Resources

What you need to know about self-publishing

The web is a wonderful fount of information and resources on the world of self-publishing. Here on the GAMESbrief resources page, you can find all the information that you need to get ahead. When I see something that will be useful, I’ll put here. Add anything you think I should add in the comments below.

Glossary of Online Games

Tongue-tied? We have a glossary to help you to get your head around the confusing terms that are rife in the games industry.

Free-to-Play Games Forecasting

If you want to know how to maximise revenue on your online game, you should head straight to GAMESbrief‘s free-to-play games forecasting page and download the spreadsheet.

Demographics

Kabam’s 2011 Social Gaming Research by ISG compares demographics and behaviour for hardcore and casual social gamers.

Raptr’s statistics on Zynga players

PopCap’s 2010 Social Gaming Research, by Information Solutions Group

A treasure trove of information about the age, gender and playing habits of social gamers, showing that social gamers are 55% women and overwhelmingly over 30.

PlaySpan’s Digital Goods Spending Report, by VG Market

Covers demographics, types of virtual good, consumer behaviour and more. My analysis of their report can be found here (2010) and here (2009)

Market size

Global Videogames Investment Review, by Tim Merel, Ibis Capital

In this comprehensive report, the global games industry is broken down by sub-sector: Console, Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO), Casual Online, Mobile, Onling Gambling and Skill based, In-Game Advertising.

Marketing

Designing, Coding and Delivering HTML Email, A beginner’s survival guide from MailChimp.

A readable and useful guide to email marketing from a leading provider.

Website Grader from Hubspot

A free tool to tell you how effective your website is at attracting and converting users.

Slideshare presentation: Transmedia, Gamification, Advergaming and other buzzwords

Billing

A useful introduction to the complexities of online payments: Introduction To Online Payments – It’s A Total Bitch

Finance

For anyone considering raising money, or even just interested in how the venture capital market works, this post from Fred Wilson of Union Square Ventures on What Is A Good Venture Return? is a must read.

For everything you need to know about venture capital and your business, go read the 50 questions series of posts written with Nic Brisbourne of the Equity Kicker.