Mobile app is a successful business in which to succeed. Competition in mobile gaming is even more difficult. Where can you increase your game? Where can you also be competitive? If you look at emerging markets and pay them, the payout is huge, as these areas often have large-scale growth potential. But these markets present their unique challenges.
Putting 2018's worldwide download leaders together, I easily saw the rise of emerging markets through markets that had not been on the list in the past. Then again, while working on my most recent piece for VentureBeat, looking at the top mobile games by active users, I saw the number 3 game on the list (Free Fire) being an important part of its player base in Brazil. This got me thinking about the challenges of making a successful mobile game in less developed/emerging markets, and so I reached out to Garena, the creator of Free Fire, to ask them how they do it. I was put in touch with producer Harold Teo, and they told me that the South American market was within the team's area of focus.
Let's start with a few basics: Free Fire has over 350 million registered players and more than 100 million people were actively counted in Q4 2018. Adjusted revenue recorded in the game fourth quarter was 44.5 percent of $ 231.4 million in Garena. The company can't tell me which market brings in the most revenue for Free Fire, but Aptopia's App Intelligence states that Brazil generates 29 percent of the game's fourth-quarter revenue in any market Is the highest in Keep in mind that Apptopia does not track Android revenue outside of Google Play.
Deliver deep, and data-based on GameRefinery, the biggest differentiator between Free Fire and PUBG Mobile in terms of features. Players buy/earn characters and develop them by earning portions. Even though skill does not have a significant impact on gameplay, it does add a nice extra layer for players to think about and diversify monetization on top of cosmetics.
knives out.
Above: Knife Out is a mobile battle royale that is popular in Asia.
Image Credit: Sensor Tower
Free Fire was one of the first Battle Royal games to hit the mobile market in late 2017, with three games from Net Fire (Survivor Royale, Knife Out, Survival Rules). Gerna free-fire in a number of markets in Southeast Asia, before moving around the world two-and-a-half months later. Based on player feedback and retention data, Harold Teo and his team felt that the game was set to take place on a worldwide stage.
"Being one of the first marketers and with a focus on mobile it has been beneficial for us [as it relates to the competition]," which I did. "All our design and product features are designed specifically for mobile users, so we don't have to translate anything."
Unlike the PC and console versions of Fortnite and PUBG, Free Fire was made for mobile only and is not available to play on other platforms. But Teo believes that mobile is paying strong attention, especially when it comes to emerging markets.
Gerena strategically designed it lightly in terms of the disc space required from players. It launched at 200MB and now sits at around 400MB. This was done to maximize its user base. Teo says that Free Fire will run smoothly on almost any device, which was also done on purpose. For a size comparison, both Fortnite and PUBG mobiles easily require more than a gigabyte of disk space. There are specific hardware requirements of Fortnite and other Battle Royale games on mobile to make the game run smoothly. This closes many potential players, mostly in emerging markets.
"Lightweight games are social," Tio explains. "People want to play with their friends and so you play the game everybody can play. In many cases, it is free fire. "Top-end phones have not allowed the Brazilian market as they are in China or the United States. It's like a snowball effect for users. Even if you have a great phone, your Playing with friends is a more attractive option.
I wanted to understand what else could happen in these less developed markets, where players are often not as comfortable with online shopping, or simply different. Teo tells me that all this has been done through intensive localization efforts.
Given his voice on the phone, this is clearly an area he is passionate about, or at least very strongly believes in. He goes on to say, "The biggest challenge for us in these markets is to know what gamers really want. Not all markets have the same requirements. Every country has its own culture, language, etc. We really have to get down on the ground and mess our hands to know what each country needs and what each country needs. ”
It is not a lip service. In every market for Free Fire, there is a local operation team. They f gamers, where they conduct focus group studies and surveys on a regular basis. “We have one or two of these focus groups every month and each is targeted at a specific thing. It helps in designing future products and features. Players love seeing that they are being listened to and getting the things they want. "
Particularly through in-game events, bonuses, and in-game aesthetics, the Free Fire team seeks to embrace local cultures, particularly surrounding real events such as Carnival in Brazil or Songkran in Thailand. This is a nice change of pace and recognition of the excitement surrounding their local community.
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