Super Apps Part II: The Gaming Revolution - Redefining Interactive Entertainment
From Puny Pixels to Superpowers - Unveiling the Evolution of Gaming Ecosystems and the Rise of Gaming Super Apps
INTRODUCTION
A crisp click of the ‘power’ button. A low humming of electricity. The screen lights up with two letters in full vibrant colors of fire red, sunflower yellow and teal blue. The voice whispers: PlayStation. I remember when I brought my PlayStation One home. Never would I imagine that this grey dull boxy looking device is a portal into a thousand dimensions portrayed in pixels.
The first world I landed on was Final Fantasy, specifically in a game called Chocobo Racing. My friend and I would race each other on Chocobo Farm until our digital tires or thumb strength wore out. Though as much fun as we had, the moment the game is turned off it’s over. Fun finished. Reality returned.
But Gaming has changed. Today the definition of play has expanded. There are numerous layers stacked atop a game. The immersion is not interrupted when I power down the game. From simple supporting services like walk-through guides to complex massive multiplayer social networks, the borders of the game world reaches far into the horizon and spans across many screens. These layers of games, services, commerce, and social provide an opportunity for a gaming super app to take root.
But before I continue, if you haven’t read Part I yet, check it out here
THE ATTRIBUTES OF A PRE-SUPER APP & THE GAMING STACK
In Super Apps Part I, I discussed the potential of a super app emerging from the gaming industry. Previously super apps emerged from a specific geographical region but in this case, I believe a gaming super app will rise from the gamers’ unified love of graphics rather than their common demographics. This idea dawned on me when I was observing my daily gaming behavior.
In the past, I launched the game; I played the game; I quit the game. My gaming stack consists of a base layer, a game launcher. But now after I fire up the launcher, I open Discord to ping a friend while simultaneously searching the forums for a hero build. Even when I’m already in the game lobby with my friends, ready to select my champion, I turn on my overlays so that I can optimize my play even further.
This constant layering of applications initially was reserved for the serious gamers – not anymore. These layers are staple. Moreover, my gaming behaviors doesn’t stop when I’m afk (away from keyboard). I find myself going to Twitch or YouTube Gaming to watch my favorite streamer – to imitate their play style or to simply have a laugh. For even more casual enjoyment, I head to TikTok to watch some #gameedits, which are short humorous edited video clips involving my beloved game characters. So the notion of playing games have evolved beyond just the act of playing itself, it has become a lifestyle.
Recall that I mentioned 4 attributes of a pre-super app in Part I which were: (1) Retention Mechanism, (2) Hidden Data Assets, (3), Sharing Traffic, and (4) Motivation for Revenue Expansion. The fifth attribute that I want to introduce is the importance of having a genuine connection to said lifestyle of the gamer. For an app to go full super app status from within the gaming space, it needs to exhibit a combination of the four general attributes plus the gaming-specific attribute: authenticity. In the next section, I will discuss the myriad layers of the gaming stack and how each layer exemplifies one or more of these attributes.
THE GAMING STACK
I define the gaming stack as follows: the game, the services, the commerce, the social. In this section I’ll discuss the four layers while also sharing some examples.
THE GAME
The game is self-explanatory, for without this foundation nothing can be built on top. At first this was the only layer; game launchers came later but I’ll cover that soon.
THE SERVICES
Games services came next. This included things such as walk-through guides and forums. An example that I draw from the past involves our favorite Italian plumber. Back in the late 80s when Nintendo launched in the US, every player must purchase a console and a game cartridge to play. But the high achievers and the completionists called the Nintendo Power Hotline. The Gameplay Counselors on the other end of the line would teach players to traverse dungeons, trump enemies, and triumph quests. These were helpful but expensive phone calls – adjusting for inflation, its about $4 USD per minute.
THE COMMERCE
Back then, auxiliary services such as the hotlines were one of the few direct commercial relationships game makers had with the end gamers. Retailers, wholesalers, and a row of other middlemen obstructed direct contact with the end gamer. As technology improved, the commercial relationship between game makers and gamers modernized. Welcome to the era of direct-to-consumer.
Players purchased games and services directly from the studios and publishers. This is distinctly true with console games such as Nintendo, Xbox, and PlayStation. Mobile games are slightly different as there are platforms such as Android and iOS still acting as middlemen. Though Steam owns 75% of the global market for PC downloads, PC game makers can still provide proprietary launchers. A powerful reason why Steam has this dense concentration of PC gamers is because player’s friend list is embedded in the Steam launcher.
THE SOCIAL
Friend lists are a feature of the social layer. The advent of online multiplayer gaming fundamentally shifted the way gamers viewed the social elements of a game. The release of World of Warcraft and all the MMORPGs thereafter changed in-game social forever. Players expect and demand social elements in their game. They want to play and compete together. But sometimes, they just want to hang. Though PC gamers can frictionlessly download a game directly from a studio or publisher, they choose Steam because that’s where their friends are.
Ultimately, the purpose of video games is enjoyment with yourself and your friends. The gaming stack has evolved from being just a game into a fully immersive experience – a lifestyle. When an application reaches the threshold that empowers users to live, or play, at their best, a super app is born.
THE 5 ATTRIBUTES OF A PRE-SUPER APP
Becoming a full-fledged super app, however, is not an easy evolution. I had mentioned that all pre-super apps would exhibit a combination of these four attributes, (1) Strong Retention Mechanism, (2) Hidden Data Assets, (3), Sharing Traffic, (4) Motivation for Revenue Expansion, with a gaming-specific attribute, (5) Authenticity. Next, I will give examples of each of the layers of the gaming stack: the game, the services, the commerce, and the social.
#1 THE RETENTION MECHANISM
The first pre-requisite to becoming a super app will always be a strong retention mechanism. Step one is to have a fun game. Without fun there is no game. But delivering joy and excitement isn’t sufficient; there are tons of those games on the market already. A game needs to evolve into a platform, like Counter Strike did.
I remember purchasing Counter Strike 1.6 then rushing home to plop that CD into my PC. Before I could spawn in de_dust2 and start defusing bombs, I had to install this thing called Steam. I don’t recall other games being on the Steam launcher since when I double-clicked the desktop icon it immediately opened Counter Strike. But, that was back in the 2000s and now in 2023 Steam is the largest PC game launcher in the world.
Steam’s size is not the only impressive metric. Users on steam have an average of 11 games, 33,601 games in one peculiar case. That’s how Steam became a staple in any PC gamer’s gaming stack. It is without a doubt that being a user’s game library contributed to Steam’s retention rate of 15%. Becoming a platform is an effective way to drive retention, which is attribute #1. Steam’s route to becoming a platform is the standard path followed by many, see Fortnite and the Epic Games Store.
#2 THE HIDDEN DATA ASSETS
An unusual way that miHoYo, creator of Genshin Impact, achieved its platformatization was through building a collection of games then using game services to weave their universe together. Introducing the Hoyoverse.
Yes, the games have breathtaking graphics and immersive storytelling but what’s notable is the game services that miHoYo created around their games. They became a platform by nailing the game services layer of the gaming stack. miHoYo supercharged the community and that’s their hidden data asset – attribute #2.
HoYoLAB is the heart. This community-driven forum for all miHoYo games is the go-to source for all official information as well as an abundance of user-generated content such as tips & tricks, guides & guilds, and fan art & fan fiction. This is the glue that increases player stickiness and drives player growth across miHoYo’s games.
Even when Hoyoverse citizens aren’t actively engaging in the games or perusing the forums, they remain immersed through N0va Desktop, a desktop wallpaper app, and the music studio called HOYO-MiX. These auxiliary game services empowers the community, which in turn further improves these services – enacting a flywheel effect. Another platform that exemplifies this phenomenon is Twitch.
#3 THE SHARING TRAFFIC & #4 THE MOTIVATION FOR REVENUE EXPANSION
Twitch is a live streaming platform for gamers and creators to broadcast content to their communities. It’s the purest form of communal bond. People gathering and celebrating their common interests. Twitch is unique because the commerce layer is injected to underscore the relationship between the creators and their audience.
Twitch, however, is free to use for all types of users. Initially, the only revenue they generated was from advertisement. Though ads are a common monetization method, good platforms should generate revenue from the users they are serving so that incentives are aligned. Therefore the motivation to expand their revenue stream was high – attribute #4 – and Twitch came up with creative monetization methods.
The audience can subscribe to a creator’s channel, tip the creators with bits (IAP), and of course purchase creator merch. Recently Twitch integrated Epic Games Store into the platform so users can purchase the game that their favorite creator is streaming then play along. The commerce layer accentuates the interrelationship between the users and make the platform more valuable for all stakeholders.
Twitch turns a regular community into a super one. One of their superpowers is called raiding, which allows creators at the end of their stream to direct their audience into another creator’s stream. This happened about 1.9B times on Twitch in 2020 per StreamElements, a streaming analytics firm – it’s safe to assume that many more raids have happened since.
This superpower to share and distribute traffic to every corner of the platform is attribute #3 of what a pre-super app should demonstrate. The source of this ability is at the core of what makes Twitch tick: its social network.
#5 THE AUTHENTICITY
It’s known that humans are social creatures. Our brains are wired to connect with others. In the context of gaming, these social interactions could occur through large public gatherings on Twitch or with intimate conversations such as those on Discord. Nearly every streamer runs a Discord server in parallel with their Twitch channel. These two platforms are the dominating players in the gaming social layer.
Ask any gamer where they hold group calls with their clans or on what platform they use to DM a friend, the answer is usually Discord. Founded in 2015 by two OG gamers, Discord is a communication app that was designed and developed for gamers by gamers – this last bit touches on attribute #5: authenticity. For the social layer of the gaming stack, the burden to be genuine is the highest. Thats why Discord occupies a near-and-dear spot amongst gamers. It is the platform gamers chose because the platform chose them.
Gamers have been relegated to the fringes of society since its inception. The nerd in the basement. The nagging parents urging their kids to stop playing games. The teasing and mockery suffered and endured. Then in the middle of the 2010s a platform emerges to create a a safe space for gamers to congregate and celebrate. Discord chose to serve the gaming community and for that they are richly, and rightfully, rewarded. With over 150M monthly active users, of which nearly a quarter are gamers, and an 85% yearly retention rate, Discord’s metrics put them in the realm of best of class messaging platforms like Whatsapp, Telegram, and FB Messenger. But only Discord is the one with the highest concentration of gamers – and for good reason.
The platform delivers gamer-specific features such as rich presence, Xbox & Playstation integration, public gaming servers, game activity sharing, and many more. Rich presence allows my servermates to see what games I’m playing so they could join me, and since Discord is integrated on my PS5, we can hop on the voice channel to start talking and playing together – all without leaving my current game session. The Discord social layer amplifies my gaming experience and enjoyment.
The way I play video games has evolved gradually in some aspects but abruptly in others. Some changes are moderate like how I still relish in playing online with my friends, except now the graphics are better and finding a lobby is easier. But other improvements are stark. Areas such as second screen experiences, cross-platform, esports & professional play, ubiquity via the cloud, free-to-play & in-app purchases. The gaming stack has never been as robust yet granular as it is today. This is winding a springboard to propel a gaming industry’s super app into existence.
CONCLUSION
The evolution of the gaming stack from a simple game on a single machine to a multi-layered, immersive experience has paved the way for the emergence of a potential gaming super app. Just as the PlayStation and Chocobo Racing once ignited my passion for gaming, the gaming industry has now expanded to encompass a vast ecosystem that includes games, services, commerce, and social interactions. Each layer of this stack exemplifies attributes crucial for a pre-super app, namely Mechanism Retention, Hidden Data Assets, Sharing Distribution & Traffic, Motivation for Revenue Expansion, and, most importantly, Authenticity.
The gaming stack has evolved into a lifestyle, where players engage in multiple activities across different platforms, both in-game and off-game. Platforms like Steam and miHoYo's Hoyoverse demonstrate the power of becoming a platform with strong retention mechanisms and hidden data assets, while Twitch showcases the ingenuity to conceive sustainable revenue sources along with the ability to share and distribute traffic within its gaming community. Additionally, Discord's authenticity and genuine connection with gamers have made it an indispensable social layer in the gaming stack.
To reach super app status, a gaming app needs to combine these four general attributes with the unique gaming-specific attribute: authenticity. Discord's success in creating a safe space for gamers to gather and celebrate is a testament to the power of being true to the gaming community. As the gaming industry continues to grow and innovate, the potential for a gaming super app that seamlessly integrates all aspects of the gaming stack becomes more evident.
Just as the gaming experience has evolved for me, so has the gaming industry transformed from a simple source of entertainment to a complex and interconnected ecosystem. The gaming super app, with its ability to provide an all-encompassing and authentic gaming experience, has the potential to become a central hub for gamers worldwide. As we look to the future, the gaming super app may very well become the portal that elevates our state of play into new heights — there’s on particular company that I feel is poised to rise to the occasion.
SOURCES
**Examples used in this essay is from my person experience. Hence there’s only a few sources I needed to use for statistics. **
Hoyoverse — miHoyo’s gaming universe
GameInformer – Nintendo Power Hotline
BCG – Drivers of Global Gaming Industry Growth
BCG – Gaming & Esports Media Next Paradigm SHIFT
Twitch Stats - link1, link2, link3
Discord Stats – link1, link2, link3
Steam Stats – link1, link2, link3
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