Gaming Trends (in Japan and Globally):
- video game market is becoming mature
- it’s a hollywood like business model now.
- costs $30mm to make a game which puts break-even at 3mm units. Go big or go home.
- other mediums (mobile / pc) more like the broadcasting business (as opposed to hollywood)
- easier to fine-tune, lower cost, much more revising the experience, etc. (long tail gaming)
- casual gaming demographic is changing a lot – tilting older and more female
Presenter: Moba-ge-town (DeNA Co)
- Founded in Tokyo, March 1999
- Mobile portal, ad network (mobile), e-commerce
- New business:
- AirLink (travel agency business)
- > 500mm pageviews / day (largest in JP)
- Virtual SNS with high quality free games
- over 70% penetration among teens
- stickiness & addictiveness (70% new user return rate)
- USD$200m annual revenue – 70% profit margins
- Ad revenue (place ads and pay sponsor fee)
- ”Success-based ad revenues” – basically a CPA model / affiliate program
- Sales of avatars (virtual goods) - 2D and 3D avatars
- Display ads are 40% / the rest is 60%. Virtual goods a small piece right now.
- main user base in their 20s
- “Tie Up Ads” – national brand advertising. Coca-cola, etc.
- end user goes to the retail store, buys the can of coke.
- user takes pic of can with phone, uploads it (2D barcode)
- DeNA sends uesr’s info to coke so coke can market to them
- Coke gives the user coupons, targeted messages, etc
- Mobile payment system key to all of these businesses
- Mobile auction service: Mobaoku
- very popular for buying/selling items via mobile phone
- Talk about boot strapping – Moba-ge-town was started by 3 staffers (1 engineer) in 3 months
