An element that emerges from Bain's analysis is the growing diffusion of the direct-to-consumer sales model through proprietary web stores, which today covers almost half of buyers, thanks to personalized offers. However, creating a successful video game is more difficult than in the past: many producers have failed to obtain the desired results despite having the necessary skills and having made correct choices. The risk of failure also depends on the lack of ability to question the right audience. "The main problem arises from the attempt to please everyone. The average gamer no longer exists: tastes have become extremely diversified and fragmented into groups that are also looking for very different experiences", says Antonio Travaglini, senior partner telecommunications, media & technology and global head of gaming at Bain & Company.
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Spending is concentrated in a narrow and easily identifiable range of gamers. One in four prefers story-driven video games, developed by major production companies, while 22% prefer 'sandbox' games, which favor freedom and exploration and are enriched by content created by the players themselves. 20% declare themselves indifferent or choose what to play based on their mood. Only 15% prefer multiplayer games, while the remaining 17% suggest games of various types and categories.
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Two out of three players want new productions, but ones that are close to what they are already familiar with: the sequel to a franchise they love, a game similar to their favorite titles. Only one player in five is looking for something really different and distant from what they are already used to playing. “The rapid growth of the offer has not dispersed the players, but rather concentrated them,” says Mauro Colopi, senior partner and Italian head of telecommunications, media & technology at Bain & Company. "Today gamers, especially younger ones, dedicate their time to a much smaller number of titles than in the past. Over the last five years, the most popular live-service platform games have become the center of gravity of the entire gaming ecosystem."
As anticipated, in general, the 20% of players who spend the most represent almost three-quarters of the overall spending, while the 20% of the most active players account for almost 60% of the total time spent playing. Spending therefore remains in a portion of the market characterized by a high level of involvement and follows an equally uneven distribution. The younger audience is above all driving spending: approximately 86% of teenage gamers in the 13 to 17 age group make gaming-related purchases at least once a month, a propensity to spend that progressively decreases with age. A third of these want open experiences based on user-generated content, while the percentage stands at 15% or less among gamers aged 50 and over.
"The generation that today drives spending in video gaming - comments Travaglini - is the same one that is approaching real money gaming, where more than 85% of players between 18 and 25 are also video gamers. They are players who grew up with digital, who bring with them expectations developed in the world of video games and expect equally engaging and personalized experiences".
Real money gaming effectively responds to the aforementioned need for greater customization of the gaming experience. The majority of gamers, says Travaglini, "declare themselves comfortable with the possibility of receiving personalized offers based on their gaming activity. In real money gaming this dynamic is already demonstrated and the most involved players show double the engagement towards personalized offers compared to generic ones. In the coming years, therefore, this will be the real competitive advantage. Those who know how to best interpret this trend will gain a solid connection with gamers and increase their loyalty".
Nearly half of gamers surveyed have purchased virtual currency, items or in-game content directly from a developer's web store in the last 12 months, while 27% have done so multiple times. Again in the 13 to 17 age group, 40% have made more direct purchases in the last year, emerges from the analysis. Among those who have already made multiple direct purchases in the last 12 months, 84% say that a personalized offer from a frequently played game would increase the likelihood of purchasing directly. It is therefore not the discount alone that changes behavior, but the specific and careful knowledge of one's consumer.
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