Ad-Funded Mobile Gaming
Written on Monday, December 08, 2008
The mobile device we all carry around us, has, even since its early youth, relied on a lot more than the ability to make phone calls on the go. Even early mobile phones were shipped with mobile games, such as the legendary Snake on Nokia phones, (which practically everyone I know around my age has spent endless hours playing -- by the way, the successor of the game is now available as a multiplayer game via Bluetooth).
Adding entertainment into the mix of the mobile phone (via mobile gaming), transforms the mobile into a device that can provide very useful pass-time activities. This turns mobile phones into engaging devices that occupy us when we would have otherwise been bored or idle, so much so that we can really become attached to.
Since the days of Snake, however, mobile gaming has evolved. A lot. There are now excellent mobile games on sale, with very impressive features and gripping gameplay to keep you occupied whenever you have some spare time -- or even if you don't ;) . Very few of these games are free, and most cost a mere few euros. Still, cost is an inhibiting factor, and if you add device compatibility problems you have good reason to want to find an alternative.
Ad-funded mobile games have come as the answer to this problem, by providing free games for the consumer, and profit for developers through advertising. This is a win-win-win situation for all parties (the consumer, the developer and the advertised companies), assuming of course there are companies wishing to be advertised on the game.
Still, ad-funded mobile gaming is now being rolled out in the U.K., so we will soon be in a position to tell how well it goes and if it really can work for everyone. The article on Mobile Marketing Mazagine reports:
Adding entertainment into the mix of the mobile phone (via mobile gaming), transforms the mobile into a device that can provide very useful pass-time activities. This turns mobile phones into engaging devices that occupy us when we would have otherwise been bored or idle, so much so that we can really become attached to.
Since the days of Snake, however, mobile gaming has evolved. A lot. There are now excellent mobile games on sale, with very impressive features and gripping gameplay to keep you occupied whenever you have some spare time -- or even if you don't ;) . Very few of these games are free, and most cost a mere few euros. Still, cost is an inhibiting factor, and if you add device compatibility problems you have good reason to want to find an alternative.
Ad-funded mobile games have come as the answer to this problem, by providing free games for the consumer, and profit for developers through advertising. This is a win-win-win situation for all parties (the consumer, the developer and the advertised companies), assuming of course there are companies wishing to be advertised on the game.
Still, ad-funded mobile gaming is now being rolled out in the U.K., so we will soon be in a position to tell how well it goes and if it really can work for everyone. The article on Mobile Marketing Mazagine reports:
T-Mobile has become the first UK mobile operator to offer its customers free mobile games. Customers can access at least one new ad-funded game per week by joining T-Mobile’s Game Club. The first free game available to consumers is ‘Poker Million II’, which is funded by advertisers including Paramount Pictures, which is using the game to promote the movie, ‘Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa’.
The content is being hosted and managed by digital ad-funded entertainment specialist Digistores, and new games will be made available each week. Games scheduled to appear in the coming weeks include ‘IQ Booster’, ‘Pro-Bowling’, ‘Pool Star’ and ‘Einstein’s Brain Game’. Digistores’ service will only offer customers games that are compatible with their particular handsets and can automatically detect the games that will work on individual devices.
The games are available to people who subscribe to T-Mobile’s web’n’walk data plan. In exchange for watching two full-screen, targeted adverts before starting the game and two more after the game has finished, customers get the game for free and will not be hit with any hidden charges.
Within the UK, customers will not be charged for the data required for downloading the game or accessing the ads. The full screen, interstitial adverts are interactive and enable the user to visit an advertiser’s mobile site or click to call or text the advertiser. There will be no limitations on the number of games that can be downloaded or how many times each game can be played.
Damien Byrne, Head of New Proposition Development at T-Mobile UK, says:
“The launch of ad-funded games further strengthens T-Mobile’s mobile gaming offering to consumers. We continue to make mobile gaming easier than ever before and a more enjoyable experience for our customers.”
I hope the numbers from real-world use do add up in the end, because I think this has real potential.. And everyone can benefit if it does:
- Gamers get games free.
- Companies get advertised on specific target groups, meaning higher conversion rates and ROIs.
- Developers get paid what they deserve for their game.
The audience is definitely ready for this here in Greece, the market probably not yet, but the U.K. can lead the way and open up more European markets. We'll just have to wait and see.
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