A new study released by Raptr, the community of almost 15 million gamers, points to the importance of a "community as a service" approach in increasing new and returning player activity, along with in-game playtime. For the first time, data that has been gathered by Raptr and the findings are truly interesting for the gaming community. The underlying emphasis of the report is that the community as a service approach is a vital tool for game publishers, as it directly correlates with the game success in regards to player time and new users.
With the CEO of Raptr, Dennis Fong, announcing that the "games as a service era is here," it seems game publishers need to take note of what is important to players when releasing new games. For developers and publishers alike, a game launch date now means more than hopefully huge sales and hype, but also the start of an opportunity to launch a trusted relationship with the gamers themselves.
Rather than the old model of new DLC and virtual purchasable goods that focused highly on commodity, Raptr argues that it should instead be community that game publishers focus on. This means releasing tools to allow users to create new content, such as maps and mods, and the chance to capture in-game screenshots and videos. I mean how many of you have posted a video of an awesome kill online? Or a hilarious glitch? It seems Raptr have the community rather than commodity formula nailed. This is evident in the findings they gained from their reports.
Take Portal 2 for example. Released by Valve in April 2011, the game was initially a commercial success. Yet in May 2012, the developers at Valve decided to change it up a little and create a tool that would allow gamers to make and share their own maps. In just the first week after the mod launch, 35,000 levels were generated. Add to this the daily active users increased by 806% the day after, and the figures speak for themselves. It is evident that the chance to get into a game you love and expand it yourself is very appealing for most gamers, and that's why we have seen this in other games such as the Halo series, where new maps are frequently made by gamers themselves.
Raptr additionally looked at the success of DayZ, the zombie themed designer made mod for the not so commercially successful ARMA II. Within just one month, this mod had attracted a 38% increase in game playtime, and also a 400% increase in sales of ARMA II. Surely this speaks for itself in regards to the success in community not commodity. Also consider that the mod had no marketing and was only half finished, and well, it seems pretty damn impressive. With Call of Duty: Black Ops II gaining huge hype for its zombie mode, the designer behind DayZ obviously realised the power of killing the undead a bit sooner.
Additionally, the report points to the importance of rewarding loyal players in correlation to keeping gamers engaged. Having something to strive for and work towards is great in a game. I mean I'm a sucker for wanting to be a higher level than my friends. When OGPlanet released rewards for it's Lost Saga F2P game, playtime increased by 400%. Not a bad figure, it seems us gamers are easily tempted by rewards and levelling up!
The study has one main message, game publishers need to realise the importance of community when launching a game. So think in game screenshots, mods, and user created content. With many of the November window games looking to have such features, it seems it really will be community over commodity for the foreseeable gaming future. Now excuse me while I go upload a video of me playing my new awesome map, and then ask some developers about it in a Q&A later!
Article by Lyndsay Moir
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Article by Lyndsay Moir
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Lyndsay Moir is a freelance writer, who has
recently graduated from University, where she read history. She loves to game,
especially on the PS1...I know...how outdated, and has been a big PC/Mac nerd,
ever since she first got her paws on one when she was young. She is a
twenty one year old with plenty of free time, a laptop and a willingness to
write for you if you'd be interested, all you have to do is get in touch at lyndsay.moir@me.com and get
talking! All Artciles by Lyndsay.
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