Gamifixation (Part 2)
To recap Gamifixation (Part 1): we are in a world where developers are flashing you ads, limiting gameplay and creating entirely new game modes in order to make more money per user post-acquisition. It’s overdone.
After playing NBA Live 2004, I engaged with the NBA brand by watching their TV broadcasts, going to live games and purchasing jerseys. Media contract, game tickets and merchandise — the NBA’s main sources of revenue. God knows how much I’ve contributed, talk about customer lifetime value.
But from the developer’s perspective, I’m interested to know user acquisition, retention and attrition statistics throughout the lifetime of a game series. I think a safe guess is that acquisition and attrition increase every year. This means overall user base grows, keeping the series in business, but fewer users purchase the subsequent games. Essentially, you’re getting one-time revenues.
So my question is: why can’t NBA2K facilitate my inevitable ecosystem engagement? There’s a serious gap there, and opportunity if 2KSports can capitalize.
Imagine royalty revenues on selling tickets to upcoming games, or jerseys via in-game NBA Store (Hi, Oculus) or even selling basketball gear (Hi, Amazon). What I’m saying is that if I’m spending days upon days playing a basketball video game, 2K Sports should take back some credit for it and not have to use cheap tactics to increase their average revenue per user.
What about increasing purchases of the next installment? I like it when I get in-game rewards like a coins bonus for revisiting an app. What if 2KSports sold a membership that lets me earn points in game to purchase real-life rewards like customized jerseys of your player in MyPlayer mode or tickets to watch my favourite team? I would definitely subscribe to a membership that lets me earn real rewards while I play, especially if there’s a bonus gained from the next game I purchase — season tickets anyone?
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