Keeping the Promise of Casual Games: Entertainment for Everyone

1. Keeping the Promise of Casual Games: Entertainment for Everyone John Welch CEO, PlayFirst Casual Games Summit @ Game Developers Conference 08 February 2008

2. about me • Degrees in Math & C.S. • Career in product management • SEGA (SegaSoft Networks): 1998-1999 • Shockwave.com: 1999-2004 • PlayFirst: 2004-present • Almost 10 years in casual games

3. in the beginning

4. these were the casual games

5. but ‘casual’ came to mean this because of this

6. what exactly is a ‘casual’ game today?

7. casual means accessible Is the game accessible to a “significant number” of people? • attractive theme? • friendly to new / occasional users? • fun enough to do again / bring friend in?

8. casual means accessible Is the platform accessible to ‘everyone’? Physically: Do most people want to buy it? Can they find it in a store/online? Socially: Do most people want to play it, tell their friends about it? Mentally: Do most people feel comfortable, or are many intimidated? Behaviorally: Do most people have time for this?

9. is mobile casual? Everyone has one Even buy-1-get-3-free support games Conservative view today: • Neither is yet ‘casual’ • because everyday folks don’t download games on their mobile phone Future: • Everyone has one everywhere all the time… • and uses it for apps & games • doesn’t get more accessible than that

10. are consoles casual? Grandparents are playing Wii Sports with their grandchildren. Conservative view today: • Exceptions, not rule • Only kids buy/play console games • Consoles not emotionally available to adults Future: • Entire family accesses interactive media via some box connected to the television

11. pc: most casual + most hard core “the internet” ~= “America” Reality today: • 76%of American’s have PCs • 238 million U.S. Internet users • Most exceed casual MSR’s • Most play casual games • And then there’s WoW on a $6500 Dell XPS 720 $349 $6,496

12. the promise

13. all people read, watch, listen • to diverse genres of media • on diverse ‘platforms’ • are games really different?

14. everyone should play games!

15. a neat idea • “Games” have always been for everyone. • But “video games” never were. • Let’s make video games a universal form of entertainment!!! • This sort of just started happening in the late 1990’s w/ Pogo, Shockwave, Yahoo, etc. • We put a label on it: “casual games” • 5 years ago “we” all fit in one room

16. vision Elevate video games to become a first-tier form of entertainment enjoyed by everyone

17. we are making progress • Our customers truly are ‘everyone’ • 28% of the total worldwide online population are “gamers” [Comscore - May, 2007] • Gaming is the #1 activity (length of time) on the personal computer • 34% of all adult Internet users play games weekly [Parks Associates - 2007] • Even game development teams are becoming more diverse • 26% of PlayFirst game production staff is female [I counted]

18. good money here $12 Billion Market N.A. Game Software: 6% growth (ESA) • $10 Billion Market • w/ 35% growth rate • $5 Billion Market CGA: 20% growth

19. even the vc’s have noticed

20. but action will follow

21. are we done?

22. Are we done CREATIVELY? • done inventing genres? • only for nerds?

23. Are we done ECONOMICALLY?

24. Are we done CATEGORICALLY? • Demand ($$$) has always been on the console • Supply coming from two directions • Are we getting squeezed out? Maybe our turn is simply over!?

25. no!

26. we are the future! Retail publishers + platforms  great at serving core audience • Don’t get the web  will make mistakes we already made • Budgets, schedules, thinking are all wrong  can’t do it small

27. how long do we have? …even though this is a tech-savvy part of the country… I guarantee you that we don’t have 50% penetration into the Bay Area homes with video game consoles… … they’re too hard, they’re too expensive and they’re too intimidating, I’ve never played with a controller, the game comes up and I have no idea what I’m doing … Everyone loves playing games. I don’t care who you are. Yet we put a barrier in this industry (for) people who didn’t grow up … with a controller in their hand. Peter Moore, president of EA Sports, San Francisco Chronicle Jan 2008

28. what a few smart people can do • Dwarf best console innovations like Dance Dance, Guitar Hero, Wii Sports • All created by a few founders who are now really wealthy • Internet = platform where YOU can innovate w/out permission • where YOU have advantages over the big players.

29. we need to change

30. not good enough 2007 Highlights • 6,000 Diner Dash clones • 2,000 Mystery Case Files clones • Philosophical dilemma over is the “3-in-a-row” dead • Real innovators are cloning Club Penguin What did we do to grow this market???

31. our customers agree Customer Poll: Are you happy with the creativity and innovation in casual games today? “Absolutely, I find new games all the time” 42% 50% “Occasionally I’ll find a gem of a game: No, they all seem the same to me” 8% Casual gamers want more innovation! Source: PlayFirst.com survey – warning – not a highly scientific approach!

32. how about our business model? Customer Poll: How do you feel about current purchasing options for casual games? 28% “I’m happy with the $20 model” “I want different options, such as subscription or pay-per-level:” 71% The majority of casual gamers want more innovation

33. some progress here • PlayFirst: • Diner Dash: Hometown Hero • Multiplayer, avatars, episodic content • Only 1 out of 30 games we published • Only 1 portal would launch it (Yahoo!) • PlayGold stored currency • WildTangent • WildCoins ad-friendly micro currency (see next slide)

35. rationale for lack of innovation • Portals won’t let us innovate; they only want stand-alone $20 games • Our customers are happy; they don’t want anything different. • Reality = innovation is difficult

36. imho

37. please consider • Portals • Differentiate your service. • Share the customer. • Say ‘yes’ to the innovators. Say ‘no’ to the cloners. • Limit participation to allow suppliers to recoup investments. • Publishers • Take all financial risk: higher budgets, lower royalties • Build YOUR brands: story, characters, ongoing content • Invest in innovation: “genre filler” OK, copy not OK • Developers • Be the artist, not the banker. • Beware the glut!

38. when we succeed ‘Casual’ goes away as a category. We will have delivered on our promise that games are for everyone.