This would be a population snapshot of a single specific day on a mature game: new players come in, and then there’s a group of hardcore fans that accumulates at the end of the progression.īursts of user acquisition, featurings or discounts temporarily may alter the shape temporarily, but ultimately the older a game is, the more it will tend to look like a U or a J. (Even though, PC building is something growing in popularity, specially among younger audieces). CHALLENGE #2: INCREASE DAILY ACTIVE USERSĮven if PCBS is a paid game, having a big population of highly engaged players means a broader potential market for DLC content (monetizing players further than just the purchase price) and more people speaking about it (fostering more people learning about the game and generating new purchases).įair: Regardless of how much we nerds love it, assembling PCs might not become a mainstream theme ever. And right now, they are already leaving a lot of money on of the table, since their best customers are those that already payed for the game at higher pricepoints. This is great news on the short term, since PCBS still has several big bullets to shoot when it comes to discounts (they recently hit the -50% milestone, which means they still have -75%, -90%…).īut without the ability to successfully monetize further their already existing audience through post-purchase content, PCBS won’t be able to keep on performing on the long run. A classic strategy which apparently has worked very well so far. Sales are boosted by regular discounts of a growing size, exploring every point of the price elasticity curve. So far, most of the revenue of PCBS comes exclusively from the purchase price. In that regard, PCBS faces two main challenges: CHALLENGE #1: POST-PURCHASE MONETIZATION STRATEGY There are several problems with PCBS in terms of tech and core mechanics which might be easier to solve by starting from scratch…īut if they do a sequel, they should plan it in a way that it’s thought as a product that can sustain itself in the market for a long time, rather than a title on a list of sequels. With this I’m not necessarily saying that the developers shouldn’t work on a sequel. The strategy of many sims is to keep products alive for a long time, and monetize further through DLCs. So players would have few incentives to move towards the next product of the line. Contrary to sport franchises, where rosters change every year, in Simulation themes there are few differences over a short span of time like a year. However, I believe making sequential releases is not the way to go on the Simulation genre. Maybe the developers would prefer a shorter lived product so they can release sequels, or even annual releases like FIFA… ARE THERE ALTERNATIVES TO BE A LONG LIVED PRODUCT? But it takes more than that to become a lasting product. With sales estimations well above 1 million, it’s safe to say that PC Building Simulator has reached the status of an indie hit. It doesn’t provide reasons for the player to stay for long.Īs a consequence, the creative direction seems to be putting the focus away from it: Their first major DLC is focused around eSports and puts emphasis on adding a new storyline and several extra game mechanics. But it offers very limited possibilities to generate broader player interest or sustain any monetization at all. This sandbox mode certainly appeals the most enthusiastic fans of PC building. Just enjoying the usage of real components from real brands. PCBS does include a Free Mode where the player can relax by tinkering while disregarding component costs or profitability.
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