Delivered at Casual Connect Europe 2016.
When social gaming came onto the scene it brought previously unheard of numbers of players. Then content began moving from web to mobile devices. Now we are shifting from sharing statuses to sharing experiences. Consoles have embraced this concept with Kinetics and mobile social games offer their own shared experiences. Young players know only this kind of gaming. This session will focus on what’s next: A combination of Kinetics and virtual reality offering synchronous and multiplayer experiences.
3. AN ANALOGY
If Nintendo Wii was...
Free
Global
On computer, smartphone and tablet
Anytime, anywhere
Instant & bite-sized
4. GAMES ARE INHERENTLY SOCIAL
Play is what happy people
engage in.
Personal interaction builds a
dynamic and cooperation which
is psychologically positive
5. BUT THERE’S LITTLE THAT’S SOCIAL IN SOCIAL GAMES
Would playing solitaire on Facebook,
make it a social game?
The definition of a social game
Games that run on or integrate with a
social network and use that network
to enhance gameplay between
players - Quora
8. SYNCHRONOUS TRIGGERS ‘NEED SATISFACTION’
Synchronous games are psychologically positive,
supporting long-term community building and retention
Autonomy
Mastery
Relatedness
Self
Actualisation
Self
Esteem
Belonging
Safety
Psychological
“Synchronous play has a much deeper
opportunity over asynchronous play with
respect to multiple need satisfactions,
each of which incrementally contributes to
sustained engagement and an enhanced
competitive advantage for Yazino.”
– Scott Rigby, Author of Glued to Games
9. WHY IS SYNCHRONOUS THE FUTURE?
ASYNCHRONOUS GAMES
Connect players but are about playing alone
Extrinsic motivation
Game mechanics rely on negative emotional drivers – “I need to”
Scripted experience leads to short shelf-life
Gameplay follows a set path and does not change, resulting in
content being quickly consumed and abandoned. Necessitates
ongoing, rapid new content development to keep player interest
Delayed competition
Competition is a secondary element of the game, provided through
scoreboards, levels, badges, etc.
Limits social connections
Static interaction severely limits the ability to meet and connect with
other players
Crowded market
95% of social games are asynchronous (ex: Candy Crush Saga,
Pet Rescue Saga, Slotomania)
Intrinsic motivation
Game mechanics rely on positive emotional drivers – “I want to”
Dynamic experience leads to long shelf-life
Gameplay constantly changes based on the actions of other players.
Social and competitive aspects of game content create stickiness,
resulting in players being more engaged and staying longer
Real-time competition
Competition is a key part of the game. More immediate, intense, and
rewarding gameplay
Enables social connections
Real-time interaction builds a dynamic of friendly competition and
cooperation, enables deeper connections between players
Market opportunity
Comparatively very few synchronous games, because of the
technical difficulty in creating them
SYNCHRONOUS GAMES
Real-time player interaction creates a shared experienceVS
10. SOCIAL GAMING TRENDS
Social games are evolving from...
Yazino is already at the forefront
of game innovation
Single-player, offline games
Play alone, limited social interaction. Game is free-
standing and not connected (e.g. Angry Birds)
People you know
Play with friends and family (Facebook, mobile
address book, email contacts)
Facebook-powered social features
Invite friends, send gifts, publish to stream
‘Timeline’ style social interaction
Content becomes a permanent archive
Single-platform game development
Core game experience only available on lead platform
Multiplayer, network-enabled games
Community is key to the experience. Includes
account creation to save progress and social
features (e.g. World of Warcraft)
People you want to know
Profile matching (based on shared interests,
geo-location) promotes meeting new, like-
minded people / cafe culture
Platform independent social features
Find friends, send gifts, chat, in-app inbox,
publish to proprietary social graph
Immediate, ephemeral social interaction
Content is instant, temporary, cross-platform
Multiplatform game development
Ubiquitous game experience on all platforms
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
11. Social casino is the fastest-growing gaming category
In Dec 2013, five of the 25 top grossing social games in the iOS US App
Store and eight of the 25 top grossing social games in the Google Play
US Store are social casino games. Five of Facebook’s Top Games of the
Year are social casino applications, which is over a fifth of the 23 games
on the select list
Top performing KPIS: Proven game mechanics and audience and strong
monetisation and retention (3-10X casual games ARPDAU)
Social casino products are starting to become commoditised in the same
way that online gambling has, with little differentiation between games
Vertical becoming very crowded on Facebook and mobile. Small
developers are dropping out due to difficulty in making a good, unique
product and cost to compete. Top team and a lot of marketing money
required to succeed
Advertising acquisition costs are continuing to skyrocket. For the
industry, the average CPI was $4.36 and reached $7 to $8 in December
2013. (288% increase since 2012)
1
2
3
SOCIAL CASINO OVERVIEW
SOURCES:
1. AppAnnie
2. Facebook’s Games of the Year 2013 list is selected on the basis of “user ratings, Facebook implementation, growth, and overall quality
3.‘Social Casino Games Market Report,’ Social Casino Intelligence, 2013
4. Superdata Research
4
Yazino Opportunity
Offer highly differentiated,
synchronous social casino
games, taking advantage of
Yazino’s new game studio to
create exciting content and of the
industry-leading monetisation
already achieved. Leverage
partnerships and licensing to grow
the opportunity even further.
Superdata Research, Western markets only (North America, Europe)
12. REAL-MONEY GAMBLING MARKET
SOURCES:
1. PokerUpdate.com, “Gaming Market to Grow Sharply by 2018,” September 2013
2. Eiler’s Social Casino Tracker, August 2013
People served by
online gambling
industry
People who love casino games
Huge opportunity for online gambling to expand reach by
embracing social gaming and new, innovative technologies
The gambling market is thriving
The global gaming industry is projected to be worth $174.1 billion by
2018, a 28% increase from current values. Strong future growth is coming
from the opening of online gaming markets in the US and from Asia
Gambling firms have been the source of major acquisitions in the last few
years, reflecting the ongoing convergence of gambling and social gaming:
• 2011: Caesars buys Playtika (Slotomania) for $100M+
• 2012: IGT buys Double Down Interactive for $500M
• 2012: Aristocrat buys Product Madness
• 2013: Caesars/Playtika buys Buffalo Studios ($50M) and EA Montreal
Five out of the top 10 largest social casino gaming publishers now come
from the real-money gaming industry (as a result of M&A)
Branded/licensed games help to achieve differentiation and improved
monetisation. Proven land-based slot content monetises 2-3x higher
versus traditional online social casino games (ex: IGT/DoubleDown,
WMS/Jackpot)
Incorporating community slots into land-based casinos is also a big
opportunity (ex: Bejeweled slot game in Vegas casinos)
1
Yazino is the first platform
wired for both social and
real-money gaming
14. EFFICIENT GAME DEVELOPMENT
Our objective is to significantly reduces cost and time to market
‣ Eliminates the need to build a synchronous engine from scratch, a
complicated process that can take several years of engineering with no
guaranteed result
‣ Removes the requirement to develop a new version of the game for each
publishing platform (Web, Facebook Canvas, iOS, Google and Amazon)
‣ Makes it possible to produce a game from a complete concept in months,
not years
Proven synchronous, multiplayer game technology
‣ Reliable, real-world tested game server eliminates performance risk
‣ Includes the tools required for sophisticated, data-driven marketing
communications and promotion
‣ Already wired for free-to-play or play-for-money gaming
‣ Flexible platform with ongoing optimisations
‣ Allows game developers to focus on making quality game content
Our biggest barrier that nearly killed us many times
15. CROSS-PLATFORM BEHAVIOUR DRIVEN CRM
BONUS MANAGEMENT TOOL
Daily Award
Adds free bonus chips
Buy Chips
Discounts chip packages
Deposit
YAZINO BI
Real-time Segmentation
‣ Segmentation based on player behaviour
Smart Message Delivery
‣ Management of automated retention
program
‣ Reflex and one-off campaign messaging
‣ Smart message routing to relevant
communication channel
Reporting
‣ Real-time dashboards and analytics
Communication
Channels
Email
iOS Push
Android Push (Google)
Android Push (Amazon)
Facebook Notifications
Facebook Requests
While many systems can manage message
delivery and reporting for a single channel, a
truly comprehensive, cross-platform CRM with
a single BI does not yet exist on the market.
This technology required significant time and
investment to build.
Our CRM helped us accelerate revenues
while also cutting the costs of working with
multiple suppliers to deliver targeted, cross-
platform messaging.
16. PROPRIETARY SOCIAL GRAPH
SOCIAL FEED STORIES
‘Stories’ generated based on user activity
and game progress (e.g. Level-ups,
Achievements, Leaderboards)
P2P COMMUNICATION
Direct player to player engagement
through app features (e.g Challenge,
Gifting, Chat)
Communication
Channels
Email
iOS Push
Android Push (Google)
Android Push (Amazon)
Facebook Requests
Facebook Notifications
Player activity and engagement with
P2P features create stories and
notifications to be delivered to
other players
One story or message
delivered to other
players’ buddies using
optimal channels
Yazino’s independent, cross-platform social
graph enables connections and more
rewarding social engagement
Removes the reliance on and restrictions of platform
providers (e.g. Facebook limits interaction and gameplay
to people you already know)
Encourages meeting, playing and interacting with new,
like-minded gamers. Allows for the development of
strong relationships that make players more engaged
and stay longer
Combines the best features of...
‣Social Games: Playing with friends
‣Social Discovery: Recommendation of like-minded
people (based on interests, geography, community
status, level, etc.)
‣Online Dating: Meeting new people
‣Instant Messaging: Chatting with friends
World of Warcraft and FIFA have used similar
social features to develop a passionate, loyal
community. Yazino is the first to achieve this
powerful social graph cross-platform.
17. FLEXIBLE PLATFORM
Yazino prototyped Extreme Bingo (strategy game) and Hissteria (casual game),
demonstrating the flexibility of the Strata platform to power very different types of games
EXTREME BINGO
Bingo just became a
contact sport!Category: Strategy game
Overview:
Extreme Bingo is a completely new, exciting twist on classic bingo. As in
normal bingo, players had Bingo cards which they completed as the Bingo ball
numbers were called in the game to win a prize.
However, everything else about this version of the game is extreme! Yazino
introduced a multiplayer community ‘Battleboard’ and team gameplay elements
including Bingo ball ‘slots’ that could be defended or attacked by other players,
power-ups that released explosive flames, and both community and individual
prizes. Teams worked together to dominate the battleboard and win the
community prize.
Category: Casual game
Overview:
Hissteria is a dynamic, fast-paced new take on the classic board game,
Snakes & Ladders. Players roll the dice as fast as they can in a race to be
the first to reach the end of the board and collect the jackpot.
The game became multiplayer and highly competitive by removing the
traditional snake and ladder icons from the board and placing them on the
dice. Rolling a ladder moved a player forward. Rolling a snake gave a player
the option to throw the snake at another player on the board and move him
backward.
HISSTERIA
Snakes & Ladders
gone bad!
18. GAME PORTFOLIO
Legacy Games
TEXAS HOLD’EMSLOTS HIGH
STAKES
ROULETTE HISSTERIAEXTREME BINGO
Prototype Games
Slots Wheel Deal
Multiplayer slots with game show thrills
LUXOR Blackjack
Multiplayer and multi-table Blackjack
Current Games
Slots Wheel Deal
Multiplayer slots with game show thrills
High-quality portfolio of social games
19. SLOTS WHEEL DEAL CASE STUDY
★ Launch Date: Nov 2010 (web)
★ Over $25m in revenue since launch
★ 7 million unique registrations (all platforms)
★ Close to 4 million mobile app downloads (iOS & Android)
★ iOS app has reached number #1 (grossing in Casino category) in 9 countries on
iPhone and 14 countries on iPad. Top #4 grossing in key markets including US, UK,
Canada and Australia.
★ Launched Sep 2013 on Facebook Canvas.
★ Nearly 1 million Facebook fans on Yazino and Wheel Deal pages
*Limited investment
‣ Yazino has spent a maximum of $122K monthly (8-month increment 2011/2012) on
Facebook, and a maximum of $245K monthly (2-month increment 2012) on iOS.
‣ By contrast, competitors are investing between $1m-$10m monthly on Facebook. The
leading social casino games are investing a minimum of $2m monthly on IOS.
20. MONETISATION KPIs
DAU / MAU
Growth opportunity
Social graph enhancements and new game content development are
shifting Yazino above industry average and improve all other KPIs
Industry
25%
Yazino
30%
ADVERTISING ROI
Excellent ROI
With a marketing investment of only $7.2m, Yazino has
already generated close to $20.3m in revenue
$25m$7.2m
BUYER LTV
Yazino
24 mo. LTV
$300
Yazino
6 mo. LTV
$130
Yazino
12 mo. LTV
$180
Yazino
36 mo. LTV
$415
Buyers stay for the long run
Yazino games have a very long shelf life,
with players still buying even after 3 years.
Unlike other ‘hit’ games
(e.g. Draw Something) that
come and go, Yazino’s
multiplayer synchronous
games retain purchasers
over time.
AVERAGE REVENUE PER PAYING USER (ARPPU)
ARPPU calculated per month and is a 6-month weighted average from July - Dec 2015
Yazino ‘User’ defined as someone who plays
Industry Leading Monetisation
Yazino outperforms industry on monetising
players. Competitor ARPPU ranges from
$20-$50 monthly based on game genre
Social Casino
ARPPU
Avg. ~$40
Yazino
ARPPU
$53
21. CHALLENGES OF SYNCHRONOUS SOCIAL GAMES
WHY isn’t everyone doing it? We got it
wrong so many times….
Technology intellectually challenging
Game agnostic
Synchronous broadcasting
Low latency and transactional
Financially very expensive to develop
Eco-system to support business