Comments on: The death of the portal http://www.gamesbrief.com/2010/07/the-death-of-the-portal/ The Business of Games Wed, 08 Feb 2012 03:35:15 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Nicholas Lovell http://www.gamesbrief.com/2010/07/the-death-of-the-portal/comment-page-1/#comment-9559 Nicholas Lovell Fri, 08 Oct 2010 22:09:00 +0000 http://www.gamesbrief.com/2010/07/the-death-of-the-portal/#comment-9559 I totally agree that ad revenue is unrelieable. Adblockers are not the primary problem: it's the fickle nature of the market. There is a reason that the majority of games on Facebook are funded by virtual goods. That, I think, is the most sustainable business model. I totally agree that ad revenue is unrelieable. Adblockers are not the primary problem: it’s the fickle nature of the market.

There is a reason that the majority of games on Facebook are funded by virtual goods. That, I think, is the most sustainable business model.

]]> By: Nicholas Lovell http://www.gamesbrief.com/2010/07/the-death-of-the-portal/comment-page-1/#comment-9558 Nicholas Lovell Fri, 08 Oct 2010 22:07:00 +0000 http://www.gamesbrief.com/2010/07/the-death-of-the-portal/#comment-9558 Hello Tim, I think that the answer is that you do have to spend money on advertising. This can be within the reach of a small developer. The easiest explanation may be here: http://www.gamesbrief.com/2010/09/why-having-only-1000-users-is-not-a-disaster-for-a-game/ But the core point is that if you have good retention rates, conversion rates and average spend, you can easily afford marketing. I would spend your effort on improving those figures. Acquiring users is the second phase. Hello Tim,

I think that the answer is that you do have to spend money on advertising. This can be within the reach of a small developer.
The easiest explanation may be here: http://www.gamesbrief.com/2010/09/why-having-only-1000-users-is-not-a-disaster-for-a-game/

But the core point is that if you have good retention rates, conversion rates and average spend, you can easily afford marketing.

I would spend your effort on improving those figures. Acquiring users is the second phase.

]]> By: Kenneth Gould http://www.gamesbrief.com/2010/07/the-death-of-the-portal/comment-page-1/#comment-9544 Kenneth Gould Fri, 08 Oct 2010 02:30:00 +0000 http://www.gamesbrief.com/2010/07/the-death-of-the-portal/#comment-9544 I go to Kongregate and see games I want to play right on the front page. I go to Facebook and... hear absolutely nothing about the game. Sure Facebook may offer more revenue back to the developers, but how does the Developer get enough players if getting the game out there will cost them advertising money? Either way, the massive presence of AdBlocking software gets in the way of ad revenue being reliable. Mochi Ads seems to be the only real way to get money from ads from ad-blockers, as much as I despise them. I go to Kongregate and see games I want to play right on the front page. I go to Facebook and… hear absolutely nothing about the game. Sure Facebook may offer more revenue back to the developers, but how does the Developer get enough players if getting the game out there will cost them advertising money?

Either way, the massive presence of AdBlocking software gets in the way of ad revenue being reliable. Mochi Ads seems to be the only real way to get money from ads from ad-blockers, as much as I despise them.

]]> By: 10 Games Businesses That Are Doomed | Kotaku Australia http://www.gamesbrief.com/2010/07/the-death-of-the-portal/comment-page-1/#comment-9534 10 Games Businesses That Are Doomed | Kotaku Australia Thu, 07 Oct 2010 23:22:55 +0000 http://www.gamesbrief.com/2010/07/the-death-of-the-portal/#comment-9534 [...] Miniclip showed shockingly poor timing – these increasingly aggressive negotiations started just as two things emerged that jeopardised it;s very future: Facebook as a rival form of distribution and virtual goods as a better type of revenue than advertising. (You can read more on my views on portals at The death of the portal.) [...] [...] Miniclip showed shockingly poor timing – these increasingly aggressive negotiations started just as two things emerged that jeopardised it;s very future: Facebook as a rival form of distribution and virtual goods as a better type of revenue than advertising. (You can read more on my views on portals at The death of the portal.) [...]

]]> By: Tim http://www.gamesbrief.com/2010/07/the-death-of-the-portal/comment-page-1/#comment-9528 Tim Thu, 07 Oct 2010 20:19:00 +0000 http://www.gamesbrief.com/2010/07/the-death-of-the-portal/#comment-9528 The question I have is how do you attract an audience on FB? As a small developer, I can't afford advertising, and otherwise it sounds like I have to rely on viral-ity of the game to spread it. Wall posts, etc. may help, but it doesn't sound much different that just putting on a website. The question I have is how do you attract an audience on FB? As a small developer, I can’t afford advertising, and otherwise it sounds like I have to rely on viral-ity of the game to spread it. Wall posts, etc. may help, but it doesn’t sound much different that just putting on a website.

]]> By: Otavio Silva http://www.gamesbrief.com/2010/07/the-death-of-the-portal/comment-page-1/#comment-9483 Otavio Silva Wed, 06 Oct 2010 15:46:00 +0000 http://www.gamesbrief.com/2010/07/the-death-of-the-portal/#comment-9483 The only thing that a portal offers better than facebook or any social network is the 0 cost to host your games which can be come quite expensive when publishing your game in FB or Orkut The only thing that a portal offers better than facebook or any social network is the 0 cost to host your games which can be come quite expensive when publishing your game in FB or Orkut

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