Scott Austin Group Manager MSN Games

Scott Austin
Group Manager
MSN Games
Agenda
MSN Games Overview
Site Redesign
Advertising Revenue Share
Vista Enhanced Games
Getting Your Games on MSN Games
MSN Games Overview
History of MSN Games
A trip down memory
lane.
Demographics
Majority of
female players
Male
29%
52% of the
respondents are 45 or
older
Female
71%
25%
21%
19%
18%
8%
8%
2%
13 to 17
18 to 24
25 to 34
35 to 44
45 to 54
55 to 64
65 and
better
Why do they play?
67%
Entertainment
A break at home
49%
40%
To keep my mind sharp
A break from w ork
31%
I like the competition
21%
I like to collect badges/rew ards
20%
Hobby
19%
80% play for a break, either
from work or at home
9%
Social activity
Weekend activity
Other
67% of the respondents play
for entertainment
8%
3%
67% of respondents prefer
playing games on MSN
Games to watching TV
Watch
Television
34%
Play Games
on MSN
Games 67%
Top Web Games of 2006
1. Bejeweled 2
2. Mah Jong Tiles
3. Bejeweled
4. Cubis 2
5. Scrabble Blast
6. Zuma
7. Spades
8. Texas Hold ‘Em
9. Text Twist
10. Luxor
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
Backgammon
Solitaire
Collapse
Hearts
Jewel Quest
Hexic
Wheel of Fortune
Bridge
Bankshot Billiards
Chuzzle
Top – measured by game hours
Green – also a top 20 download game
Normalized Game Population
Game Populations – Single Player Web Games
Months since launch of game
Normalized Game Population
Game Populations – Multi-Player Web Games
Days
Do badges make a difference to
web populations?
Yes !
16
14
12
Population
10
8
6
4
2
0
Top Downloads of 2006
1. Bejeweled 2
2. Cake Mania
3. MCF: Prime Suspects
4. Fish Tycoon
5. MCF: Huntsville
6. Magic Match
7. Zuma
8. Diner Dash 2, MSN Version
9. Virtual Villagers
10. Bespelled
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
Luxor Amun Rising
Cubis 2 Gold
Family Feud
Hidden Expedition Titanic
Luxor 2
Jewel Quest
Luxor
Mah Jong Quest
Diner Dash
Wheel of Fortune
Top – measured by purchases
Green – also a top 20 web game
Normalized Game Downloads
Downloads
Months since launch of game
Effect of Web Game on Downloads
Normalized Game Downloads
1.2
Boost from
web game
1
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Months since launch of game
Site Redesign
Site Redesign
Redesigned the entire site in October 06
2 follow on releases since then to tweak the experience
Affected the whole site. There is now a consistent user
experience across all parts of the site
MSN Games Site redesign accomplished the following:
Increase customer satisfaction by 38%
Increase consumer engagement by 30% per session
Support a scalable advertising model that will increase revenue
and user satisfaction
Provide a scalable games discovery experience that incorporates
all the different play types
Redesign Walkthrough
Site
Skins
Advertising Revenue Share
Program
What Revenue is Shared?
Revenue will be shared from ads shown during game play:
Any ads after the player hits the play button
Ads that run during game start-up or game breaks
Ad placements in or around the game
Revenue share will be of cash gross
Cash gross is total dollars received (billed – bad debt)
Will not be netted to a small number
Developer’s revenue share the same to content owner regardless
of whether their relationship with MSFT is direct or via a
distribution partner
Non-standard Web Games are separate, one-off deals:
Custom Advergames
Skinned games
We will share the UUs and total game hours played
What this looks like on MSN Games
The Ad Placements being shared:
Static Ad
Video Ad
Example
Level 1 Criteria (earns 10%)
Must meet all criteria
Build to the GDK 1.2 and related requirements
• Display and video advertising function calls (GameBreak API for
pause, play, etc)
• Score reporting system
Use the badge system
MS will provide several badge templates and guidelines for earning
badges
Developers must choose a template style and provide threshold info for
badges
Game must work correctly on XP and Vista
Provide game metadata (within XML template) for MSFT
game portfolio database
Level 2 Criteria (earns 20%)
Required
Meet Level 1 requirements
Create custom Veteran badges (number of times game played)
Provide use-rights (for as long as game is on site) & high quality artwork to be used for
promotion & marketing
Additional Requirements (Choose 3 of 4)
1.
2.
Fully localized into at least 3 non-English languages of Developers choice from following
list: Japanese, Spanish, German, French, Dutch, Italian
Deluxe version of web game based upon final approval by MSFT
Full Experience: The game should provide a minimum of 10 hours of non-repeating, engaging
game-play, thru such variables as level complexity, different characters, number of levels, and
modes of play, etc.
Graphics Quality – The game should use scalable graphics to support multiple resolutions of play.
Eliminate interruptions to the game experience for cross-sells – cross-selling is allowed, but not
in an obtrusive manner that interrupts gameplay
3.
4.
Exclusive for 6 weeks (not available on any other site other than the Developers site),
remains part of Level 2 after the exclusivity period
ESRB rating
Revenue Share Calculation
Two types of revenue to be shared
Ad Revenue specific to game (Sponsorship) calculated directly and
will be included, not including skinned games
Revenue from ROS ad products to be allocated based on gameplay
hours
Intermission ads appear periodically during play; not per Page View
(frequency is controlled by MSN)
Will use average CPM. Mass Market advertising realities limit feasibility of
allocating revenue directly per game
In the future, the calculation will be based off of
ad impressions instead of game hours to improve
the accuracy, but still with average CPM
Highlighting Enhanced Web Games
Homepage
Game
Details
Page
Game
Discovery
How to Join the Program
Ad rev share program has launched on
MSN Games
Work with aggregator to submit game to
MSN Games
Existing games on the site also need to be
submitted
Get the latest GDK with all the details
from your aggregator
Vista Showcase Games
8 Vista Exclusive Games
Getting Your Games on
MSN Games
MSN Games Portfolio
Wide variety of casual game content, categorized by
ways to play and genre
Providing many ways to consume games
Web, Downloads, Subscription, Play for cash, Messenger
Strategy
Have a quality bar for allowing games on the site and guidance
on desired genres
Let most games that meet the criteria into the portfolio
Manage the size of the portfolio by looking at site performance
metrics at removing poor performers
Web games – game population
Downloads – conversion rate and sales
Subscription – game play hours
International
MSN Games started international expansion
2 years ago; today we are in
Canada, UK, France, Germany, Japan, and Australia
Aggressive expansion in 2007
Several partners are on our international sites
Partners can be global or regional
MSN.com International presence is well
established with sites in over 40 countries
We desire local and global content
Regardless, localized content always preferred
Vista Integration of all games
Game Aggregation
MSN Games works with a number of preferred partners in
offering games
Download and Web games – Oberon Media
Subscription – Real Networks
Skill Gaming – SkillJam
Exceptions that warrant direct relationships
IP licensing/publishing
Sponsored or advergame titles
Cross-platform titles, new technologies and other
platform-defining efforts
Top-tier developers can still participate in co-marketing
and promotional opportunities, even if working through a
partner
MS Casual Games Developer Program
Developer portal is
best starting point for
engaging on all our
platforms
www.MicrosoftCasual
Games.com
Info about technical
requirements per
platform
Clear instructions
about how to ship
your games on our
platforms
Registration is via
email
Instructions on the
site
Benefits
Clearer visibility into
engagement process
and project status
Developer Newsletter
Invitation to
Developer Events
Access to
information, SDKs
Assigned account
managers for partners
with business
relationships
Points of Contact
MSN Games - [email protected]
Oberon - [email protected]
Real – [email protected]
SkillJam – [email protected]
© 2007 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Microsoft, Windows, Windows Vista and other product names are or may be registered trademarks and/or trademarks in the U.S. and/or other
countries. The information herein is for informational purposes only and represents the current view of Microsoft Corporation as of the date of this presentation. Because Microsoft must respond to
changing market conditions, it should not be interpreted to be a commitment on the part of Microsoft, and Microsoft cannot guarantee the accuracy of any information provided after the date of this
presentation. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY, AS TO THE INFORMATION IN THIS PRESENTATION.
Questions