eMeta Helps Game Sites Build the Subscription Wall

Electronic Gaming Business, Jan 28, 2004

When eMeta talks, fledgling game companies should listen. The company has been providing payment services online for some of the most recognizable content companies: New York Times, Hoovers, Thomson, FT.com, and many others. More to the point, it has seen the fee-based content model evolve over the years online across many brands, and so the company actively consults with its clients about how best to sell consumers on the idea of paying for their Web content. Now, eMeta is looking for game companies who want to explore fee-based models.

So why is this tool for blue blood sites courting games? "We see it as the next market to take off for paid premium content," says Jonathan Lewin, CEO. For years, eMeta has helped NYTimes.com sell its highly successful online crossword puzzle subscription, and Lewin has seen how for many Webizens games are becoming as indispensable as real-time stock quotes. For some online users, games are "almost as important as must-have content," says Lewin.

The patterns of game playing online actually favor fee-based models, eMeta found in its research of the field. "There's definitely identification between game players and their sites," says Lewin. "There's not a lot of jumping all over the place, but they align with a few games and stick with them." This is precisely the kind of brand loyalty an online publisher needs to see in order to entice users to start paying up. Lewin urges gaming portals to increase this loyalty by adding stand-out features and personalization tools that tie a gamer to the site. Some of the companies eMeta is already talking with about establishing fee-based access are casual game sites that offer prize money or high degrees of personalization.

How do you get ready to start charging for online games? Get those users registered with email addresses so you can reach out and touch them later directly when you do start charging. "Marketing comes down to the number of times you can touch the customer," says Lewin. Give them limited access to trial games so they can perceive the value of paying for themselves. "You want a lot of ways people can come for free," he says.

Offer loads of price points and subscription or access structures so that different segments of your audience can find the one that makes the most sense for them. "The perception of getting a deal is very important," says Lewin. Recurring revenue is the goal for an online publisher, so offer a month-to-month subscription price point that is low and attractive but also make sure that the annual rate comes at a noticeable discount.

Personalization is also key to customer retention, which is half the battle, says Lewin. When existing members come into the games site, new games and new site features should be featured prominently so that the subscriber remains aware that the value of his membership is increasing and that he has other games or activities to latch onto when his current addiction wanes.

eMeta has not announced its initial game content partners, which will be made public in the next few months. To encourage smaller Web-based firms to try a fee based model, eMeta is offering its back end order fulfillment services for a low up front cost ($10,000) and 10% of sales. The company is an ASP solution which maintains fulfillment, customer data and billing for the games site. When a customer needs to pay for a download or access, he is pushed to eMeta servers, which are branded to the partner's look and feel. Credit card fees are also passed along to the partner, but Lewin says that game companies "don't need to make a big investment, and the company gets 87% of the revenue." eMeta also manages paid access to sites, so that publishers can deploy multiple subscription models such as tiered access levels or limited-time deals, etc.

Contact: Jonathan Lewin, 212/925-7462

[Copyright 2004 PBI Media, LLC. All rights reserved.]