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How Mobile Gaming Survives On A Few Paying Players

From the moment a consumer encounters one of EA’s 30 or so mobile games, the tech giant is desperately trying to get him or her to spend money. That’s because only 2-3% of mobile gamers actually pay to play -- and spending early is the best indicator of a willingness to spend often -- according to Kady Srinivasan, Senior Director of Player Engagement at EA Mobile.

The goal is to “get them to go into a conversion cycle,” Srinivasan told attendees of MediaPost’s Cross-Channel Marketing Insider Summit, on Friday. It’s “important to get them to spend as early as possible.”

The trick is encouraging payment early, and offering the right incentives to do so, Srinivasan said.

Once consumers show a willingness to play the pay game, EA hits those select users (suckers?) harder than ever with cash solicitations. “Want we them to continue to spend more,” according to Srinivasan.

Of course, the vast majority of mobile gamers know better than to fall into the pay trap. Yet, that doesn’t mean they’re useless to EA and other game makers.

“If you don’t spend, we try to get you to try something else,” Srinivasan said. Some users, for instance, can be convinced to invite their Facebook “friends” to come play, or somehow help generate online buzz for an EA property.

The big problem, as Srinivasan admits, is player retention. “We have a huge problem with retention.”

The only effective way to get players to keep coming back is to come up with new content, which, she said, forces EA to spend a ton of money on content acquisition.

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