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1. Maximizing Player Retention and Monetization in Free-to-Play Games: Comparative Stats for Asian & Western Games • David P Chiu • Director of Business Development & Developer Relations (Kongregate) • Principal, Business Development (GameStop Digital Ventures) • Emily Greer • Co-Founder & COO (Kongregate) $$$$$$$

2. What is Kongregate? • Open platform for browser-based games • Flash, Unity, HTML5, Java, etc. • 15M monthly uniques visitors worldwide • Core gamers – 85% male, average age of 21 • MMOs, RPGs, CCGs/TCGs, TD, shooters, etc. • Platform level virtual currency “Kreds” for F2P games • Mobile publisher of F2P games for core gamers • Acquired by GameStop July 2010

3. Some of Kongregate’s Existing Developer Partners

4. Stats both reflect & shape mind-set So what statistics does F2P focus on? Daily Active Users, DAU $/DAU 1- & 7-Day Retention To a lesser extent MAU & 30-Day 30-Day Retention is a good stat, but 30 days is not “long-term” retention, it’s the start.

5. A little background • All stats are lifetime, min 6 weeks on platform • ARPU: average revenue per user • ARPPU: average rev per paying user • Player: a Kongregate registered user who loaded the game page at least once • Plays = Sessions: our preferred method to measure retention

6. ARPU and ARPPU

7. Big spenders matter

8. Linear Growth x Many Years = Awesome Business

9. Asian F2P vs Western F2P

10. ARPU and ARPPU

11. ARPU & ARPPU • ARPPUs for single-player games cluster around $5-$10 • Multiplayer games range $20-$350 • Average ARPPU for a multiplayer game from Asia: $181 • Average for Western multiplayer game: $51 • Only 9 Western games have an ARPPU above $100 • ARPPU is the main factor in high ARPU for Asian games, important factor for all games

12. ARPU and % Buyers

13. ARPU and % Repeats

14. ARPU and % 50+ gameplays

15. Asian vs Western Style • Asian games: High ARPPU, tight player funnel • Monetization caters well to big spenders • Western games: Lower ARPPU, wide player funnel • Monetization focuses more on initial retention and broad conversion to paid at lower prices • Pay 2 Win is not as accepted by Western devs • Mixed games: can combine the best of both • High conversion, wide funnel, still create big spenders

17. F2P Best Practices

18. Best Practices for Optimizing Retention:Keeping players engaged

19. Daily Play Bonuses • Daily play bonuses are good to get users coming back regular • But improve on the typical 5-7 day daily bonuses • Reward playing game regularly in longer term • Doesn’t reset after 5-7 days • Doesn’t “punish” players for missing a day

20. Daily Play Bonuses • Add an element of chance - make it exciting! • Repeat logins opens up bigger potential rewards

21. Don’t punish people for taking a break • Psychologically, punishments or the possibility of punishment deters unwanted behavior • Base/castle raided, loot stolen, crops withered, troops dead, account de-activated, etc. deter players from being away too long • But it can be a two-edged sword • Players sometimes need to take a break (exams, vacation, illness) • Punishment may drive re-activated users away again “I just got back from vacation/work conference/being sick but my base is completely destroyed, my resources are gone, troops are dead. No point in getting back in the game since I lost everything already.”

22. Don’t punish people for taking a break • It can sting but it shouldn’t handicap you permanently • Limit amount of resources that can be looted or # times you can be attacked while gone • Enable shield or protection time if you lose a significant amount • Mix positive reinforcement with punishment • Quick one-button rebuild • Resources still available for harvest • Gain XP or gold while away

23. Keep players busy! • More things to do = more players staying • Solo and team PvE • Solo and team PvP • Asynch raids • Guild battles • World boss raids • Farming • Town Building • Weapon/Gear Synthesizing & Upgrading • Astral Collecting and Combining • Etc. It is important to pace the introduction of new features/gameplay modes to not overwhelm players with a long and intimidating tutorial.

24. Without progress you have nothing • The foundations of a F2P game are a strong RPG elements and a sense of progress over time. Surprisingly it’s more important than multiplayer

25. Asynchronous > Synchronous Multiplayer is a good way to keep players engaged and busy in the long run but not all types of multiplayer are created equal

26. Best Practices for Optimizing Monetization:A happy customer is a paying customer

27. Shopping should be easy and frictionless • Location, location, location – make the store easy to find! • Make it easy to find the right item • Meaningful categories and item descriptions • No massive scroll bars • Mix soft currency and hard currency items • BUT – don’t try to sell too hard, too fast. First few sessions should focus on fun & giving players reasons to come back to play and get hooked.

28. Buy Screen • Bonuses % or/and items provide incentives for buying larger hard currency packages • Clearly call out bonuses of larger packages! • Make all packages visible in one page • Hide $100+ packages until after first purchase

29. Making the shopping experience interesting • First time buyer/ Starter packages • Seed players with some paid/hard currency and guide “intro purchase” • Deals/events to get people into the habit of spending regularly • Offer items that enhance the gameplay experience (not just speedups) • Intro the right items at the right time • Lvl1 players should not be shown the lvl 100+ holy sword that’s on sale for $100) • Keep them coming back – keep store fresh by adding new items, unlocking items as players level up and featuring seasonal and time-limited items

30. Gamificationof buying • VIP program – customer loyalty program like airlines and hotels • The more you buy, the more status points you earn which unlock more benefits/bonuses

31. Make sure players can spend as much as they want • The longer someone plays your game the more likely they are to buy and the less price sensitive they become • Give committed players the ability to spend at $1,000+ if they want • Have lots of items that are appealing and useful to a committed player and price them higher (if possible) than items meant for early/mid-game play. [Higher means $30-100, not $1000] • If you make a fun game, someone maywant to spend an infinite amount. • Don’t create a situation where spending is capped by availability or utility. • Again, remember to make it easy for players to buy!

32. Best Practices for Community Building:When you’re here, you’re family!

33. Make it easy for community to build Chat, forums, player-to-player messages are all great Real relationships build when people interact. The more ways they can do it, the better.

34. Guilds are awesome • 100% of our top games have them. • Some reasons they make a difference • Social incentives to return  I want to see my friends • Social pressures to return  I don’t want to disappoint them • Improves the psychology of purchases  I’m doing it for the team, not me • Upends the dynamics of pay-to-win  can set up a symbiotic relationship between buyers and non-buyers where both add value to the same group

35. Community Management and Customer Service If a player invests many hours into a game they begin to feel some ownership. It may be YOUR game, but it’s THEIR experience Be visible – forums, chat, email Listen to their concerns and acknowledge their emotions Be transparent, honest, and accurate Give advance notice of changes and downtimes Don’t feed the trolls

36. Opportunity Complains • Customer service is a chance to surprise and delight • Handle things quickly • Be generous with compensation • But don’t do something unless you’re willing to do it for everybody

37. Surprise and delight • IGG rewards its players with some resources after each of its weekly 30-minute maintenance

38. Have fun with your community

39. THANK YOU For a copy of the presentation or questions, email davidchiu@gamestop.com or come by the Kongregate booth in the Silver Sponsors room (Table#5) For more talks & data visit developers.kongregate.com For web games contact us at apps@kongregate.com If you’re interested in mobile publishing it’s mobile@kongregate.com Follow us on Twitter: @EmilyG & @KongregateDevs