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Author Topic: Game Revenue  (Read 540 times)

AName

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Game Revenue
« on: July 01, 2015, 04:41:06 am »
As you guys know, I'm working on a game to continue Sheep Tag. It will consist of more than that (similar to WC3), but Sheep Tag will be a primary game in it. I've come across a serious problem, however, which is the game's business model, and I'd like to get some of your input. The thing is, in order for me to put serious time and effort into this game, which it will need to thrive, it will need to make enough money both to pay for the servers that will host it and also to pay me. I would like to make this my primary source of income if I can.

Here is a list of things that either make for a bad business model or I simply won't accept for the game:
  • Donations (though welcome to help get the game on its feet)
  • Subscription (to play - like WoW): awful, I hate these types of games and never play them
  • Buying the game (like WC3): it works for some games, but my game needs to be long term to work and I simply can't upkeep the servers or convince enough people to buy the game (and this would discourage people from playing it and still not support it for the long run)

Here are plans that I have considered and may do:
  • In-game advertising (there are many ways to do this): could be annoying and low revenue but excellent for long-term gameplay
  • Microtransactions (in-game purchases): not the pay-to-win type but the stylistic enhancement type
  • Direct/Sponsorship ads, e.g. "if you pay me $100 I'll display your ad in a banner in the game 10000 times"

Microtransactions I'm not too optimistic about, at least not until the game is really going. I read an interesting statistic just today:

Quote
The vast majority of your users (97.8% according to a Swrve study) will NEVER give you a dime.

and I'd have to come up with all sorts of content for people to buy etc.

Direct/Sponsorship ads have a similar problem in that they require me to constantly maintain the ads being displayed, and who knows whether there will be enough buyers to support the game?

So for the time being I think I'll go with in-game advertising. What I was thinking of doing is displaying banner ads during just the chatting stage of the game, like WC3, though I don't know if the revenue will be enough.


I found some quality but cheap servers I plan to use that I think will ultimately cost somewhere around $0.01 a player slot per month. What this means is that if only 20 players are ever on at a time, then I only need 20 player slots per month, even if 10000 players are on some time during that month.

So, if we need to have say 1000 players on at a time at most, the revenue would have to be at minimum $10 a month. Let's say though that the average number of players on at a time is half of that: 500, and they see an average of 3 ads during their time playing. Then let's say they recycle once per hour (so 3 * 24 * 500 = 36,000). Depending on the style of the ad and other factors, each ad view could generate from $0.00002-$0.0045 each (no really, that big a difference).

Worst case scenario, we're looking at $7.20 a day or $216.00 a month. Best case scenario, we're looking at $162.00 a day or $4,860 a month.

So you can see how, as I was thinking this through, it really depends on multiple factors:
  • how successful the ads are at generating revenue
  • the up-time of the game and the ads (as the servers will cost money each month regardless of whether they're being used)
  • the popularity of the game, though this scales somewhat with the revenue


Of course, my math could be way off, but this gives the general idea. So I'd like to hear your guys' input. I'm still not going to reveal the game just yet, but it's nearly ready for alpha testing. :)
« Last Edit: July 01, 2015, 04:53:07 am by AName »

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AName

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Re: Game Revenue
« Reply #1 on: July 01, 2015, 04:47:40 am »
Actually, I made a mistake in my math: fixing it... Okay fixed.
« Last Edit: July 01, 2015, 04:53:18 am by AName »

XXXandBEER

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Re: Game Revenue
« Reply #2 on: July 01, 2015, 05:30:35 am »
Excellent! Can't wait to check out the alpha! :D What platform(s) are you shooting for?

Monetizing is tricky, but if done right I think micro transactions are the way to go along with limited sponsors/advertising. Personally I would steer away banner ads as they only take away from the experience and generate very little revenue. Your idea of banner Ads only in the chatting stage (outside of the actual game) is a good idea though^^
« Last Edit: July 01, 2015, 05:33:04 am by XXXandBEER »

AName

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Re: Game Revenue
« Reply #3 on: July 01, 2015, 05:40:59 am »
Windows 64 only, and it will only target D3D 10+. This limitation however will turn into a benefit over time, as everyone modernizes their computers and my game is able to target better written graphics software. Basically, if you have Windows 7+ and your computer is only a few years old, you're probably okay.

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Your idea of banner Ads only in the chatting stage (outside of the actual game) is a good idea though^^
Good to hear, that's what I'm hoping for.

jdawg

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Re: Game Revenue
« Reply #4 on: July 02, 2015, 01:34:12 am »
custom sheeps xD

is this gonna b like old sheep tag?

Nmcdo

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Re: Game Revenue
« Reply #5 on: July 02, 2015, 02:29:07 am »
Very interesting. I think it's awesome that both you and Beer planned / plan on making Sheep Tag.
I reckon you should do cool stuff where players feel awesome as well as it not changing the game. Example: they pay X amount and for X games there name will be displayed as Sheep / Wolf, etc.
I think advertisement in chat would be nice - the better the chat would mean more people would chat within the channels, meaning more add viewing.
As for servers those seem really cheap. You should always keep donations an open option. Would it be possible (within) chat means to have some like, two advertisements at once, would
that increase revenue, no?
If the game really is near alpha I think that's awesome and would love to see the fruits of your labor myself.
I'm not gonna lie, if I were rich I would sponsor anyone who makes Sheep Tag with mass money rofl :D
Respect the Runtag.

jdawg

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Re: Game Revenue
« Reply #6 on: July 02, 2015, 02:35:33 am »
i think custom sheeps would be cool man like super hero cape a gangster one just **** like that

HaWkys

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Re: Game Revenue
« Reply #7 on: July 02, 2015, 03:21:06 am »
I suggest a subscription. But it would have to be fuckin nice and I hope ur ass has insurance if i give u my credit card ^^

AName

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Re: Game Revenue
« Reply #8 on: July 02, 2015, 03:34:52 am »
Don't get your hopes up too high. I'm a great developer, but I'm only one person. So I am taking a minimalist approach in order to make sure it gets done first, and then later on I will add less critical things.

Nmcdo

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Re: Game Revenue
« Reply #9 on: July 02, 2015, 05:26:28 pm »
Let's not forget you practically have a dozen people from the STC would start playing right off the bat. We would probably chat a lot just like wc3, so not a bad start.
Respect the Runtag.

AName

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Re: Game Revenue
« Reply #10 on: July 02, 2015, 07:32:09 pm »
I'm actually worried more about being able to scale with the game lol. At the moment I'm developing for just one server. Once it's not enough, I'll have to figure out a way to get a bunch of servers to talk to each other and share data.

XXXandBEER

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Re: Game Revenue
« Reply #11 on: July 02, 2015, 10:07:53 pm »
AName it sounds like you are pretty good at server architecture and getting a working client up in running, which is a huge task in of itself. If you would like to team up with the group of people I work with occasionally. I bet we could really get something great going! I can offer SFX/Music composers, 3D modelers, 2D artists, and of course programmers. I know I could gather them all up and get them on board. We could totally make this happen! Warlocks is doing it. Now it's just time for Sheep Tag!

EDIT: I also offer an excellent marketing team! :D which will be crucial for a multiplayer type game.

AName

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Re: Game Revenue
« Reply #12 on: July 02, 2015, 10:33:42 pm »
I'll PM you.

 

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