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“The whole industry took note when IGT entered the social casino space,” Sigrist says. “In terms of a moment that powerfully demonstrated the impact of cross-platform content convergence, many would suggest the 2013 IGT Game King video poker tournament at Casino Del Sol. At this hallmark event, approximately 300,000 players participated in an online and mobile Game King video poker tournament, where the finals culminated in a live event at Casino Del Sol in Tucson, Arizona. “This event demonstrated that through the online channel provided by DoubleDown Casino, a regional tribal casino could engage hundreds of thousands of players, many of whom would not ordinarily interface with the Casino Del Sol brand. Today, player engagement in the form of millions of daily active users speaks to the relevance and popularity of IGT’s social casino.”
Rose says Inspired defines social gaming as playing non-cashpayout games on mobile. It can be but isn’t necessarily linked to a social network. Entertainment is the principal user motivation. Maybe, in the social sense, players can “phone it in.” “The growth of the smart-phone market and consumer engagement with their smart phones are definitely driving the social gaming market,” Rose indicates. “The average smart-phone user looks at their phone over 200 times a day. No other channel can boast this level of participation.” How does one balance the social and real-time player? Facebook has outlined that social games can return the same lifetime value as real-money gaming products, Rose asserts. The onus is on developing a game with high distribution but low monetization like Candy Crush, or a low distribution but high monetization game like Game of War. The opportunity for Inspired is finding the sweet spot between these two, Rose says, and he feels that We R Football sits well here.
Putting on the Spin
(Above) IGT’s Wheel of Fortune, (at r.) Inspired’s mobile I Am Playr game, (opposite) Scientific Games Universe Play4Fun Network
DoubleDown Casino was named to Facebook’s “Hall of Fame” for social games and ranked the No. 1 social casino by Apple in 2013, according to company reports.
An Inspired Vision
INSPIRED GAMING IS A GLOBAL CONTENT AND TECHNOLOGY company, headquartered in the U.K. It offers unique social, slot, table-game and video lottery products around the world. In January, Inspired acquired the main assets and employees of We R Interactive, including the games I Am Playr and We R Football. I Am Playr, launched in 2011, was the first social football game allowing users to play the life of a professional footballer. More than 21 million people have played the game, company officials say. The new rage is We R Football. “This is the only first-person football game on mobile, putting players closer to the action than ever before by allowing them to manage their team and play match highlights from a first-person perspective,” says David Rose, managing director of special applications for Inspired. “We R Football isn’t just a solo experience; the competitive leagues and peer-to-peer transfer system make it highly community-based.”
SPIN GAMES, WITH OFFICES IN RENO NEVADA, AND BANGKOK, Thailand, designs and develops premium and customized gaming content and technology for the interactive and land-based markets. It has a strong intellectual property portfolio including game patents for The Roc, MIG (Multiplayer Interactive Gaming), ML3 ( 3D HTML5 Gaming) and Wheel Power, among others, company reports say. The immediate health of social gaming appears robust, according to Kent Young, the founder and president of Spin Games, which made itself known to the gaming world at the 2012 G2E. “The market could soon be $5 billion in the United States alone, which is quite significant,” he says. “The growth is outstanding. We continue to see more demand for game content. More people are playing than ever before, and it’s something that is both enjoyable and comfortable for them. “From the social aspect, it is something they can share with their friends. They can talk about a recent win they had on Facebook, for example. From the gaming perspective, it is impressive because the content simulates successful land-based games.” Young says his company likes to develop about 12 new games a year. Much of that is licensed to casinos that use it to service and attract customers. The content is available via several outlets, like computers, tablets and Androids. Slots remain king by a significant margin, Young says, but video poker is gaining popularity. Bingo and keno are also among the prime drivers of social gaming. Both the players and casinos want to copy the experience of a live casino game wherever they are playing, he asserts. It gives patrons the action of a brick-and-mortar establishment and affords casinos a chance to recruit customers to their floors, restaurants and loyalty clubs. G2E Preview 2015 | 21