DoubleD

Hey folks?
Recently, there was a quick little post about video games - ones to look out for, and while the majority of the folks commenting had some experience with gaming, and suggestions there was a comment or two about how it?s a waste of time.

This got me thinking?ok granted, there might be better uses of one?s time, but everyone needs a certain amount of entertainment and nowadays that can be across many different mediums. I still play at my age, fingers move a bit slower, but I enjoy it and I enjoy reading up on the gaming industry, new trends, etc?

Now there?s no question our industry in particular has undergone some changes or shifts over recent years. Common conventions, billing models, what users are prepared to pay for among other factors have changed for online adult users?as it has for many content driven industries.

What can the video game industry teach us? Or what parallels can we see even today?
Many would probably agree with me that things like piracy, etc have been better handled in gaming than over other mediums (ok sure there are plenty of ways to get free games, especially PC, but ask 10 random people to download a movie/music, then ask them to crack a game?chances are with nearly any demographic the success rate will be far lower)
Now for a large part this is related to console security and other technical roadblocks, easier to implement with an installed game, but for many game franchises, going to an online, mmo, community or subscription based system has been the answer. Again, giving an experience that is hard or difficult to reproduce?in adult, I feel that is represented by the focus on cams, dating and the like?

Speaking of online games, there has been another shift, more directed at payments?the trend of free-to-play. There have been examples in the gaming industry of failing mmos tripling their monthly revenue by shifting away from a subscription model, to focus on micro transactions. Sometimes this is not as successful, eve online for example or in the case of wow, double-dipping by billing on a subscription model and providing a cash shop?it?s a bit of a tightrope?

DLC (downloadable content) ads another element, and in some games (cough..black ops) online experience is really affected if you don?t get all the packages?essentially doubling your investment in the game?but maybe that?s the key as well, more transactions after an investment of time and money has already occurred.

Now, in recent months a fairly large adult brand made a big change that raised some eyebrows, I won?t name names, don?t need to?but in that case seemed to follow this free-to-play model, still providing exclusive content to free subscribers, yet allowing for various micro transactions within the product?even our own dating sites at loadedcash, and many others do follow a somewhat similar system with a free reg option. So do you feel this is simply a sign of the times?do we need to start moving away from a subscription-based system all together? Does this seem to de-value games in general? Any thoughts?

And finally I wanted to bring up one other trend that I think has done very well for the gaming industry when helping with retention?either retention for online subscription fees, for a particular console system or a game itself and that?s the concept of achievements or trophies.
Now this is more for those with adult communities, so dating etc?but I personally I?ve found the achievement/trophy awarding system in games now to be a great retention tool ? I love having more than the other folks on my list, and up until this point, I would only have this mental list in my head of the games I?ve completed?recording, sharing this info online drives competition and honestly is related to that drive in mmos like WOW (world of warcraft) to have better stuff than the person next to you..its a basic human drive.

In our case, in some of our more adult sites we used to list top active users, top uploaders, etc to give this greater sense of community and competition. Does anyone here think that giving users a more structured achievement or reward system based on actions in an adult community can help with retention? And in this case, I?m talking less tangible rewards like a pixel trophy?I think it would, especially with 20 to 35 yr old demographic.

Sorry, I know this one went one for a bit, I just wanted to get some folks talking?if there is any part of the discussion above you agree with or disagree with...hey just talking about emerging trends, where we might apply some tested processes to our own systems, etc..
So anyone else notice something applied well to both games and our industry?
And to anyone thinking we probably should not draw exact parallels with our industry here?I really do feel there is an important relationship between all entertainment sectors?realistically we?re all promoting our products to people, real people that have limited time, money or resources for entertainment?I think keeping a lot of the same conventions across all of those mediums keeps it simple for ?em?

Now, knowing where I posted this, flame on!

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