Jimquisition: Monetizing Whales For The Retention Of Virality

mailh20

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Mar 22, 2012
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Weaver said:
The co-optional podcast last week was great! So much fun has come out of it :D
It's a shame you and TB didn't let Jesse talk that much though lol.
I remember Jessie's connection fucking up most of the run time
 

Darquenaut

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Feb 22, 2010
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verylost said:
While I agree with most of this video here's a question about the backlash issue: What if it is backlash due to a controversial issue from critics outside the gaming market (for example violence in video games) which have been known to be an issue to cause game developers to shut down projects?
Beat me to it. That was pretty much the only thing I could think that might have been of any use from a panel called that. If it was about something about, say, dealing with the likes of Fox News (or MSNBC if you prefer) freaking out about how they heard from a guy who heard it from a guy that Dark Souls tells little Billy to worship Satan, that would be marginally interesting. Now, if it was mostly directed towards how companies could worm out of consumer being rightfully pissed about having to deal with micro-transactions and the like, then yeah, fuck 'em.
 

Eric the Orange

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Apr 29, 2008
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What I HATE most about the "minnows and whales" analogy is that it dehumanizes your customers. You may as well call them shit bags and cash bags. The analogy still works and it's much more clear on what you really think of them.
 

DEAD34345

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Wow, this is both hilarious and incredibly depressing at the same time. Jesus Christ, I always assumed these people would at least pretend to have some respect for their customers, but... wow.

"Whales".

Seriously.

What can even be said about this? The people who set up these panels and the people who decided they needed them must have realised how screwed up this crap was. I suppose they just don't care.
 

hentropy

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Clearly you just don't understand how the monetization of viralities can streamline the Six Sigma cash flows into mobile development. You need to reassess your scope creep and integrate your agile processes to maximize your baseline NPV and fulfill the critical path method for the Escapist Limited Whales Corporation.
 

Eric the Orange

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Apr 29, 2008
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Jimothy Sterling said:
verylost said:
While I agree with most of this video here's a question about the backlash issue: What if it is backlash due to a controversial issue from critics outside the gaming market (for example violence in video games) which have been known to be an issue to cause game developers to shut down projects?
Said on Facebook:

My "panel" was not for creative people who take creative risks. They wouldn't try to "reduce backlash" anyway because they should believe in what they're doing, and know it's for the best. If you care about "reducing backlash," clearly you're doing something you know ain't right. Therefore, my "panel" only applies to a certain type of developer. A shit one.
wait, wait, what? so the guy who made the "reducing backlash" panel wrote that. that's hilarious. I can imagine him getting all the developers in the room and then just berating them for half an hour for being shit because they wanted to do something people would hate and make them more money.
 

SpaceGhost

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May 5, 2012
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This planet...

I think I'm going to start drinking, and keep drinking until "How to Reduce Backlash" looks more like "How to Own Up to Your Mistakes...and Fix Them."
 

jdarksun

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DirgeNovak said:
I'd really like a list of people who gave those whale panels so I can never give them a penny ever again.
This times a million. Jim needs to be required viewing for everyone in the game industry.
 

Thanatos2k

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Gaming is going straight into the toilet.

Also thanks for reminding me the disgrace that is going to be Roller Coaster Tycoon 4.
 

KevinR1990

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Apr 10, 2008
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Great video, Jim, but one thing that I'm surprised wasn't brought up, by you or the other posters here:

The term "whale" comes from Las Vegas, and is another word for "high roller" -- i.e. somebody, often very wealthy, who drops huge amounts of money, often in the tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars, at the slots and the tables. Casinos love whales, and offer them lavish packages (called "comps") to draw them in, filled with private jets, limos, the best suites, and free lines of credit so they can keep gambling.

The fact that F2P developers have proudly adopted the term "whale" to describe the biggest junkies (sorry, players) illustrates perfectly how the F2P racket is pretty much only one step above casinos in terms of ethics. Maybe not even, because casinos are at least honest about the fact that they sucker people.
 

ars731

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By the way, the term "Whale" is an casino term for an person who spends large amounts of cash on gambling. I.e High Roller, I am an bit disturbed that they are calling gamers that. its an telling use of that word. great video as always, Jim
 

themilo504

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Your panel on how to reduce backlash was way too long, this is my panel: Don?t be a greedy twat and make good games.

I used to think that publishers where not evil just stupid but this convinced me that there evil, if they get the chance they would take every dollar out of your wallet and leave you homeless.

Also I like whales so I hate it how publishers use their name for their anti consumer bullshit.
 

Thanatos2k

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Eric the Orange said:
What I HATE most about the "minnows and whales" analogy is that it dehumanizes your customers. You may as well call them shit bags and cash bags. The analogy still works and it's much more clear on what you really think of them.
Exactly. They're corporate euphemisms for what they really think of the people using their product, used to "minimize backlash".

When you're only building a game for the small percentage of people who you can leech money out of and despise the rest, it infects your design at a fundamental level.
 

Kuro Serpentina

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Dec 10, 2012
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My My, Jim really snapped~
It was quite arousing~
Especially cause he's right, all this corporate bullshit needs to die in the deepest and most torturous pits of hell there are
On a side note: Jesse likes Dynasty Warriors? Now I wanna see him play one, so excuse me as I go find a window through which to badger him about that~
 

Reduced_Silver

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ars731 said:
By the way, the term "Whale" is an casino term for an person who spends large amounts of cash on gambling. I.e High Roller, I am an bit disturbed that they are calling gamers that. its an telling use of that word. great video as always, Jim
I am sure they are using it because didn't some study show that a very small percentage of F2P gamers spend all the money.

That will be the first slide shown at all these presentations, and then ways to get more whales as a percentage of playerbase, how to keep them, or how to transition a minnow to a whale.
 

Gaijinko

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Aug 4, 2013
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I get the feeling if I had a GDC panel where I just screamed COCK for half an hour until my voice was hoarse and throat bloodied I would still be contributing more to the gaming industry than some of those that were there.
 

Rabid_meese

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Jan 7, 2014
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Can... Can I... can I get one of those flashdrives? For... a friend

There is a very malignant attitude towards free to play games. You shouldn't design a game around the notion of "Whales." Its unsustainable business. That "Whale" is going to sing somewhere else eventually.

You should design your game in a way that's fair. Free To Play games like League of Legends do this well. You're never required, or coerced into buying something. In fact, the only reason that store is in (atleast, in the beginning) was to keep the business afloat. League was a labor of love that Riot wanted to give out for free. They felt that having a paywall blocks potential players from enjoying their pet project. The paying features are only cosmetic or a boost that really doesn't change the dynamics of the game. Buying every champion in the game, or one of their skins, doesn't give you an advantage over someone who just players the rotated champions. It gives them more options, but not more power.

That's the free to play model I have faith in. The kind that puts the game before the money - not the money before the game. That is sustainable - League's not going to die out any time soon. A year from now, who's gonna remember Dungeon Keeper?
 

RoonMian

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Mar 5, 2011
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Well, I kinda would have understood one or two panels on how to monetise a game or more precisely: how to weave the monetisation of a game into the design to make players gladly pay some and feel like they're getting value for their money because... Well, game developers have to eat, too...

But this? No... Fuck this...

Thank God for the Jimquisitor.

PS: What was the first game shown? It looked a little like Hard Truck Apocalypse, a mediocre but buy to play game from a few years ago.
 

daxterx2005

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Dec 19, 2009
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How to reduce backlash....
Wow, they need a panel for that?
Just don't cause it in the first place!