Socializing Gamers - Wordplay and the Discourse of Video Games - page 29

games are played, as the design and play of both games are predicated on
fostering an almost compulsive need to check in with them while developing
a relatively peculiar notion of 'social.'
The economic structure of Facebook games stands in stark contrast to
other video game markets. The primary revenue for Uncharted 2 is likely
to come from sales of the game at retail, with additional money generated
through downloadable content that is later sold to those playing the game.
Uncharted 2 also experienced brisk used sales, but that money will not go
to the publisher or the developer of the game; resale money is limited to
those buying and selling the used copies. Games like Uncharted 2 can have
additional value for the console maker, as titles exclusive to any single con-
sole, like the Halo series, can drive sales of that console as gamers purchase
the system in order to play the game. As a result, the developer, Naughty
Dog, typically sees an infl ux of money or support in exchange for releasing
the title exclusively on the PlayStation 3. Wii Sports works somewhat dif-
ferently, as the game is packaged outside of Japan with the Wii console and
does not require an additional charge. As a result, the game is not intended
to be sold individually, but to showcase the console and what it can do.
Facebook games, however, are designed to work on a completely dif erent
economic model.
Facebook games capitalize on the large user base of Facebook in order to
try and acquire as many players as possible. Instead of charging a premium
for the purchase or installation of the game itself, games like Frontierville
and City of Wonder are distributed to players for free, but then of er the
ability to purchase items with the context of the games themselves. Value is
generated in two primary ways, by selling items in-game and by attracting
more players to the game to purchase more items. Facebook games work
on the principle that the initial play is free, but the cost comes in the form
of near constant of ers to spend money and solicit your friends to play the
game. Often called 'social games, ' 24 owing to the interaction required with
other players, these games generally feature high churn rates as many play-
ers quickly move from playing the game to not playing the game, often fi nd-
ing other games to take the place of those they left. 25 Part of the reason
for the churn is likely the relatively low level of investment, as there is no
upfront fi nancial cost to play the game and, for the overwhelming majority
of players, the cost will never approach that of a console title. The advan-
tage for game developers is that the games are relatively low in cost to pro-
duce, generally ranging from about $100,000 to $300,000 , 26 rather than
the multiple millions that a console title can cost to create. Console games
like Grand Theft Auto IV can reach the $100 million mark in production
costs, 27 which means that when it costs a fraction of that amount to make a
game like Frontierville the economic model can be quite dif erent. Making
money on a Facebook game comes down to the straightforward proposi-
tion of attracting as many users as possible, counting on a small percentage
of them to pay money for advantages in the game and then of ering other