It’s getting a lot more expensive getting your game noticed by buying users.
Above: Christine Tao of Tapjoy
But in the free-to-play world, growing a large audience for your game is only half the battle. How you monetize those users and provide them with deep engagement opportunities is where the rubber meets the road and determines what apps stand out from the crowd.
We’ll talk about this at our GamesBeat 2013 conference on Oct. 29-Oct. 30 at the Sofitel Hotel in Redwood City, Calif., in a session entitled “How to monetize: Offsetting the cost of user acquisition with deeper engagement.” During this session, we’ll discuss the challenges, opportunities, and best practices for monetizing your apps and take a look at what’s next for the free-to-play model.
Panelists
Christine Tao (pictured), senior vice president of developer relations, Tapjoy
Michael Oiknine, chief executive officer, Apsalar
Keela Robison, vice president, GameHouse
Hugh Reynolds, CEO, Swrve
Moderator
Cliff Edwards, writer, Bloomberg Businessweek
Our theme for the conference is the “Battle Royal,” where all companies compete across platforms, territories, digital and physical markets, and categories of games.
We’ve entered an era where many firms are vying for gamers’ time in the same space. Apple and Google want to get in the living room and are waging war against Nintendo and Sony. Microsoft already has an edge in living room entertainment with its Xbox Live service, but it wants a piece of mobile as well. It’s a confusing time for gamemakers. Where should they take their titles? Which platforms will provide the best experiences? Who will make them the most money?
Above: Battle Royal is GamesBeat 2013’s theme
We’ll roll out a steady drumbeat of speakers as we get closer to GamesBeat 2013′s October date. We expect to have more than 80 of the gaming industry’s best lined up for our fifth annual event.
Each year, GamesBeat follows a big trend. In 2009, we focused on how “All The World’s a Game,” with the explosion of games on the global stage. In 2010, GamesBeat@GDC focused on “Disruption 2.0.” In 2011, our theme was “Mobile Games Level Up,” investigating the busy intersection of games and mobile technology. In 2012, we explored “The Crossover Era,” the time when so many big game companies and startups were transforming themselves by expanding from one market to the next. Our judges, meanwhile, are already busy picking the finalists in the Who’s Got Game Innovation Showdown for the best game startup.
As companies adapt to change, we’re witnessing disruption, adaptation, consolidation, innovation, and the arrival of big money. We’re talking billions of dollars that are at stake. We’re expecting 400 notables from throughout the game industry — social, mobile, online, and console. Please join us.
Thanks to the following industry leaders for supporting GamesBeat 2013 as sponsors: Ad2Games, AppLift, GamesAnalytics, NativeX, Renren Games, and Tapjoy as Gold Sponsors; Flurry, GameHouse, Kontagent, Playnomics, Storm8, and LifeStreet Media as Silver Sponsors; AppFlood, Twitch and Slashdot as Event Sponsors; Akamon Entertainment, Arkadium, OnLive and Virtuix as contributing sponsors. If you’d like to become a sponsor, please send a message to sponsors@venturebeat.com.