With all the excitement around Amazon and Apple’s new tablet announcements in September, there was little attention given to Barnes & Noble’s plans for the Nook. There will be two new Nook tablets coming out later this year to compete directly with Apple and Amazon. One, the Nook HD (priced at $199-$299 depending on storage), is a 7-inch tablet that will compete directly with the Kindle Fire HD, Google’s Nexus 7 and the 7 inch iPad that Apple will announce imminently. Barnes & Noble will also have a 9-inch table, the Nook HD+, that directly targets the iPad and Fire HD 8.9 inch. Couple the potential and value of these devices with Microsoft’s major investment in the Nook division earlier this year, and it is apparent you should not ignore the impact of these devices.
The heavy tail of monetization
As I mentioned in an earlier post, I just started the Networked Life course taught by Michael Kearns from the University of Pennsylvania on Coursera. Part of the coursework has been about “heavy tail distribution,” a phenomenon typical in a large-scale network (like Facebook). To summarize, a heavy tail distribution (see image below for an example) means there is a clustering of vertices (users or in the case of Facebook, friends) with a very low number of connections but a long tail of vertices (users) who have a lot of contacts. Thus, in the case of Facebook (or any other typical network) the large majority of users have only a few Friends but there is a long tail of people who have a lot of friends (say over 1,000). These latter people are called “Connectors” in network theory. What is particularly interesting is that this structure, which again is typical of large-scale networks, is effectively the inverse of a traditional bell shape distribution, which would show a few users at the low end, a peak (the top of the bell) and then quickly trail off. The heavy tail is typical of all social networks, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.
What I find interesting is that you find a similar curve in virtually all free-to-play social games when it comes to users’ monetization tendencies. Continue reading “The heavy tail of monetization”
Another Android device loses a lawsuit to Apple
In late August, I wrote about the $1 billion plus jury decision in favor of Apple against Samsung for patent violations. Last week, a German court ruled that Motorola Mobility (which is owned by Google) violated Apple’s “bounce and scroll” patent (the same one that led to Apple’s victory over Samsung in the US). If Apple puts up sufficient bond, the German court will ban the sales of Motorola Android devices and could even force them to recall all devices sold in Germany.
Continue reading “Another Android device loses a lawsuit to Apple”
GREE and DeNA, the real companies to watch in social gaming
I find it interesting that the two largest social game companies, GREE and DeNA, generate virtually no press, while you can’t avoid articles about the third largest social game company, Zynga. I believe that because they are Japanese and not US companies they do not generate the same level of attention, but that is unfortunate. People do not draw conclusions about the viability of the airline industry by looking at Spirit’s performance or determine whether the auto industry is rebounding by analyzing Audi, so why look at the third largest game company when assessing the social game industry? If you are an investor, entrepreneur, engineer, etc., and trying to judge the opportunities in social gaming, it makes sense to benchmark against the biggest and best, and that is DeNA and GREE.
Continue reading “GREE and DeNA, the real companies to watch in social gaming”
The Amazon Maneuver
Over the Summer, Amazon made three moves that when looked at individually are interesting but when reviewed holistically show their plan to dominate the mobile space, which includes social gaming. First, Amazon released Living Classics, a Facebook social game. Then, it announced it had added Epix and NBC Universal content to Amazon prime. Last week, Amazon released details of its new Kindle Fire models. Taken together, these moves suggest Amazon could be as important a partner to social game companies as Apple and Facebook (and more important than Google). Continue reading “The Amazon Maneuver”
Thinking globally
A comment by Ezequiel D’Amico on my post last week about the Apple/Samsung jury verdict highlighted the importance of always thinking globally. Ezequiel pointed out that the decision was relevant only to the United States. Rather than go into details on his specific points (see my reply to the comment), his comment reflects the importance of looking at developments and trends in a global context.
Great books for social game companies
I have hesitated in publishing a “reading list” because often when I see them on other blogs, they are little more than the author’s effort to get some referral income. As many of you know, I do not monetize this blog at all (there is no advertising and I have refused all sponsorship offers) and the links in this post are not tied to any monetization. With that in mind, I wanted to share some books that have made me much more successful and I think will help anyone in the gaming ecosystem (and probably any other business). Given that we all have very limited time, even to read, I have listed the books by how much of an impact they have had for me. Continue reading “Great books for social game companies”
Networked Life course on Coursera
I just signed up for Networked Life #networks, a free @Coursera online class.
Anyone interested in joining me? It sounds quite interesting and might lead to some great conversations on this blog. Join me at https://www.coursera.org/course/networks
Korean version of my Apple/Samsung blog post
Jimmy Lee was nice enough to translate and post my post on Tuesday about the jury verdict against Samsung into Korean. Please click here if you would like to read the Korean version.
What the Apple/Samsung jury verdict means to social game companies
The recent jury verdict recommending Samsung pay Apple $1 billion in damages for violating patents is likely to have a significant effect in the social game space. Although the Apple/Samsung legal battle is likely to continue for years, the jury’s decision shifts the playing field. In my experience, once there is a decision of this magnitude, the loser (in this case Samsung) is so on the defensive it ends up settling much to the favor of the original victor (Apple). The decision will not put Samsung out of business (though a billion dollars is a lot of money for anyone, and theoretically it can suffer a penalty three times that amount) and it really does not matter if Apple has more cash in the bank.
Continue reading “What the Apple/Samsung jury verdict means to social game companies”
The Business of Social Games and Casino 