Setting Bejeweled Blitz free Lessons learned moving from
Setting Bejeweled Blitz free Lessons learned moving from premium to freemium on i. OS Giordano Bruno Contestabile, Pop. Cap Games March 5 th, 2011 Twitter: @giordanobc
My job: managing the …even though I suck at it! My excuse: half of those people work at Pop. Cap • But so do I • Oh dear! • I suck! business…
Some quick facts Launched in late 2000 History: Bejeweled, Bejeweled 2, Bejeweled Twist, Bejeweled Blitz, Bejeweled 3 Key platforms: PC/Mac, Facebook, i. Phone, XBox 360, DS Units: > 55 million Installs: > 200 million MAUs: > 25 million Users: 500 million+
One Very Long Minute History of Bejeweled Blitz on Facebook & i. OS Bejeweled 2 i. OS Client launched 2 days after i. Tunes app store opened (Summer 2008) Bejeweled Blitz on Facebook launched in November 2009 Blitz mode and FB Connect added to Bejeweled 2 i. OS client (April 2010) Major Feature Launches: Rare Gems; Daily Spin; Keystones Tutorial One of the first games to be fully integrated FB and i. OS 2+ years from launch, still consistently popular: • Facebook: top 10 games by DAU (3 M+) • i. Phone: top 10 top grossing games
Doubling Down on Bejeweled
Why Change? From mode in a paid game to freemium game • Reach much wider audience • Update more nimbly; follow Facebook closely A new iteration of a great premium game • Feature set and game rules from Bejeweled 3 • Lose the version number: an evergreen product that continues to evolve over time
The Great Maneuvers Retiring one game, launching two new ones Launch Timeline Soft launch of Bejeweled Blitz in Canada i. Tunes app store (12/1) Worldwide launch of Bejeweled and Bejeweled Blitz (12/8) Retirement of Bejeweled 2 + Blitz (12/8) Products One of few titles with Premium and Freemium business model Bejeweled Blitz (Freemium) Bejeweled (Premium $0. 99 download) Launch Goals Top 10 Premium Title Top 10 Freemium Title Rating of 4. 5 stars or more 6 M Freemium downloads in 1 month Downloads Highest App Store Rankings Current App Store Rating Bejeweled Blitz Well over 10 M 2 nd Free / 3 rd Grossing ½ Bejeweled Premium Well over 1 M 1 st Paid
Did It Work? Change in metrics from premium to freemium Key Metrics Change Downloads Daily Average Downloads 9 X Daily Active Users Weekly Average 5 X Revenue Daily Average 5 X … and still growing (every week has been bigger than previous one)
Comparing i. OS to Facebook Key Metrics i. OS (FB = 100) Daily Active Users Weekly Average 33% ARPU DARPU 196% Engagement Games played / day Retention 7 -day retention 200% Monetization % of paying users 205% 208% (52!)
Learnings – behavior i. OS vs FB On most metrics, i. OS users are 2 x higher than Facebook users Contributing factors: • “Always on, always with me” nature of mobile • Bejeweled Blitz strongly suited to bite-sized gaming • Efficient Apple ecosystem, in particular for billing We see significant FB / i. OS cross-over in user base • New FB users discovering the game through i. OS first
The Power of Free
Premium Vs. Freemium: Downloads Bejeweled Blitz Freemium client has 9 x as many downloads per day vs. premium
Many Play For Free… As expected, ARPPU declined when switching from paid to free • Higher percentage of free players ARPPU still higher, but closer, to Facebook
…But Enough of Them Pay! Increased user base driving much higher revenues
Facebook Connect: A High Barrier Approximately 20% of Blitz i. OS downloads have activated Facebook Connect, unlocking full game content FB Connect required to unlock full features Ongoing campaigns to incentivize users to connect
Facebook Connect: A High Barrier Benefits of full integration FB / i. OS: • Opportunity to leverage the same social graph • Cross-promotion and higher awareness • Big part of what makes the game fun Drawbacks: • Only 20% of i. OS users connect with Facebook • Extremely complex to maintain and operate Conclusions: • Worth it if it improves the game • Try to make FB Connect optional on mobile
Reacting to feedback
App Store Ratings & Customer Feedback Initial Rating ½ Action Taken • Game speed was intentionally slowed to match that of Facebook app • Initial app store ratings were impacted by customer • complaints about speed • Rating reached a low of 2 ½ stars • • Directly responded to customer comments with the message: “we are listening to you and making changes” Stopped requiring players on old Bej 2+Blitz app to transition to new app Able to resubmit and launch new version with faster speed within three days Results ½
Results of Customer Response Ratings of new version significantly higher, and buoyed overall rating of app Stabilized App Store ranking Additional updates planned to address remaining and ongoing feedback Source: Distimo Monitor Updated app (with faster speed & i. Pad support) released Source: Distimo Monitor
Lessons Learned Don’t mess with everyone’s favorite game! Listen to feedback and address it • Make sure the team is ready! Make sure that updating the game is easy • Anything that can be server-side, should be!
Lessons Learned Be proactive • Happy users are less likely to rate your app • A “rate our game” interstitial works well • Don’t try to force them • Be honest in your messaging (“if you like us. . . ”)
Business Model
Boosts Low-priced in-game effects meant to be used regularly Balanced not to grant excessive advantages • The better player will still score higher on average
Rare Gems Higher-impact bonuses Can be activated every few games, appearing randomly Require skill to be fully taken advantage of Entertainment value as important as effect
Daily Spins Slot machine mechanic granting in-game currency 1 free “daily spin” every day Additional “daily spin” can be purchased
Key tenets “Play forever”: no pay walls or limitations for non-paying users Game is fun and balanced also without paying Pay to have fun, not because the games forces or punishes you Server-side code to tweak economy in real time Events really important: busy marketing calendar
Our secret? Science! A simple equation… m. F =↑eng + ↑ret + ↑mon …that I just made up! More fun = more engagement, retention and monetization If players are having fun they will play, stay and pay
Marketing Efforts
Marketing Mix Ads on Bejeweled Blitz Facebook “Apple Love” Mobile Ads “Free App Of The Day” programs
Result analysis Vast majority of downloads from: • “Apple love” • Chart position • Organic searches • Existing Blitz players Free app programs didn’t drive significant installs Encouraging conversion from paid advertising • Very high CPI in December ($0. 50 / $1) Organic growth more valuable than paid growth Sustained efforts more effective than “burst” actions
What’s Next?
Next Steps for Bejeweled on Mobile Bejeweled Blitz (Freemium) • • • Monthly updates Add new features close to FB updates Continue to address customer feedback Encourage and incent players to unlock full features by activating FB Connect Android Bejeweled Premium • Updates every 2 -3 months with additional game modes and content • i. Pad
The Challenge of Android Screen resolutions 3 5 (key resolutions) Supported OS versions 2 (i. OS 4, i. OS 5) 4 (2. 2, 2. 3, 3, 4) Phone models 10 100+ ARPU as % of i. OS 100% 25% Active user base* 250 M Distribution Channels 1 10+ Ecosystem Integrated Fragmented Platform Closed Open (? ) *Estimated
A Billion New Players! ★ Facebook ★ Google+ ★ QQ ★ Vkontakte ★… ★ i. OS ★ Android ★ Gree ★ De. NA ★…
Thanks! Questions? @giordanobc
- Slides: 35