Monetization Strategies

My game Clients are SMART PEOPLE!! 90%+ of them are exploring the sale and management of virtual assets. This includes e-Wallet (covered in a separate post) functionality, PCI Level I Compliance and why you need it (again, separate post) for your virtual world and more. 

I am really lucky because I get to talk to dozens of publishers every year about their plans, so I get to explore lots of cool concepts. With this in mind, I try to be a resource to the games, new media & entertainment folks as a way to 'repay the debt I owe' to all those folks who adopted me and taught me about this space. 

Some day I hope to publicly acknowledge the folks who adopted me into the games space and taught me what (little) I know; Carter Lipscomb, Dave Laux, George Dolbier, Gavin Longhurst, Mark Morrison, Reg  Weiner, Derek Wise, Lars Koschin, Jeremy Monroe, James Jones, Chris Dyl, Grant Wei, Chris Donohue, Nichol Bradford...and more recently John Falco, Thomas Lee, Min Kim and more...

When my buddies and I sit around talking about this stuff...we get excited for so many reasons...including how to create a fantastic strategy around VC (virtual currency), virtual assets and game play. Please find below our thoughts around monetizing virtual worlds and games. 

Note: if you want to give a shout, you can always reach me at jamynigri [@] gmail.com.

Currency

1.       Primary Currency

1.1.    Real World Equivalent and conversion

2.       Secondary Currencies

2.1.    Experience

2.2.    Activity

2.3.    Achievement Points

 

Web Site Monetization

3.       Standard IAB Assets

1.1.     (300x250, 728x90, etc)

4.       Custom Media Assets

4.1.    Login placement

4.2.    Tags

4.3.    Side nav buttons

4.4.    Article images

4.5.    Campaign pages etc

5.       Sponsored Media Assets

5.1.    e.g. Company delivers news etc

 

Game World Monetization

6.       Free to play

6.1.    Included because the registration and polling data is part of the Data Monetization Strategy

7.       Subscriptions

7.1.    Considering themed tiered subscription model - e.g. per genre

8.       Virtual Goods

8.1.    Avatar Attire

8.2.    Avatar dwellings and furnishings

8.3.    Avatar vehicles

8.4.    Avatar effects

8.4.1.  Glowing hands

8.4.2.  Fiery Hair etc

8.5.    Sponsored Branded Goods

8.5.1.  Attire

8.5.2.  Effects

8.5.3.  Dwellings and furnishing

8.5.4.  Signage and in-game events

8.6.    Limited Edition and Collectibles in each category

9.       Virtual Goods Catalog/Store Front

10.   Virtual Goods Trading

10.1.Auction House Listings and Sales Cut

11.   Crafting Virtual Goods

11.1.Sand/tool box sales

12.   Mini Games

13.   In-Game Competitions and events (i.e.)

13.1.Music Creation and sharing

13.2.Video Creation and sharing

13.3.Most Active Trader

13.4.Most Revenue Generated

13.5.Most friends invited (leaderboards)

13.6.Trivia or quizzes

13.7.Mini games etc

14.   In-Game Media Assets

14.1.Billboards

14.2.Sponsored Branded Events

 

Mobile, Data and Widget Monetization

15.   Game World access through mobile device

16.   Avatar and dwelling maintenance through mobile device

17.   Auction house access through mobile device

18.   Game World communication with friends through mobile device

19.   Demographic data collection monetization

19.1.Registration Data

19.2.Polling data

19.3.Event tracking and participation data

19.4.Game world spending, auctioning  and trading data

19.5.Key word communication data

 

 

Additional Related Topics

 

20.    Pricing of all sellable assets and goods

21.   User Experience as it relates to the buying experience

22.   Loyalty and Aspirational Programs

23.   Merchandising