Clash Royale's monetisation and appeal analysed, plus UA Mega Trends and the power of Influencers
If you have yet to play Clash Royale, then you're either trapped down a well somewhere or simply have yet to swept up in the excitement of it all.
You're also probably not a regular reader of our site, as the game has recaptured the attention of our audience, landing both the top and bottom spots of our Hot Five list this week.
First up is editor-in-chief Jon Jordan's piece about why Clash Royale is a game for losers, in the sense that it is an exceptionally enjoyable game even for those who are bad at it.
Job on
Second, we learned about what it takes to get a job at mobile gaming behemoth Gameloft, as well as why it's a good company to work for and some general advice for breaking into the industry.
Thirdly, we look back to Pocket Gamer Connects London 2016, where Eric Seufert gave us his predictions on the megatrends for UA in 2016.
And finally, we learn about why YouTube influencers may be the answer to the UA crisis, and our Monetizer Mavens weigh in on the monetisation of Clash Royale.
Click the link below to find out more about the stories that were interesting our readers last week.
#5: Monetizer Mavens on the simple, sophisticated, genius, and extremely aggressive gacha monetisation (and retention) of Clash Royale
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Monetizer Mavens on the simple, sophisticated, genius, and extremely aggressive gacha monetisation (and retention) of Clash Royale »Like a group of monks sat on top of a mountain somewhere, our Monetizer Mavens don't say much very often, but when they do, it's usually worth listening to.
We hadn't asked their opinion in 2016 until recently, and when we did, we simply had to ask what they thought about the year's biggest release, Clash Royale.
There's a lot to dig into, but Michail Katkoff in particular made the point that "you can play Clash Royale for hours ends and not actually expend any game content."
"This is revolutionary in freemium games, where content is locked behind sessions and sessions have hard stop."
#4: User Acquisition Crisis: YouTube Influencers to the rescue?
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User Acquisition Crisis: YouTube Influencers to the rescue? »If there's one thing that use acquisition experts love to talk about, it's how much the cost of traditional UA routes has increased over the years.
That then leads to talking about what can be done, which is why Polina Haryacha, Sr. Product Marketing Manager at My.com, stopped by to talk about YouTube influencers.
Haryacha writes that YouTube has an enormous reach and a readily available base of high-quality users, and, with the right negotiation, working with the influencers can be much cheaper than traditional advertising.
On the latter topic, Haryacha says, "there is still room for negotiation due to lack of transparent and consistent pricing model in the marketplace."
#3: Eric Seufert predicts the UA mega trends of 2016
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Eric Seufert predicts the UA mega trends of 2016 »Our Pocket Gamer Connects events are always filled with insightful reflections and predictions, and Pocket Gamer Connects London 2016 was no different.
One such predicition came from Eric Seufert, former VP of User Acquisition and Network Engagement at Rovio, who talked about the three mega trends in UA he predicted for 2016.
The first of these trends was the rise of the "second screen", which would allow interactions between mobile devices and more traditional screens, like TVs.
Seufert predicted this growth because of its social applications, which would allow two people watching the same program on the TV to interact with it in different ways.
#2: How to get a job at one of Gameloft's 21 global studios
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How to get a job at one of Gameloft's 21 global studios »Gameloft is a mobile gaming giant, having been around for over 15 years and consistently ranking in our top 50 mobile developers lists.
They're also currently looking to bring more people into the fold, so we decided to ask Romain Delebecque, the company's HR Manager, a few questions on how to get a job at Gameloft.
In particular, we asked what kind of person it's looking for, why Gameloft is such a great place to work at, and what advice Delebecque might have for those looking to break into the industry.
On the latter point, he said that you should "play games, try a variety of them, understand the business behind them and be passionate."
#1: Genius: Why Clash Royale is for losers
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Genius: Why Clash Royale is for losers »Calling a group of people who play a particular game "losers" is never usually a good way to kick-off an article.
But Jon actually raises an interesting point regarding Clash Royale's ability to make itself enjoyable, even to people who aren't particularly good at it and lose regularly.
He argues that battles are actually little more than a coin-toss, and that both players realistically have a chance of winning just by blindly dropping cards onto the battlefield.
"In this respect then, Clash Royale is reminiscent of Candy Crush Saga," he writes. "Almost anyone can play it and rack up some victories, open some chests and win some items."
