Here's a interesting Social Gaming Summit 2009 panel discussion on player acquisition and retention for social games -
The panelists made several interesting remarks about acquiring and retaining social game players -
1. Facebook is a more superior platform for both acquiring and retaining users. Facebook gives game developers more mechanisms for viral growth and Facebook's international user base is more receptive to game invites. Moreover, Facebook users don't uninstall apps as they are hidden away, whereas MySpace users churn more quickly as apps show up on their profile pages.
2. While Facebook and MySpace platforms are mature enough for game developers to build businesses on top of them, developers will be wise to distribute games across platforms and invest in a destination site to aid discovery and create a customized game experience.
3. Increasingly, retaining users (DAU/ MAU), keeping them engaged and monetizing them is becoming more important in social gaming than acquiring users via CPA ads or viral invites. So, developers should balance fun gameplay with viral game mechanics.
I also found Tagged's approach to social gaming very interesting. CEO Greg Tseng explained that Tagged is aiming to become the social network for discovering people around social gaming and dating. However, Tagged isn't trying to become an open social gaming platform like Hi5. Instead, it's developing its own games (like Pets and Farm) and striking exclusive deals with game developers like Zynga (for Poker and the now discontinued Mafia Wars and YoVille) and Crowdstar (for Happy Aquarium) to distribute their games.
During the panel, Tseng mentioned that Tagged will also start developing games for the Facebook and mobile platforms. Since then, Tagged has done lightweight sign-up integration with Facebook, MySpace and Twitter, and released an iPhone app. It seems that Tagged is also adding a music and entertainment focus, with recent tie ups with Nas and Damian Marley and Bon Jovi for premiering their songs on the network.
Tagged has 80 million registered users, but its monthly unique visitors has dropped from more than 9 million last year to about 4 million now according to Compete (Tagged has 0.8 million unique users in India as per Vizisense). So, it seems that its social gaming play isn't really working.
As Facebook transforms itself from a social network to a social platform, second tier social networks like Hi5 and Tagged are turning to social gaming to define a niche for themselves. While Hi5 is positioning itself as an alternative to Facebook as an open gaming platform, Tagged is now trying to become a game developer itself.
I think there's a play for smaller social networks like Tagged to create a compelling offering around a combination of social gaming, social entertainment and social commerce and build on top of the Facebook and iPhone/ Android platforms. However, to realize this vision, these social networks will have to create innovative games that bridge gaming, entertainment and commerce - Booyah's Nightclub City comes closest so far - instead of creating Farmville clones.
What do you think? What should second tier social networks like Tagged and India's Ibibo do? Do share your thoughts in the comments below.