Radar chart: Toys/games, Questing and Mirror Worlds
Last week we released the Q1 2012 Radar chart showing VWs and MMos by genre and operational stage. Here’s another segment from the Radar showing Toys/Games, Questing and Mirror Worlds.
Brands are increasingly looking towards ‘Connected Play’ as a tool to link on and off line activities. The toys/games sector shows companies either already operational in the market or about to enter. The most recent entrant into this genre is KZero client Ubisoft with their Imagine Town MMO.
You can order the high-res full Radar report here and we’ve also got a Slideshare presentation.
Q1 2012 Radar chart Slideshare presentation
Radar chart for Q1 2012
Here we go folks, we’re delighted to announce that we’ve updated the Radar chart based on Q1 2012 data, sponsored by vWoGo.
The KZero Radar chart tracks virtual worlds and kids MMOs by genre and operational status (live, closed beta or closed). As ever, it’s a busy chart due to continued signs of strong growth in the sector.
Shown below is the segment covering education/development, fashion/lifestyle and music. The educational sector in particular is extremely hot right now both in terms of new entrants prepping for launch, existing worlds expanding their user bases and importantly, improved monetization both in terms of paying user conversions and ARPPU’s.
The full Radar chart can be ordered here.
Slideshare presentation of KZero Radar chart Q2 2011
KZero Radar chart Q2 2011
Hot off the heels of our updated Universe chart, we’ve just released the updated Radar chart for the same period (you can order the Q2 Radar here). The Radar chart shows virtual worlds by category and stage of development. Here’s one of the segments showing Education,/Learning, Fashion/Lifestyle and Music.
Major developments this quarter (and year)….. Education and Brands/IP are leading the charge in terms of new worlds in development. Continue reading “KZero Radar chart Q2 2011” »
Slideshare Radar presentation
Educational worlds in the Radar
Here’s some videos of some of the virtual worlds shown in the latest Radar chart.
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Q1 2011 Radar chart: Music, Fashion and Education
Here’s the next segment of the Q1 2011 virtual worlds Radar chart. This one shows live and in-development worlds in the education/learning, music and fashion categories. The first segment is here and includes existing IP’s/brands, sports and content creation.
In the educational space new platforms continue to come to market as companies are attempting to ‘crack the nut’ of learning in virtual environments. The balance trying to be achieved is between fun and learning. Of course, the last thing kids and tweens want to do once they’re out of school is be taught at so it’s all about creating engaging learning-based activities and games. Knowledge Adventure has actively pursued this strategy and are doing well with their first property – Jumpstart. And, their second world, Math Blaster has just entered the market. Another company, Baobab Planet from Spain are a new entrant to the sector and one to watch.
The music sector is also doing well with established properties continuing to grow and some interesting new concepts coming to market. This segment is explored and assessed in the new KZero report, Virtual Worlds: 2011 and Beyond. This report is currently being offered exclusively to attendees of the upcoming Engage! Expo and will be available for download from our report section in about a month. The full Radar chart can be ordered here.
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Q1 2011 Radar chart: Existing brands, sports and content creation
After a short hiatus the Radar chart is back with a bang for 2011. The first segment is shown below and contain live and in-development virtual worlds. This part of the Radar shows worlds based on sports, existing brands/IP’s (books, movies and TV mainly) and content creation.
The sector for existing IP’s being turned into virtual worlds is the hot-spot for 2011. New entrants and in-development projects are mainly based on existing brands with a heritage, i.e. they are well-known established properties such as Dorothy of Oz, The Ministry of Silly Games (Monty Python), Star Trek, Tom and Jerry and Back to the Future. These are properties with existing fan-bases, therefore providing major opportunities to leverage the incumbent awareness into active users.
The full Radar chart can be ordered here.
KZero services:
Q2 Radar Slideshare Presentation
The full Radar Chart report and presentation can be ordered (for free) here.
KZero services:
Q2 Radar: Brands and Learning dominate new entrants into virtual worlds sector
We’ve updated our Radar Charts for Q2 2010. These charts show both existing virtual worlds and platforms in development (closed beta). This time we’ve included MMOs into the Radar charts and we’ll be building out this list over time.
As a whole, the virtual worlds and MMO marketplace is changing quite dramatically. Whereas 12 months ago a concept we called ‘Chasing the Penguin’ was the main thrust of activity. This related to completely new companies setting up shop funded on the basis and excitement caused by the Disney acquisition of Club Penguin. This led to a massive influx (60+ new worlds) entering the marketplace going after the lucrative kids and tween sectors.
Of course, there’s only so much time kids have available and only so many times these kids can convince their parents to part with their hard-earned cash – we’re seeing casualties now.
As our last post explained, the virtual world and MMO marketplace is now shifting to being brand dominated as companies with existing customers, channels and operations see the value in sliding the brands and offerings into immersive environments.
The uplift in new platforms being developed as a result of these brands can be seen in the Radar segment shown below.
The other key segment seeing increased activity from new entrants is Education and Learning with a wide range of companies across many different educational areas developing their offerings. Continue reading “Q2 Radar: Brands and Learning dominate new entrants into virtual worlds sector” »
(In and) Out of their World – How Brands are Moving Across Platforms
We’ve highlighted many times the opportunities presented to brands within the virtual world and MMO category, primarily from engagement and monetisation perspectives. Linked to this is another trend we identified of leveraging different platforms to synergise brands. This is a post about how these trends are rapidly transforming and driving the sector.
Real world brands having virtual worlds is not a new concept. Barbie Girls and Webkinz were early pioneers of this strategy, amassing multi-million user bases in short periods – and importantly, in most cases much faster than ‘pureplay’ virtual worlds which at present make up the bulk of the sector.
We’ve just updated our Radar charts showing existing and new worlds and MMOs by genre. Related to this, we thought you’d be interested in seeing how brands are moving across different platforms. This is shown in the diagram below (which we’ll be updating on an ongoing basis).
We’ve placed five different channels (TV, Movies, Toys/Games, Consoles and Books) around the virtual world platform. From here we’ve shown how a brand has moved from one of these channels into virtual worlds. For example, BuildaBear started life as a toy retail operation and then augmented their virtual world proposition, BuildaBearVille. Kung Fu Panda similarly created a MMO off the back of the movie – so on and so forth. Continue reading “(In and) Out of their World – How Brands are Moving Across Platforms” »
Radar chart Q1: Sports, TV/film/books and content creation
Here’s the second segment from our updated Radar chart for Q1, 2010. The first segment is here and the full report can be order from here.
Updated Radar charts for Q1 2010
Here we go folks, our updated Radar charts for Q1 2010. On an overall basis we’re seeing a shift from ‘Chasing the Penguin’ and now we’re seeing efforts in the following areas:
1. Learning and education. Expect a growing number of virtual worlds entering the marketplace focusing on various elements of learning, education and self-development. These are focused around the eight to 12 year old segment.
2. Real-world IP: We’ve discussed this particular segment in length for a long time. This relates to existing popular brands creating virtual worlds to accompany movies, toys, TV and other IP-led properties.
Here’s the first segment (Education/Learning, Fashion/Lifestyle and Music). The full report can be ordered here.
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Universe and Radar presentation
Here’s a Slideshare presentation containing our Q4 2009 Universe and Radar analysis.
Radar chart: Toys/games, fantasy and mirror worlds
Following on from our Universe chart posts for Q4 2009, we’re delighted to release the Radar charts. These charts show, be genre, virtual worlds either live or in development. The chart below shows three segments, Toys/real world games, fantasy/questing and mirror worlds.
For the Toys and real world games segment, we’re expecting a lot of movement. Mattel has lead this segment with Barbie Girls and we’re now seeing Hasbro/EA move into the market with the Littlest Pet Shop Online (LPOS) and Ubisoft with Imagine, launching shortly (Shameless plug alert – both are KZero consulting clients). And let’s not forget about Lego Universe. Continue reading “Radar chart: Toys/games, fantasy and mirror worlds” »
Q4 2009 Radar chart: Music, Fashion and Education/Development
Throughout 2009 and certainly for the majority of 2008, almost all the focus in the KT&T virtual worlds space was in casual gaming and socialising.
Now, we’re seeing a different trend, with worlds catering towards education and development being the hotspot in terms of upcoming worlds.
The chart below shows Education/Development, Fashion/Lifestyle and Music.
You can order the full report analysing growth in the virtual worlds sector here. Our report, Virtual Worlds 2010+ details the major drivers for growth in these categories. Continue reading “Q4 2009 Radar chart: Music, Fashion and Education/Development” »