PS3 News: Social Gaming Stats Prove Why It's The Domain Of The Casual - PS3 News

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Social Gaming Stats Prove Why It's The Domain Of The Casual

There's a reason why the hardcore don't take social gaming seriously.

If someone asks, "Do you play video games" and the response is, "Yeah, but only on Facebook" or something of that nature, the correct translation to that reply is- "No, I don't play video games." At least, as far as the core gaming group is concerned.

And thanks to new statistical results concerning this new social gaming boom, the real gamers out there probably have some justification. Playnomics has published their third quarter 2012 "player engagement report," and the main point is as follows: Nearly 95% of all US players who started with social gaming in the first part of Q3 were inactive by the end of the quarter, and about 85% of US players acquired in that quarter didn't even come back after the first day.

It was interesting to note that if a player came back for at least a week, that person would probably keep playing for a while, thus upping the retention rate. But beyond that, it's pretty clear that just because games are available just about everywhere now, this doesn't automatically imply those who try them are "gamers." My guess is the stats wouldn't be much different for smartphone and tablet gaming, either, although tablet games have gotten a lot better as of late.

Thanks, BikerSaint!

Tags: social gaming, social video games, gaming culture, video games

10/19/2012 9:27:37 PM Ben Dutka

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Comments (20 posts)

AntDC
Friday, October 19, 2012 @ 10:44:25 PM
Reply

I often feel a bit elitist and pretentious trying to explain to people why social games on Facebook are not the same as a full gaming experience on a console or PC, but it's good to see articles like this proving the point that we've all been trying to make. It's reassuring to know that we're not just a bit jaded from losing oxygen on our high-horses :)

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WorldEndsWithMe
Friday, October 19, 2012 @ 11:25:40 PM
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Gamers used to be a single group of people, now they are many. As such, Tribe A doesn't wish to be associated with Tribe B and so on. I feel little to no kinship with WoW players or Facebook game players. They simply couldn't understand me and that's that.

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Beamboom
Friday, October 19, 2012 @ 11:35:04 PM
Reply

Come on guys, this is to completely misinterpret the stats. This has all to do with the model and less with the media or user. Had all console games been free to play we would have seen similar stats there.

Any gamer would try nearly all games was it free to do so, and only continue playing a selected few.
Last edited by Beamboom on 10/19/2012 11:41:14 PM

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Ben Dutka PSXE [Administrator]
Saturday, October 20, 2012 @ 1:08:48 AM

Baloney. I don't try any game that exists just because it's free, and neither does anyone I know. We know they're not worth our time. That's the difference- People who want to play REAL games won't bother because they know they won't be satisfied. Casual people are just, "oh, another app I can try."
Last edited by Ben Dutka PSXE on 10/20/2012 1:11:03 AM

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Beamboom
Saturday, October 20, 2012 @ 2:24:22 AM

Do you think people only download demos for games they are most likely to buy too? Of all the demos I've tried, I've bought maybe... 1/20? No, less for sure.
It's all a question of price and accessibility. Remember that people doesn't even need to install anything to try these games.

There is a huuuuge list of games I'd most definitely try out on the ps3 had they been free and barely needed a download, with most of them to be scrapped again. I mean, why the heck should I not? To claim that this would not be the norm amongst console gamers too is frankly quite weird. Of course we would.
Last edited by Beamboom on 10/20/2012 2:32:11 AM

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Killa Tequilla
Saturday, October 20, 2012 @ 7:54:08 AM

Actually im with Ben.

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Ben Dutka PSXE [Administrator]
Saturday, October 20, 2012 @ 10:50:19 AM

Then we're just different, Beamboom. No, I don't download a bunch of random demos just to try them. In fact, I never download any demos unless it's to do a hands-on preview for a big game. I'm pretty sure I'm going to like/buy a game these days, so I don't need a demo.

That's another difference- Real gamers are quite familiar with the industry and their likes and dislikes. In talking to a lot of them, you'll find that many don't just download a demo because it's free. They don't care about the genre, or they're pretty sure the game won't be very good; hence, they don't bother.

Casual and hardcore gamers are indeed very, very different. As these stats prove.

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xenris
Saturday, October 20, 2012 @ 11:01:28 AM

Here is the thing Beamboom, a lot of these social games have a huge burst then a huge die off simple because they aren't really good games, as far as most long term gamers are concerned. Couple that with the fact that most of them are hard to progress in without spending money you get a lot of people who say meh its not worth the money.

With console games you pay for people hang around because they are good games that don't require a dollar here or there to progress.

Some f2p do better but this article is for social games, and honestly most of them aren't that great gameplay wise. I have tried a couple but they fall incredibly short when it comes to delivering a complete and rounded game experience you know?

One thing I will say is I used to be a demo fiend >.< I would keep some demos on my ps3 just to play them once in a while, the Sonic Generation game is recent example. Me and my friend speed run race against each other its good fun.

But I know a lot of people who don't touch demos, in fact most of my friends dont. I'm curious by nature so I'm more likely too but not like when I was younger. I would grab all them even genres I hated lol.

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Beamboom
Saturday, October 20, 2012 @ 2:24:42 PM

But aren't we so selective precisely because the games cost so much? I know that had all games been f2p I'd for example definitely taken ff13-2 for a spin, although I *know* I'd never play it for long. Or the fighting games this autumn. Or... Or... Or... If it was free? Sure! Not for long, I'd enjoy the bounciness for a day or two and prolly ditch it again. Or maybe I'd discover that I actually like fighting games all of a sudden. Who knows.

And that's my point. The f2p model is so fundamentally different to the traditional model, so a direct comparison just doesn't work. As far as I see all this stats say is that the model leads to a lot more random, short term test runs than retail games.
Last edited by Beamboom on 10/20/2012 2:27:34 PM

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Lawless SXE
Friday, October 19, 2012 @ 11:45:57 PM
Reply

What if those people that fall off with any particular game become absorbed in another? Doesn't necessarily make them any less of gamers just because a game isn't to their tastes. And trial is so much easier in that realm due to the comparative lack of expense when drawn against console games, as Beamboom pointed out.

I mean, a good friend of mine plays almost exclusively on his iPhone. I'm not sure whether I would label him as a true gamer, but he does play almost religiously and a wide array of games, from approximations of pokie games to CSR Racing, Modern Combat 2 and he's recently latched onto a Pokemon-alike, though I can't remember the name of it. He doesn't buy into the F2P BS of such games, playing, and winning, them entirely on his own skill. His modern console experience extends as far as binges at friends' places as he doesn't own any current gen system, but he's quite well versed in games of years past. Just a case study, not sure if it can be viewed with great relevance as it could be an isolated example. Still... makes one wonder.

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Ben Dutka PSXE [Administrator]
Saturday, October 20, 2012 @ 1:10:02 AM

The stats are clear. They're not getting absorbed in others; they're just bouncing around, trying one and then another because they don't really care that much. The hallmark of the casual gamer.

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sawao_yamanaka
Saturday, October 20, 2012 @ 12:28:45 AM
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That sounds about right. My friend got into Facebook gaming and completely quit. They are dull and she can't get into console or pc gaming. Too many buttons :p.

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homura
Saturday, October 20, 2012 @ 12:54:12 AM
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Wanna play Tetris Battle in Facebook? Haha. Actually I've tried a game in Facebook a few months ago, it's called Pokie Ninja, you choose a character in Naruto to play. I only played it four times. Actually it's quite fun for what it is, but social game is not for me and I've given up MMO gaming a few years ago.

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daus26
Saturday, October 20, 2012 @ 2:52:15 AM
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I don't think there was doubt about this in the first place was there? Like World said, we're two different groups basically. The friends I have that enjoy social gaming (one of them is level 75 in Ninja Saga >_>) can agree. Of course, there are probably a few exceptions that enjoy both, but in general, we are divided.

On the side note, I don't think people that are hooked with these social games are not necessarily into the game itself, but the social aspect of it; sharing, trading, gifting, and comparing. Take out that social aspect, and they'll realize what they're actually playing... a sad version of all console games lol. So to the gamers that leave the game after one day or the quarter, it's just because the social aspect is not appealing, or should I rather say no friends to play with.

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BikerSaint
Saturday, October 20, 2012 @ 5:32:40 AM
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Thanks for the shout-out, Ben.


Well, I come from the Old School of gaming, so I don't even acknowledge most casual gaming, unless it's playing Bejeweled-3 on my PC (& closing in on 500 hours so far).
Last edited by BikerSaint on 10/20/2012 5:32:50 AM

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Ultimadream
Saturday, October 20, 2012 @ 5:50:43 AM
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The thought of people playing games on Facebook makes me want to cry...

As for the results, it's higher than I thought, but I can understand it I imagine a casual gamer to try out a game, then frequently decide they don't like it and abandon it.

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Killa Tequilla
Saturday, October 20, 2012 @ 7:55:50 AM
Reply

I didn't know there are games on facebook.

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Ben Dutka PSXE [Administrator]
Saturday, October 20, 2012 @ 10:50:44 AM

It's okay. You don't need that knowledge.

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AcHiLLiA
Saturday, October 20, 2012 @ 5:32:15 PM
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It's nice to have these free options for the poor people in different countries that have access to a cpu.

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shadowpal2
Sunday, October 21, 2012 @ 1:44:41 PM
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Social games on Facebook/Zynga simply do not give you an experience whatsoever. It's just your regular dumb*** mindless boring "level-up" game. THERE IS NO GOAL in the game...nothing that will be memorable or stick with you - just nonsense that makes you feel you're being "productive" in life.

Games are about enjoyment. And social games - will never give it.

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