What makes Slot Games popular and most monetizable genre in Web or Mobile Gaming?
First, Slot Games are Fast-Fun play. It needs very minimal user effort but provides various combinations of outcomes. The game mechanics simply manipulates gamers’ anticipatory sensations. Have you noticed, just as the user wants to give up, the game rewards just enough, to make sure the user keeps playing.
This type of game mechanic makes Slot games ideal money-making machines. They have the best in-app-purchase conversion in the gaming industry, ~6%. Slot Games also have an amazing potential for Rewarded Video Ad Monetization.
Rewarded video ads provide the best monetization option, especially to monetize non-paying userbase.
According to some researches, Reward Video Ads help increase user retention. If you have a Slot Game and haven’t yet integrated Reward Video Ads, you are missing out.
In this post, I will take a deeper look at the practices and strategies Slot Game Developers use to implement Reward Video Ads. As in everything in life, success in no straight line and there is no One-Size-Fits-All. But by looking at some of the smart Reward Video Ad implementations, you can increase your chances of getting a better Return on your investment.
Your Reward Video Ad implementation needs to be smooth and help increase user retention. You don’t want your users to rage-quit or uninstall the game after the first few video ads you throw at them.
My team has gone through some of the popular recent slot games and we’ve found some general best practices when it comes to video ad implementation.
Hot Vegas Slots –
This slot game has it all. It has more than million downloads from both Google Playstore and iTunes, and it also has quite a high rating. Once installed, you get quite an amount of free credits to spend, and there is a large variety of different types of slot machines. The thing you don’t get to see right away is video advertising. You can play the game for quite a while before you ever get to see the first video add, and that one comes as an opt-in video ad. So basically, the video ads in this slot game provide you with the possibility to multiply your winnings or to get a general multiplier for either your credits or your free turns. With such a noninvasive approach most of the players would gladly go through the full video ad.
Once installed, you get quite an amount of free credits to spend, and there is a large variety of different types of slot machines. The game is packed with really great graphics and animations, and the choice of different slot games available is amazing.
The general feel of this game is that it was done with great care for detail, but also with the players in mind. The “luck factor” is also significant, so you don’t get to simply lose all your credits in few spins, so it can really be engaging.
The thing you don’t get to see right away is video advertising. You can play the game for quite a while before you ever get to see the first video Ad, and that one comes as an opt-in video ad. So basically, the video ads in this slot game provide you with the possibility to multiply your winnings or to get a general multiplier for either your credits or your free turns. With such a noninvasive approach most of the players would gladly go through the full video ad. Seemingly, you get these opt-in video ads only when you score a higher bonus, but sometimes they are suggested on the small wins as well, giving you the opportunity to extend your gameplay.
The developers thought about everything when they started making this slot game. They thought about game’s appeal, adaptiveness and approach. They seemingly leave all the choices for the players, making them feel more in control of the gameplay, and with this approach, players get more involved and immersed in the game itself.
Epic Jackpot Slots –
This game is fairly similar to the previous one, with the opportunity to use video ads so you can get multiple free spins. These free spins usually help you generate more credits, so you can play for even longer periods of time. This game is basically the reskin version of Hot Vegas Slots, but that didn’t stop it from having an amazing rating and also more than a million downloads.
This game also has different slot game packs within, and they are all quite original and greatly combined. Players get to pick different types of slots, from visual appeal to core mechanics. From mega-jackpot slots with multiple columns to classic 3 wheel slots, this game has it all.
The choice of themes and general art style in this game is also top notch, as players can really get drawn into this game based on its art style. Also, the possibility of scoring a very large jackpot, which (like in real-life casinos) is constantly growing is something that will push the players to keep playing.
Another amazing thing developers thought of, other than implementing opt-in video rewards which can extend your gameplay or help you earn more credits via free spins, is how they thought of the ranking system. As you gain levels and advance in the gameplay, you get other options too. And the thing that makes it even more fun is that once you pass a certain level, you get to play for the biggest jackpots with quite a lot of other players.
Magic Wonderland Slot Machines –
This one is a bit different from previous two casual slot games. It is the slot game, but it has its own charming graphics and mechanics, and it feels different from previous ones. It has more than 500 thousand downloads with the average rating around 4.5. What these developers had in mind was not to interrupt their players during the gameplay. Their solution for video ad implementation works like a charm. Once you lose all your credits, you have the possibility to watch a video ad to get a few credits needed to continue playing.
Even though this is a great way to get players to watch video ads, it can seem a bit limiting, as some of their users have stated. Most of the players would see this as a great opportunity to try and get their “lucky streak” back on, but there are those that think that this way developers are forcing them to watch the video. However – the choice is still on the players whether they’ll decide to watch the video or wait for the next bonus.
This one is a bit different from previous two casual slot games. It is the slot game, but it has its own charming graphics and mechanics, and it feels different from previous ones. It has more than 500 thousand downloads with the average rating around 4.5. What these developers had in mind was not to interrupt their players during the gameplay. Their solution for video ad implementation works like a charm. Once you lose all your credits, you have the possibility to watch a video ad to get a few credits needed to continue playing. This proved quite useful to the developers, as they have stated that their eCPM flourished after they developed the proper video ads implementation strategy.
This game also has different slot game packs within, and they are all quite original and greatly combined. Players get to pick different types of slots, from visual appeal to core mechanics. From mega-jackpot slots with multiple columns to classic 3 wheel slots, this game has it all.
The choice of themes and general art style in this game is also top notch, as players can really get drawn into this game based on its art style. Also, the possibility of scoring a very large jackpot, which (like in real-life casinos) is constantly growing is something that will push the players to keep playing.
Another amazing thing developers thought of, other than implementing opt-in video rewards which can extend your gameplay or help you earn more credits via free spins, is how they thought of the ranking system. As you gain levels and advance in the gameplay, you get other options too. And the thing that makes it even more fun is that once you pass a certain level, you get to play for the biggest jackpots with quite a lot of other players.
Few things to consider when designing Reward Video Insertion Points
How Often do you allow user to see Ads per day
The way Video Ads Work, the first 5 impressions per user/day get the best CPM. After the first 5 impressions, the CPM does decline, hence the potential to generate higher revenue declines with every Video watch – Law of Diminishing Return. So be mindful of this inverse relationships and focus on 5 – 10 video Ad watching opportunities per day with 30 minutes interval between to Ads.
Inability to maintain a stable value of Virtual Currency:
The fact is no two ads will pay the same eCPM. It gets worse when you factor geography. eCPM for Video Ads in the US is around $10 while it is around $2 in Indonesia. This means game players in Indonesia will get the same virtual coin for 20% of what the US player pays for.
To conclude, monetization is a fine art; it’s not only $$$. While it is wise to implement reward Ad monetization in your Slot Game, if not done right, it can easily kill your game. Make sure you think of the Reward Video Ad insertion points, Frequency of viewing, Reward currency and overall fitness to the game. Luckily, Slot games have all the right game mechanics to implment a highly rewarding Video Ad monetization tool. For more information on how to implment Reward video Ads, reach out to us – www.applixir.com
AppLixir is a Reward Video Ad Platform
