right on!  Not only is this right on the money, but could and should serve as a roadmap to any and all free to play game publishers out there today.  Notice that most of his points focus on the actual game design and play, and mention very little regarding the micro transaction.  This falls exactly inline with the fatfoogoo philosophy:  (Publishers) focus on what you do best: game development, and leave the complexities of cross national transaction and taxation, security, customer support, and processing to the experts: fatfoogoo.

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