Playing to Win: 4 Steps to Surfing the Smartphone Wave with Gameloft

February 23, 2012

Achieving 200 million downloads with its games on the Apple App store was Gameloft’s major accomplishment in 2011. The company is now synonymous with amazing gaming experiences on iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. The success is based on a 10-year experience delivering exciting mobile games.

Gameloft’s success builds on four themes: monetization, mobile commerce, social media and device capabilities.

For the newest Netsize Guide by Gemalto we interviewed Gonzague de Vallois, senior vice president publishing of Gameloft.

1 – Monetize

“Our choice of monetization model also depends heavily on the game play. Some games are more suitable for the premium model: the user pays upfront for the game and is then allowed to play that game forever. The majority of our revenue is coming from the premium model, but this is changing.

Freemium and free-to-play are the upcoming monetization models, driven largely by what is happening on Android Market and the Apple App store. Users buy items depending on the game play. Here we don’t focus on revenues for the short-term; we think about the long-term value of our customers – daily active users. It’s a brand new way of thinking about games.”

2 – Commercialize

“There are different types of commerce: in-game, add-on and around the in-app purchase. To make in-game commerce work you need to have the right billing and make the purchasing experience as smooth as possible. The commerce that is added on to the game is merchandising. When you play the game, you can access a store directly from the game where you can buy toys and t-shirts.

Angry Birds is a well-known example. This commerce helps create brand experiences, where the game is the entry point, and there is commerce around an in-app purchase inside the game.”

3 – Socialize

“Our social strategy is built on two main pillars: community and social gaming. Our community managers in all our main markets use social media to interact with our consumers – getting their feedback, informing them about what we are doing via Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

In addition we have been adding multi-player elements to our games to make them real-time, interactive and engaging.”

4 – Personalize

“Today the two leaders are iOS and Android, so that’s where we have the biggest support, for smartphones as well as tablets. We want to bring the best experience to each device so we don’t just focus on creating games for the platform that represents the lowest common denominator.

Instead, we adapt each game to the potential of each device.”

Read the full interview with Gonzague de Vallois of Gameloft in The Netsize Guide by Gemalto. You can download it here.

Follow Gameloft on twitter: @gameloft


Internet+ mobile: Making payments in the blending worlds of mobile and web

February 14, 2012

If you’re an online merchant chances are high that the changes in how consumers access your site are giving you quite a challenge. Where previously PCs and notebooks were virtually the only means to access your website, nowadays increasingly tablet PCs and smartphones are used to browse and buy goods and services online.

According to the Netsize Guide, there are already 445,000 tablet PCs and 19.7 million smartphones in use in France. Tablets represent some 27.5% of all non-PC web data traffic, smartphones 57.1%, feature phones 5.5%, and other devices such as music players and gaming devices 9.9%. About two thirds (65.1%) is from Apple iPads, iPhones and iPods.

Internet+ mobile: Pay via your ISP

We are only witnessing the start of this trend. As more people begin to use their always-on, always-connected devices to shop, they will need the payment methods that allow them to pay conveniently and securely – especially when they don’t own, can´t or don’t want to use a payment card.

Internet+ mobile in France is a payment method that has been developed by the industry consortium Association Française du Multimédia Mobile (AFMM). Using Internet+ mobile, consumers in France can pay amounts of up to 10 euros using their mobile phone and have it charged to their Internet subscription bill.

Growing 10x the rate of Premium SMS

AFMM recently reported its payment volume numbers over 2011. In the first half of 2011, 54.1 million euros worth of purchases were made using Internet+ mobile. This represents a stunning 54% year-to-year growth. Payments made by SMS+, the premium SMS-based payment method, reached 164 million euros in the same period, but showed only 5.5% growth.

Whereas SMS+ is mainly used for one-time, pay-per-use purchases, Internet+ mobile is very popular for subscription-based payments representing more than 80% of total turnover.

The fast go-to-market

Netsize mPayment enables merchants to use Internet+ mobile as a payment option on web stores and mobile stores.

While SMS+ and Gallery would also be viable, these methods do come with specific constraints and demands to be met. mPayment with Internet+ mobile presents an excellent alternative in the fast moving game and app content market.

mPayment with Internet+ mobile is therefore ideal for any content provider with a direct to consumer (D2C) strategy and wants to launch quickly and effortless in the French market.

Sounds interesting? Contact us and discuss your needs.


Netsize and CityzenCar Simplify Peer-to-peer Car Sharing with Innovative Use of SMS

February 8, 2012

Amsterdam, February 8, 2012 – Netsize, a leading mobile commerce enabler and a Gemalto company (Euronext NL0000400653 GTO), announces that CityzenCar, a peer-to-peer car sharing social network in France, has deployed its SMS-based communication solution to secure and simplify car rental for consumers. CityzenCar enables 12,000 members across 2,000 French cities to rent a vehicle in complete trust and with no commission.

The Netsize SMS communication solution supports the entire rental process, from renter validation to rental notifications, as well as confirming booking details. It works on any handset and is compatible with all wireless networks, guaranteeing 100 percent reach so CityzenCar customers can use the service anywhere, anytime.

Car owners will be notified of each rental request by SMS and if they approve it, the driver will receive a text message on their mobile phone containing details of the car and location. The car owner can then choose to either deliver the keys to the driver in person or authorize CityzenCar to unlock the car doors. This innovative and convenient unlocking system is made possible by the “CityzenBox”, an embedded telematic device that sits within the car.

“We wanted to make it as easy as possible for our customers to interact with each other and make the best use of our service, ” commented Nicolas le Douarec, CEO, CityzenCar, “Netsize’s flexible and highly dependable SMS solution is crucial to ensure the quality of our service.”

“CityzenCar is ahead of the curve in its innovative use of technology to engage with customers. SMS is ideal where mobility is key as customers can be reached while on the move. It is also exceptionally interoperable, providing us with a far wider end-user reach,” said Frédéric Deman, General Manager, Netsize.


Free A2P SMS Messaging in France

February 3, 2012

Free. It’s a short, yet highly powerful word. Free denotes liberty, independence, self-control. At the same time the use of the word can trigger a powerful response, drawing on basic human emotions.

Free is also France’s youngest Internet Service Provider and since a few weeks also its hottest new mobile telco. Launched in 1999, Free started by offering free Internet access, adding telephony and TV services in the years thereafter while continuing to upgrade its network.

Free mobile

This month, Free launched its own mobile network and a subscription model that appeals to the company name.

Using a strategy of very low pricing and an unlimited voice and data bundle, the new operator managed to win almost 2 million subscribers overnight. The number is growing fast – it currently stands at around 3 million.

This already represents 4.5% of the French market, which counts some 66 million subscribers currently according to The Netsize Guide.

Netsize and Free

Netsize messaging solutions are directly integrated with Free. Netsize customers can thus reach Free subscribers and efficiently send Application-to-Person (A2P) SMS messages, reliably and quickly. In addition to using our SMS gateway API, they can also reach the Free network with Netsize mMarketing, our easy-to-use web-based mobile campaign solution.

At present, Free is taking its place at the French mobile operators’ dining table. While the saying goes, “there’s no such thing as a free lunch,” Free seems to prove the opposite. Meanwhile, Netsize focuses on delivering the best solutions for reaching all French subscribers – via messaging as well as operator billing.

Click here to discuss your needs to launch or extend mobile services in France.


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