Social games are types of games that are played through social networks, which therefore have the particularity of having multiplayer aspects. Even if this game is not directly playable in multiplayer, the gameplay allows a better experience with this social, multiplayer side.
Free upon purchase, but paid options
One of the characteristics of social games is that they are generally free (for those who are paid, they are not expensive to buy). To make money, the developers make sure to incorporate a lot of options … Paid. Here is the secret.
The idea is that anyone can play a social game for cheap or for free. But if you want to be one of the best at this game or just play “unlimited,” then you will have to buy options. It is thanks to these famous options that some games make millions of profits every day!
And this is the secret of these social games. To the extent that it is free and that it becomes paid only if one decides it, the marketing is concrete. The goal is to reach as many people as possible. To do this, using Facebook and offering a free game is the best way. Developers know that some of these players will play regularly and sometimes large sums (sometimes much more than to buy a game on console or pc).
We all have in our entourage a person having slammed 50-100 euros or more in this kind of game to be competitive and/or unlimited in playing time. And it can also be you!
Key industry players
Among the most popular social games are FarmVille, Mob Wars, Plants Vs. Zombies, Candy Crush, Mafia Wars, etc. These creations have won over millions of players around the world. Thanks to the Facebook window mainly, these games benefit from an almost immediate reputation – as long as the game is of quality – thanks to the enormous number of potential players (more than 1 billion active Facebook accounts in the world).
The first company to have launched this kind of games via Facebook, and to have cardboard, is the firm Zynga. Launched in 2007, it managed to bring together 10 million active players on Facebook with its FarmVille game in 2009 and in just six weeks. 80% of the income at the time came from Facebook, making it an absolutely essential ally. A little later, success was also evident with Zynga Poker and Zynga Slots.
From social games to social casino games
In recent years, social games have literally exploded, especially thanks to Facebook and the phenomenal expansion of the mobile market. It is natural enough that many casino game developers see it as the goose that lays the golden eggs, being aware of the potentially huge number of players affected.
The mobile market also has a lot to do with it. Today, there are so many things you can do with a smartphone that this device is getting closer and closer to a computer in terms of capabilities. Result: if you can do as much with a cell phone as with a computer (or a Mac, no jealousy), then why not do it? Especially since smartphones have the non-negligible advantage of being connected to the internet and above all transportable much more easily.
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