Social Games on Facebook: Worth It?

slides & audio(39 MB)

So-called social games have taken the world by storm, spurred on by the success of games on Facebook. This panel is an analysis of social gaming on Facebook and the future of casual games in the age of social networking. Presented from a business perspective, the session explores what the Facebook platform offers to game developers and how the industry can adapt to take advantage of applications on social networks.

Delivered at Casual Connect Seattle, July 2008

DOWNLOAD

Arseny Lebedev (email)

Arseny Lebedev was born in Moscow, Russia and immigrated to the United States in the early ’90s. He resides in Hoboken, New Jersey where he is majoring in Business and Technology at the Stevens Institute of Technology. His most favorite games are old point and click adventures. His favorite casual game genres include hidden object and tower defense. A long time fan of gaming but a newcomer to the casual games industry, he has embraced its new lifestyle and challenges. Arseny works in marketing and business development at Large Animal Games in New York City. He can be reached at arseny@largeanimal.com.

Kate Connally (email)

Kate Connally is the Vice President of the AddictingGames business at MTV Networks. With over twenty million visitors a month, AddictingGames.com is the largest youth-oriented online game site in the United States. Prior to her role with AG, Kate launched and lead product marketing for Shockwave.com’s downloadable games business and also managed business development for its parent company, Atom Entertainment. Prior to Atom, Kate was an associate at Advent International, a private equity firm, from 1996 to 1998 and an analyst at Volpe, Welty and Co., a boutique investment bank from 1994 to 1996. She has an A.B. degree with honors from Princeton University.

Jason Loia (email)

Jason Loia is COO of Digital Chocolate, the leading publisher of the world’s most critically-acclaimed mobile games with distribution to over 200 operators and partners worldwide. Launched and led by legendary founder of Electronic Arts, Trip Hawkins, Digital Chocolate is best known for their dedication to developing unique and innovative content for mobile, the highest game quality ratings in the industry, and their leadership in social-gaming. Before joining Digital Chocolate, Jason served as VP of Production at Lavastorm, where he helped ship over 40 mobile titles including the first-ever J2ME and BREW titles on U.S. carriers. Jason holds an MSEE from Stanford and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Don Ryan (email)

Don is Chief Operating Officer for Oberon Media, overseeing Oberon’s global publishing, product strategy and professional services, content services and Eastern European operations.

Prior to joining Oberon, Don was GM, Microsoft Game Studios overseeing MSN Games, Messenger Games and was one of the creators behind Xbox Live Arcade. Don was also a director of the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences, overseeing the publication of hundreds of downloadable games under the Microsoft Casual Games label.

One of the key visionaries behind Microsoft’s cross-platform casual-games strategy, Don is widely credited with bringing casual games to the masses and establishing the strong foothold that those products now have in the entertainment software industry.

Jake Freeman (email)

Jake is responsible for marketing and business initiatives at Fantasy Moguls, a Seattle company integrating fantasy games and sports content with social networks. Since joining Fantasy Moguls in early 2007, Jake has managed the company’s marketing partnerships, advertising business and licensing, helping Moguls establish a community of highly-engaged gaming and sports enthusiasts across multiple platforms. Jake joined Fantasy Moguls from m-Qube, where as Director of Carrier Relations he managed mobile content distribution and marketing relationships with North American carriers before and after the company’s acquisition by VeriSign. Previously, Jake served in various product management and marketing roles at Cingular Wireless and with online properties including ESPN.com.

HOME \| LECTURES & ARTICLES \| BUSINESS OF PLATFORMS \| Social Games on Facebook: Worth It? slides & audio(39 MB) So-called social games have taken the world by storm, spurred on by the success of games on Facebook. This panel is an analysis of social gaming on Facebook and the future of casual games in the age of social networking. Presented from a business perspective, the session explores what the Facebook platform offers to game developers and how the industry can adapt to take advantage of applications on social networks. Delivered at Casual Connect Seattle, July 2008 DOWNLOAD Arseny Lebedev (email) Arseny Lebedev was born in Moscow, Russia and immigrated to the United States in the early ’90s. He resides in Hoboken, New Jersey where he is majoring in Business and Technology at the Stevens Institute of Technology. His most favorite games are old point and click adventures. His favorite casual game genres include hidden object and tower defense. A long time fan of gaming but a newcomer to the casual games industry, he has embraced its new lifestyle and challenges. Arseny works in marketing and business development at Large Animal Games in New York City. He can be reached at arseny@largeanimal.com. Kate Connally (email) Kate Connally is the Vice President of the AddictingGames business at MTV Networks. With over twenty million visitors a month, AddictingGames.com is the largest youth-oriented online game site in the United States. Prior to her role with AG, Kate launched and lead product marketing for Shockwave.com’s downloadable games business and also managed business development for its parent company, Atom Entertainment. Prior to Atom, Kate was an associate at Advent International, a private equity firm, from 1996 to 1998 and an analyst at Volpe, Welty and Co., a boutique investment bank from 1994 to 1996. She has an A.B. degree with honors from Princeton University. Jason Loia (email) Jason Loia is COO of Digital Chocolate, the leading publisher of the world’s most critically-acclaimed mobile games with distribution to over 200 operators and partners worldwide. Launched and led by legendary founder of Electronic Arts, Trip Hawkins, Digital Chocolate is best known for their dedication to developing unique and innovative content for mobile, the highest game quality ratings in the industry, and their leadership in social-gaming. Before joining Digital Chocolate, Jason served as VP of Production at Lavastorm, where he helped ship over 40 mobile titles including the first-ever J2ME and BREW titles on U.S. carriers. Jason holds an MSEE from Stanford and an MBA from Harvard Business School. Don Ryan (email) Don is Chief Operating Officer for Oberon Media, overseeing Oberon’s global publishing, product strategy and professional services, content services and Eastern European operations. Prior to joining Oberon, Don was GM, Microsoft Game Studios overseeing MSN Games, Messenger Games and was one of the creators behind Xbox Live Arcade. Don was also a director of the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences, overseeing the publication of hundreds of downloadable games under the Microsoft Casual Games label. One of the key visionaries behind Microsoft’s cross-platform casual-games strategy, Don is widely credited with bringing casual games to the masses and establishing the strong foothold that those products now have in the entertainment software industry. Jake Freeman (email) Jake is responsible for marketing and business initiatives at Fantasy Moguls, a Seattle company integrating fantasy games and sports content with social networks. Since joining Fantasy Moguls in early 2007, Jake has managed the company’s marketing partnerships, advertising business and licensing, helping Moguls establish a community of highly-engaged gaming and sports enthusiasts across multiple platforms. Jake joined Fantasy Moguls from m-Qube, where as Director of Carrier Relations he managed mobile content distribution and marketing relationships with North American carriers before and after the company’s acquisition by VeriSign. Previously, Jake served in various product management and marketing roles at Cingular Wireless and with online properties including ESPN.com.