- Thorough explanation of the reasons for quitting mobile games from a marketing perspective
- Factors immediately after the start of the game (1st and 2nd day of play)
- 1. Different from the expected game
- 2. Download capacity is large and takes time
- 3. Cannot download due to internet environment
- 4. The game does not work (device dependent), there are many bugs
- 5. Cannot connect to the game server (problem)
- 6. User registration is required and it is troublesome
- 7. Long loading time
- 8. Frequent additional downloads required
- Factors after game play (within 30 days from the start of play, but the 7th day is a major withdrawal factor)
- 9. I don’t understand the game mechanics and rules
- 10. I don’t understand the game mechanics and rules
- 11. I don’t know how to capture the game
- 12. I can’t win even if I use the strategy
- 14. I feel like I can’t win without paying
- 15. I paid but I can’t win
- 16. Tired (boredom / work feeling)
- 17. No more playing (lack of content)
- 18. I have no expectations for the future (lack of relations)
- Out-of-game factors (causes of withdrawal unrelated to the number of days played)
Thorough explanation of the reasons for quitting mobile games from a marketing perspective
Hello
I’m Toroneko, a marketing specialist.
This time, it will be an article that lists the reasons why users leave (quit the game) in smartphone apps and games.
Why do users quit games that they have installed while waiting for distribution while expecting pre-registration?
If you identify the cause and understand it in advance, you can prepare “countermeasures”.
In other words, you can prevent the situation where you leave and quit one after another after the application is distributed.
Immediately after the app is distributed, it is too late to prepare some kind of “push” in front of “users who are leaving one after another and quitting”.
Therefore, marketers need to identify the reasons why users quit in advance and prepare the countermeasures for them before reaching the application distribution date.
This article is divided into the following three parts.
・ Factors immediately after the start of the game (1st and 2nd day of play)
・ Factors after game play (within 30 days from the start of play, but mainly on the 7th day)
・ Factors outside the game (not related to the number of days played)
The approximate number of days of withdrawal points is also listed. This is a guide, but if you prepare in advance “a move to prevent withdrawal” assuming a situation that may occur in the user for about this number of days, you can realize the strongest “game management” and “marketing to make”. I will.
“Developing marketing” is explained here.
We hope that you will find some hints in this article and use it as a reference for your game business.
By the way, this time I have not written about measures to prevent withdrawal. The reason is different for each game title, and what kind of countermeasures are proposed is affected by the “market environment,” “competitive titles,” “contents of the game,” and “financial power of the game company.” Therefore, it is limited to “listing of withdrawal factors”.
Please refer to this and come up with a countermeasure plan.
If you cannot reach the countermeasure plan, please contact us by email.
Factors immediately after the start of the game (1st and 2nd day of play)
1. Different from the expected game
Games using famous IP
The gameplay that can be imagined from that IP was an “action game”
Everyone was expecting an “action game”
But when I played it, it was a “puzzle game”
These may be a bit extreme examples, but like this
The gap between expectations and reality is a factor in withdrawal.
This is not limited to the gap between the expected value in the game genre, but also the gap with the expected value for the game content.
The pre-registration phase is basically a mass of “promotions that raise expectations”. If the expected value raised there does not match the actual situation, it will be a factor of withdrawal.
2. Download capacity is large and takes time
Recently, the number of smartphone apps with a capacity exceeding 1G is increasing, but if the download capacity is large and the packet capacity is worrisome or it takes time, it will be a factor of withdrawal.
If the download capacity is large, you cannot download it on the spot.
It’s okay because I’m interested in downloading it now, but it’s not.
This is something that can’t be grasped using digital advertising tools or in-game KPI tools, but in reality there are quite a few cases where users who are willing to play are “quit” before playing.
3. Cannot download due to internet environment
While using my smartphone on the train, I saw the advertisement displayed on my smartphone and tapped it, but the radio wave was unstable and I could not download it.
Or I can’t download because I don’t have a WiFi environment nearby
The download environment is also a factor of withdrawal.
This is also “giving up” before playing a user who is willing to play.
4. The game does not work (device dependent), there are many bugs
Recent apps are demanding devices with high specifications, but there are also situations where the game does not work due to device dependence.
It will be a factor to dismiss the user who was motivated to play.
The game actually works, but it’s not playable!
In such cases, it will also be a factor for withdrawal. Many of the negative reviews in the app store reviews aren’t playable with “devices don’t work” or buggy! In that case, it will also cause withdrawal.
5. Cannot connect to the game server (problem)
It is a so-called server trouble system, but if you create a state where you can not connect to the server immediately after the game is distributed, many users will leave there.
6. User registration is required and it is troublesome
As is often the case with overseas games, there are titles that require your own “user account registration” when the game starts and before you start playing.
In addition, the user interface may be difficult to register for an account from the viewpoint of UI, and many users will leave at this point.
The departure here is very large, and there are many cases where we are struggling quite a bit at the design stage of the game UI in the first place.
7. Long loading time
This isn’t limited to mobile games, but the length of loading can be a source of stress for the user, which can also be a factor in withdrawal.
8. Frequent additional downloads required
Frequent additional downloads after the app is distributed can also be a factor in withdrawal.
There is no problem if the download of a small capacity is completed instantly, but if the download of several hundred Mb frequently comes in, this will also be stressful and will be a factor of withdrawal.
Factors after game play (within 30 days from the start of play, but the 7th day is a major withdrawal factor)
The story so far is rudimentary, and I think that many game companies are taking some measures.
But the important thing is yet to come.
In many cases, appropriate advance preparations have not been taken for the withdrawal factors picked up, so pre-solving this can greatly reduce the number of withdrawal users.
9. I don’t understand the game mechanics and rules
“I don’t understand the game mechanics and rules”
What is
“The game mechanics and rules are difficult, complicated and incomprehensible.”
not
It refers to the state before that.
Here, it refers to “insufficient information, a state in which the user is confused by being thrown out without any information”.
In order to avoid such a situation, there is a phase called “Instruction Manual (recently it has become a digital manual)” for home games and “Tutorial” immediately after the start of game play regardless of whether it is for home or smartphone games. However, the cause is that this is not working or is inadequate.
If the user is confused, it will be stressful, and the user who cannot tolerate the stress will leave the game.
10. I don’t understand the game mechanics and rules
“I don’t understand the game mechanics and rules”
If you clear the state, the next thing will come
“I understand the game mechanics and rules, but it’s too difficult and complicated to understand.”
It is a face called.
Switching between this phase may take several days, may come momentarily, and it may
“Game durability based on the user’s previous game experience”
It depends.
Games that have to be complicated as a game genre, such as simulation games, RPG games, and strategy games, are inevitable departure points.
“The game mechanics and rules are difficult, complicated and incomprehensible.”
Information is transmitted in the state, but those contents are
“Beyond the level that the user can understand”
In other words.
Complexity and difficulty beyond understanding
For example, it may be close to the “feeling of solving a math problem” that Toroneko was not good at when he was a student, but such a state leads to withdrawal.
It is not possible to completely eliminate “complexity” and “difficulty” when selected as a game genre such as simulation games, RPG games, and strategy games, but it is possible to reduce it.
In the first place, people who are weak in resistance to “complexity” and “difficulty” do not select and install simulation games, RPG games, strategy games, etc.
There is an opinion, but this is the correct answer.
But let’s say you develop a game that uses the popular cartoon IP.
Then many popular cartoon IP fans will install it. This is because the motivation to play is increasing when using the popular manga IP.
Are you just watching such users quit and leave the game one after another in front of you?
Can’t you reach out to save?
This is the turning point that will determine the future of game management.
11. I don’t know how to capture the game
“I don’t understand the game mechanics and rules” → I understand
“The game mechanics and rules are difficult, complicated and incomprehensible.” → I understood
What comes after clearing these two
This is the phase of the game, “I don’t know how to capture”.
Whether this also comes a few days after the start of play or immediately after play depends on the content of the game and the user’s game tolerance.
A game strategy is a strategy that allows you to play the game efficiently.
It’s like that.
This strategy is more than just informing and understanding
You have to self-interpret in the user and find your own “how to fight”. In other words, information is “useless” unless it is sublimated to “how to fight”.
Normally, when we are playing a game, we are playing unconsciously without thinking about it at all, and we are unknowingly finding a “strategy”.
However, due to the low threshold of “free-to-play” play like smartphone games, users with various game tolerances install and play.
“How to find a strategy” that is common sense for gamers
The point is to realize that it is insane for other users.
In many cases, we have prepared a strategy wiki etc. and prepared “how to find a strategy” outside the game, but this is not enough.
Because there are three points below.
・ Depending on the content of the strategy, it will not solve the problem of users who leave in this phase (too high level)
・ If the lead to the outside of the game is weak, you will not be able to reach “there is a strategy”.
・ Before going out of the game in the first place, the user in question this time cannot find a “strategy” and leaves.
Then what would you do?
Please think about the move based on this.
By the way, when the operation phase is entered and it stabilizes to some extent, the utilization rate of the external capture Wiki is about 5-15% of DAU. There are also measures to increase this ratio. But what is important here
Even if you prepare a strategy Wiki, many DAUs cannot find a “strategy method”, and the reality is that they will slowly quit the game after the game is distributed.
12. I can’t win even if I use the strategy
Even if you find a “strategy”, you may not win.
・ I can’t win the computer boss battle
・ I can’t win the interpersonal battle
If you continue to be unable to win, it will be stressful and you will give up playing.
It is a mistake to recognize that the continuation of unwinning conditions will motivate users to clear it.
If the “path to victory” that “the player feels growth and can win a little more” is not followed in the game, it will be a withdrawal point.
13. I will continue to lose
If you play the game and lose 3 to 5 games in a row
Can’t you win anymore? With giving up
Isn’t it a waste of time to play because I can’t win anyway? It turns into conviction.
In other words
Losing the game will cause you to quit the game.
For that purpose, we prepare a “rank match function” that only users with the same level of feeling can fight, but be aware that if the losing opponent is a computer, it may not be tuned properly.
“I can’t win even if I use the strategy” → I wonder if I should stop …
“I will lose forever” → Alright, let’s stop!
Understanding this emotional and sensory process will help you think about ways to prevent withdrawal.
Keeping losing is very stressful. Stress motivates you to replay the game, but too much stress can cause you to quit the game. Understanding the boundaries is a hint to prevent withdrawal.
14. I feel like I can’t win without paying
“I can’t win even if I use the strategy”
“I will lose forever”
The next thing to come after overcoming this
“Let’s make a charge and make it easier”
“If you pay, you may win.”
This is the phase.
However, what is important here is
“I feel like I can’t win if I don’t charge”
If you think about it, users who do not match the values for billing will leave.
I may charge in the future, and I am willing to charge
“I feel like I can’t win if I don’t charge”
It is a feeling that if you are made to feel that, you will lose your motivation to play.
15. I paid but I can’t win
Make the game easier and more advantageous
I want to go above my rivals and have more fun!
I thought so and charged with courage, but “the state that is not easy at all”
Definitely leave.
You will blame yourself for your stupidity, and after withdrawal, you will create “user emotions” that are difficult to recover no matter what measures you take.
This withdrawal factor is a critical part to avoid at all costs.
16. Tired (boredom / work feeling)
The game may get tired of it.
However, “tired” here is close to “boring” and “working”.
In other words
・ I realized that I was forced to work, not a game.
・ It was fun at first, but as I continued to play, I felt that the play was shallow.
is what it means.
As I wrote in an article somewhere before, the underlying causes that make users feel like this are almost as follows in mobile games.
“I make games with the feeling of operating Web services, not games.”
The essence of the game is “the fun of playing”, so like the games of the NES era.
“Even if it looks like a simple task, it’s fun as a play.”
That’s why. That is the essence of the game.
However, in the age of smartphone games, the number of games made with the feeling of operating Web services has increased. It’s difficult to express
“I’m forced to work on a general purpose system”
It is an image such as.
This base may be because the “system” made of “social games” born in the feature phone era still remains strong, but if we can not get out of here
“Tired” “Boring” “Working”
Can’t be wiped out, and I think titles that will newly enter the game market in the future will struggle. Even if you are satisfied at the entrance, you may “get bored and quit” soon after the delivery date.
17. No more playing (lack of content)
It is a so-called “counter stop” state.
It’s fun to play, but I’ve played everything
It refers to the state where nothing is done.
The main causes of this situation are:
・ It was delivered due to a clear lack of content.
・ Sufficient content was prepared, but the user’s consumption speed was unexpected.
The former can be prevented in advance.
The latter is the user’s consumption speed that exceeds expectations, and there are causes such as “wrong eye measurement” or “the simulation of appropriate consumption speed could not be performed”.
A title that is delivered in perfect condition and is very successful at the initial speed is a departure point that tends to fall, and many users will leave the game due to the counter stop.
18. I have no expectations for the future (lack of relations)
About a month after the app was delivered, many users think of the following.
・ Let’s continue as it is
・ Is it worth continuing (Is it fun to continue)?
・ There are other games I want to play, but what should I do?
How to wipe here
“It’s worth continuing this app”
It is a task to push the user’s back like this.
Users will leave if they lose hope in the future. Therefore, it is possible to prevent withdrawal by appropriately removing the anxiety when the user has “anxiety” about the future of this game application.
Out-of-game factors (causes of withdrawal unrelated to the number of days played)
The last is withdrawal due to factors outside the game that have nothing to do with your game app.
There is no way to deal with this! You might think that. However, users will quit your game due to the following factors.
By understanding this external factor, when a user withdraws occurs
“You can determine whether it is an external factor or an internal factor.”
It’s worth knowing that this is very important for understanding the current situation and thinking about what to do.
19. The game I’m playing separately is more interesting
Many users are playing multiple apps.
Rather, in a world where these game apps exist, it is rare for users to say that they are playing only one game.
“The game I’m playing separately is getting more interesting, so let’s spend some money and time on it.”
There can be a withdrawal factor.
What are the competing titles of the game apps you are distributing?
If you understand that, you may find a “practice” based on the situation of competing titles.
20. I found another interesting game
As new apps are being delivered one after another, one day you may suddenly find an interesting game and spend money and time on it.
This is also a factor of withdrawal.
“The game I’m playing separately is more interesting” is that the user was robbed by the app I was playing in parallel and I left.
“I found another interesting game” is that the user is being robbed by a new app that is not parallel, so there will be a gap in the time axis of the game progress.
What this means is that the state of “another interesting game found” has a very limited number of “hands”.
21. I don’t have time to play the game
I got married and had a child
I got a job from a student
In each case, the time available for the game will be reduced.
Such changes in the environment surrounding users are also factors for withdrawal.
There is nothing I can do about this, but there are several ways to do it.
・ Efforts will be made to attract new users who can take disposable time (withdrawal of current users is allowed to some extent)
・ Implement a function that allows you to play even if the disposable time is reduced to prevent complete withdrawal
However, even if the latter can suppress withdrawal, the billing rate of users who have reduced disposable time tends to decrease, so it is possible that sales will not stop declining even though measures were taken at a cost. ..
22. I changed my smartphone model and can no longer play
Lastly, it was a case of withdrawal due to a smartphone model change.
To prevent this, each game app implements a “data transfer function”.
However, it is a fact that the risk of withdrawal of existing users increases at the moment when the play environment changes, so for example, with the appearance of the new iPhone
It is also effective as a mover to prepare measures to encourage continuous play, new play, and return play inside and outside the game.
Summary
This time, we have introduced 22 withdrawal factors and the ones that trigger you to quit the game. If the “reasons for quitting” are organized in advance in this way, you can take action against it.
Based on the factors behind this withdrawal, I think that there are “taken moves” and “not taken moves” depending on the phase of your game app, but I’m glad if you find any reference.
If you cannot reach the countermeasure plan, please contact us by email.
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