Ed: We’ve mentioned Trip’s trip many times before here…social gaming. Anyway, our European contributor Peggy Anne Salz spoke to Trip Hawkins, founder & CEO of Digital Chocolate, at the recently concluded MEM conference in London.
[by Peggy Anne Salz] Digital Chocolate is gearing up to release a few titles that cleverly combine avatar role play and the user’s personal desire for a fulfilling social life. One title to watch for: The Hook Up: AvaFlirting.
The aim is to deliver users addictive gameplay — while boosting data revenues for the operators. As Hawkins described it, the game will mirror real life, allowing users to create their own avatars, date other avatars and generally lead a full life on the mobile Internet. More importantly, these avatars — which Hawkins refers to as “grown-up tamagotchis” – will also demand users’ time and attention. They will want fun, luxury and lots of flirting — pursuits that will force users to become more involved in the game and more integrated in the social community it creates.
Spin aside, the concept merits a second look. For one, it will likely drive the subscription model forward (and the industry agrees that is the end-game). Hawkins is betting users will become hooked, yield to the demands of their alter-ego avatars and cough up a monthly subscription fee somewhere in the region of Euro 5- Euro6 per month (can’t say for sure until the launch). Moreover, the viral “referral” marketing aspect of the game- which will allow users to promote the game to their friends via an SMS that contains a link– will close the virtuous cycle and add more paying subscribers once the free trial period is up.
Hawkins also told me Digital Chocolate also holds some patents that will allow it to introduce “packets of digital characters that are different assets in different applications.” In one scenario the characters could be the key to unlock an exclusive ringtone for that user’s ears only, in another scenario that character could be a cool fashion item that lets the avatar stand out from the crowd. (A concept similar to Habbohotel, where online users collect points to trade them in for exclusive Furni [furniture] to spruce up their virtual environment.)
Social app games like this one are on to something BIG. They play to our own urges to socialize and show off. Up to now mobile personalization has been pre-fab. We can all download pretty much the same content, so the thrill is gone. But games like this make mobile content hard to get. Finally, there’s a new motivation to play and buy — and content as mundane as a ringtone or a logo could rise from nice-to-have to must-have. If Hawkins is right, and we’ll see this summer, then social apps could be the next killer app.
You can download the audio of the interview here (9.3 MB MB, 41 mins).
Or you can stream it here … click on the arrow:
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