Some changes are coming to Play Game Services in early 2017:
Changes to Google API Client building
In November, we announced an update
to Google Sign-In API. Play Game Services is being updated to use Google
Sign-In API for authentication. The advantages are:
Games and Sign-In in same client connection.
Single API for getting Auth code to send to backend servers.
This change unifies the Google Sign-in and the Games API Sign-in, so there are
updates to how to build the Google API Client:
// Defaults to Games Lite scope, no server component
GoogleSignInOptions gso = new
GoogleSignInOptions.Builder(GoogleSignInOptions.DEFAULT_GAMES_SIGN_IN).build();
// OR for apps with a server component
GoogleSignInOptions gso = new
GoogleSignInOptions.Builder(GoogleSignInOptions.DEFAULT_GAMES_SIGN_IN)
.requestServerAuthCode(SERVER_CLIENT_ID)
.build();
// OR for developers who need real user Identity
GoogleSignInOptions gso = new
GoogleSignInOptions.Builder(GoogleSignInOptions.DEFAULT_GAMES_SIGN_IN)
.requestEmail()
.build();
// Build the api client.
mApiClient = new GoogleApiClient.Builder(this)
.addApi(Games.API)
.addApi(Auth.GOOGLE_SIGN_IN_API, gso)
.addConnectionCallbacks(this)
.build();
}
@Override
public void onConnected(Bundle connectionHint) {
if (mApiClient.hasConnectedApi(Games.API)) {
Auth.GoogleSignInApi.silentSignIn(mApiClient).setResultCallback(
new ResultCallback() {
@Override
public void onResult(GoogleSignInResult googleSignInResult) {
// In this case, we are sure the result is a success.
GoogleSignInAccount acct =
googleSignInResult.getGoogleSignInAccount());
// For Games with a server, send the auth code to your server.
String serverAuthCode = signInAccount.getServerAuthCode();
// Use the API client as normal.
Player player = Games.API.getCurrentPlayer(mApiClient);
}
}
);
} else {
onSignedOut();
}
}
Account creation within iOS is no longer supported
Currently, there is no support for new players to create a Play Games
account on iOS. Additionally, the Google+ integration has been removed from
iOS. As a result "social" APIs will return result codes indicating success, but
return empty lists. This includes the "standard" UIs for leaderboards and
multiplayer invitations.
Google+ is no longer integrated
Announced
last year, Games is decoupled from Google+ during this transition. As a
result the public APIs for getting connected players via circles stopped
working, but the standard UIs for multiplayer invitations and social
leaderboards continued to work. Starting from February 2017, the standard UIs
will also not display the Social graph results as Google+ data becomes
inaccessible. This will affect multiplayer games, social leaderboards, and
gifts API on Android. The effect will be that these APIs will return
successfully, but with an empty list of players.
List of APIs that are deprecated by removing Google+ integration (and their C++
equivalents):
We realize this is a large change, but moving forward Play Game Services are
much better aligned with the rest of the Mobile platform from Google and will
lead to better developer experience for Android game developers.
Posted by Patricia Correa, Head of Developer Marketing, Google Play
We’re wrapping up our annual global Playtime series of events with a last stop in Tokyo, Japan. This year Google Play hosted events in 10 cities: London, Paris, Berlin, Hong Kong, Singapore, Gurgaon, San Francisco, Sao Paulo, Seoul and Tokyo. We met with app and game developers from around the world to discuss how to build successful businesses on Google Play, share experiences, give feedback, collaborate, and get inspired.
You can now watch some of the best Playtime sessions on our Android Developers YouTube Channel, as listed below. The playlist opens with a video that celebrates collaboration.
Learn how we're helping users discover apps in the right context, creating new
ways to engage with users beyond the install, and powering innovative
experiences on emerging platforms like virtual reality, wearables, and auto.
Android development is more powerful and efficient than ever before. Android
Studio brings you speed, smarts, and support for Android Nougat. The broad range
of cross-platform tools on Firecase can improve your app on Android and beyond.
Material Design and Vulkan continue to improve the user experience and increase
engagement.
Daydream View is a VR headset and controller by Google that lets people explore
new worlds, or play games that put them at the center of action. Learn how we're
helping users discover apps in the right context and powering new experiences
with Daydream and Tango.
Augmented reality engages and delights people everywhere. In this fireside chat,
online furniture seller Wayfair and Niantic's Pokémon
GO share their experiences with AR and discuss how other developers can make
the most of the platform.
Learn how to create apps and games for emerging markets, which are expected to
drive 80% of global smartphone growth by 2020, by recognizing the key challenges
and designing the right app experiences to overcome them.
At minute 16:41, hear tips from Hugo Obi, co-founder of Nigerian games developer
Maliyo.
Set your app up for success using experimentation and iteration. Learn best
practices for soft launching and adapting your app for different markets and
device types.
Planning and executing a great growth strategy involves a complex set of choices
and mastery of many tools. In this session we discuss topics including key
business objectives, tools, and techniques to help you solve the growth puzzle
with our partner, SoundCloud.
User growth isn't just about growing the number of users you have. The key to
sustainability is creating and delivering core product value. In this session,
VC Greylock discusses how to identify your core action to focus on and shows you
how to use these insights to optimize your app for long term growth.
As the app marketplace becomes more competitive, developer success depends on
retaining users in apps they love. Find out which Google tools and features can
help you analyze your users' behaviors, improve engagement and retention in your
app and hear insights from others developers including Lifesum.
Deepdive into lifetime value models and predictive analytics in the apps ecosystem.
Tactics to get the most out of identified segments and how to upgrade their
behaviors to minimize churn.
Learn about Google's efforts to enable users, around the world, to seamlessly
and safely pay for content. This session provides updates on Google Play billing
and recent enhancements to our subscriptions platform.
Customize your game's experience for different users by targeting them with lifetime value
models and predictive analytics. Hear how these concepts are applied by
Space Ape Games to improve retention and monetization of their titles.
Learn how to use Google's latest tools, like Firebase, for benchmarking,
acquiring users and measuring your activities. Also, hear game
developer Seriously share their latest insights and strategies on YouTube
influencer campaigns.
Learn how successful developers keep their games fresh and engaging with Live
Operations. In this talk, the LiveOps expert on Marvel: Contest of Champions
discusses tips about the art and science of running an engaging LiveOps event.
Family-based households with children have higher tablet and smartphone
ownership rates than the general population. These families are more likely to
make purchases on their mobile devices and play games. Learn about how parents
choose what to download and buy, and how you can prepare for maximum conversion.
Papumba has a clear vision to grow a global business. Hear how they work with
experts to adapt their games to local markets and leverage Google Play's
developer tools to find success around the world.
You've spent time and resources getting users to download your apps, but what
happens after the install? Learn how to minimize churn and keep families engaged
with your content long term.
PlayKids has been at the forefront of the subscription business model since
their inception. See how they best serve their subscribers by refreshing their
content, expanding their offerings and investing in new verticals.
Posted byTamzin Taylor, Partner Development Manager at Google
Play, & Kristina Narusk, Head of Production at Memrise
Getting people to install your app is one thing, getting them to sign up to your
paid offering is quite another. It's important to understand the complete
journey your users take from installing your app to paying for something. Once
you do, you can experiment on the flow to try and increase conversions. Memrise
has found great success in experimenting on their language learning app to
increase the number of paying users.
Four experiments Memrise use to improve conversions
Memrise
makes languages fun with a number of different learning modes you can play to
help increase your vocabulary in a chosen language. You can download the app for
free and play some of the modes or take advantage of their premium subscription
offering called 'Memrise Pro' which offers new game modes and additional
features like offline learning. Memrise recently ran a number of conversion
experiments with the main objective of increasing the Average Revenue Per Daily
Active User (ARPDAU). These experiments tested multiple user experience and
pricing experiment scenarios.
1. A/B test how messaging different user benefits can impact
conversion
What they did: Memrise wanted to know what motivation and call
to action would convert the most users to buy a Pro subscription from a locked
game mode in the app. To do this, they ran an A/B test with two similar designs,
featuring different reasons for the user to upgrade, and compared the results to
their original upgrade messaging.
Test A: Focus on ‘difficult’ words with an orange background.
Test B: Focus on ‘favorite’ words with a pink background.
Results: Test A performed the best. Conversion to Pro in Test A
was 28% higher than in Test B. Pro mode usage was subsequently 9.7% higher in
Test A compared to Test B too.
Next steps: After seeing how test A won the experiment, Memrise
applied this creative across the board. Subscribers driven by that particular
mode increased as a percentage of all subscriptions in the app by 16%. Memrise
plans to run additional A/B tests at others points of conversion in the app to
see if they can increase the results even further. They'll also try different
text for the call to actions.
2. Test whether adapting to local price points results in sustainable
uplift
In 2015, Google Play launched new minimum local price levels in countries around
the world. To take advantage of the new price points, Memrise tested lowering
localised prices in certain markets to better match purchasing power. Prices
were an average of 6 times lower during this experiment.
Results: After 30 days, Memrise saw the following changes in
conversions to paid users:
??
Turkey
⇧180%
??
Brazil
⇧182%
??
Russia
⇧99%
??
Mexico
⇧115%
??
India
⇩5.1%
??
Indonesia
⇧152%
??
South Korea
⇧120%
??
Thailand
⇧70%
??
Malaysia
⇧27%
Next steps: The change in price affected the subscription
dynamics with more users taking advantage of Memrise's in-app discounted offer
in most countries. The offer was for annual subscribers only and has led to a
positive effect on LTV. One insight from the experiment was that Indian users
prefered to have the option to subscribe in weekly or monthly increments and not
just annually. Memrise is still tracking carefully to see whether the discounted
subscription pricing will lead to an increase in conversions.
3. Test when and how often you offer free trials to see if that affects
conversion rate
Memrise occasionally offers users, who aren't Pro subscribers, a free trial of
one of the Pro game modes while cycling through the various free modes. After
the free trial session, users are presented with an offer to subscribe. Memrise
experimented with the offer's timing making it appear more frequently while
users were cycling through normal free sessions Instead of after every 49th
session, users saw the unlocked mode after every 21st session.
An example of a free trial of a Pro mode.
After completing a free trial, users see a discounted subscription offer.
Results: Offering a free trial more frequently paid off. The
conversion rate increased by 50% while all other conversion rates remained the
same.
Next steps: Memrise maintained the more frequent offer cadence
and has seen revenue growth as a result.
4. Test whether seasonal discounts result in more conversions
Memrise launched a 'Back to School' campaign presenting all users with a
discounted annual plan offer for a week in September 2016. The aim was to
convert more users and generate higher value users from annual subscription
plans.
Results: Memrise saw two effects from the seasonal offer. As a
result of only presenting an annual period and removing weekly and monthly, 20%
fewer users per day converted to Pro. However, because more people were taking
an annual subscription than a shorter subscription, the average revenue per day
increased by 32% justifying the change.
Next steps: Memrise plans to test different offers in the
future with a combination of subscription offerings. They'll also focus offers
in countries like Turkey and Mexico, where they saw the biggest increase in
conversions.
Keep experimenting and take advantage of new features to improve the
user experience and increase conversions
At Playtime San Francisco, we
announced that introductory pricing for subscriptions would be coming soon
and the feature is now live. By continually testing messaging, pricing, offers,
and free trials or discounted trials, you could increase the conversions in your
app and your ongoing revenue just like Memrise. Learn more about Google
Play in-app billing subscriptions and get
the Playbook for Developers app to stay up-to-date with features and best
practices that will help you grow a successful business on Google Play.
We know that many developers want to take advantage of growth opportunities in
new regions, but are held back by not knowing the most important areas to focus
on. That's why we wanted to share stories from our partners in the Middle East
and North Africa (MENA). It's a fast growing region for Google Play, and one
that already represents a sizable revenue opportunity. They've shared their
experiences, and some key things to focus on if you're thinking of launching in
the region.
Middle East and North Africa overview
MENA is a diverse region in terms of disposable income, access to connectivity,
and smartphone penetration. However, it is possible to broadly group MENA into
two types of market:
Growth markets
Examples: Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Kuwait and the rest of
the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).
Very high smartphone penetration (on par with top western european markets),
Large disposable income
Robust growth in spend on mobile apps and games
Emerging markets
Examples: Morocco, Egypt and Iraq.
Large populations
Significant growth in smartphone (primarily Android) adoption.
Opportunities
Localization
If you want to be successful in MENA, localization is key. In Saudi Arabia 19 of
the top 20 grossing apps & games have their Google Play Store listing localized
and the majority of those have their actual app/game localized as well. By
localizing to Arabic, mobile app and game developers have found great success in
the region.
When Singapore-based Wego.com
localized to Arabic, they achieved over 200% YoY growth in
MENA, grew their app rating from 3.5 to over 4.5 among Arab travelers
and increased Arab users' retention rates by 200%. Today, MENA represents over
65% of their users.
To do localization well, here are a few things to consider:
Localize your store listing into Arabic including your video, screenshots
and text. If you are targeting specific countries within MENA consider using
local dialects, otherwise use formal Arabic. Consider using Store Listing
Experiments to optimize your listing for local audiences.
If applicable, flip your app/game UI to be right-to-left.
Beware of common issues when localizing to Arabic: Arabic letters appearing
disjointed or showing up in reverse order and the ordering of words getting
mixed up when sentences contain both Latin and Arabic words
Localize pricing by showing appropriate local currency and rounding. Note
that different countries in MENA have different currencies and
affordability/willingness to pay.
Plan around major local events such as the holy month of Ramadan, when after
fasting from dawn to sunset, families and loved ones gather for meals, laughs
and stories. We've found that during this month usage of apps and games
increases significantly in MENA.
Provide local customer support
Be culturally sensitive in your communication and content - avoid
stereotypes and keep in mind the relatively conservative nature of users in the
region
Leverage the power of YouTube to reach your audiences in MENA. Saudi Arabia
for instance is the second largest market for YouTube globally in terms of views
per capita.
Refer to our Localization
Checklist for some best practices when localizing for any language.
Gaming
Gaming is a high growth and revenue opportunity in MENA. Most countries in the
region have a median age of 30 or lower, smartphone growth will continue to grow
at double digits, which makes gaming a key segment for users in the region.
Today's local top grossing charts and dominated by Midcore strategy games.
Interestingly, GCC countries have some of the highest Average Revenue Per Paying
User rates globally.
International titles, including Clash of Clans, Clash Royale, Mobile Strike and
Clash of Kings, have performed incredibly well in the region. In addition,
titles specifically targeting MENA have also seen tremendous success. Revenge of
the Sultans, by ONEMT, from China, has been the top grossing title across
several MENA countries for many months. Similarly, when IGG.com launched the
Arabic version of Castle Clash, they grew revenue from MENA by
58% within 4 months.
As the market evolves, there is also a huge opportunity for other genres (such
as RPG, FPS, and sports) which are not present at scale in the region yet.
Google Play in MENA
We continue to invest in making sure that users are able to pay for their
favorite apps and games by launching locally relevant payment methods in MENA.
Today, we have carrier billing available with the major networks in Saudi
Arabia, UAE and Kuwait. We plan to expand coverage in more countries, including
Qatar and Bahrain, in the future.
We are also committed to increasing the quality and availability of Arabic apps
and games for MENA users, which is why we launched our Now
in Arabiccollectionfeaturing apps and games that have recently localized to Arabic. This
collection will be regularly updated. If you're interested in being included, submit
your localized app/game.
Posted byMatteo Vallone, Google Play Partner Development
Manager
To build awareness of the awesome innovation and art that indie game developers
are bringing to users on Google Play, we have invested heavily over the past
year in programs like Indie
Corner, as well as events like the Google Play Indie Games Festivals in
North
America and Korea.
As part of that sustained effort, we also want to celebrate the passion and
innovation of indie game developers with the introduction of the first-ever
Google Play
Indie Games Contest in Europe. The contest will recognize the best
indie talent in several countries and offer prizes that will help you get your
game noticed by industry experts and gamers worldwide.
Prizes for the finalists and winners:
An open showcase held at the Saatchi Gallery in London
YouTube influencer campaigns worth up to 100,000 EUR
Premium placements on Google Play
Tickets to Google I/O 2017 and other top industry events
If you're based in Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France (coming soon),
Germany, Iceland, Israel, Netherlands, Norway, Poland (coming soon), Romania,
Spain, Sweden, Turkey, or UK (excl. Northern Ireland), have 15 or less full time
employees, and published a new game on Google Play after 1 January 2016, you may
now be eligible to enter the
contest. If you're planning on publishing a new game soon, you can also
enter by submitting a private beta. Check out all the details in the terms and
conditions. Submissions close on 31 December 2016.
The process:
Up to 20 finalists will get to showcase their games at an open event at the
Saatchi Gallery in London on the 16th February 2017. At the event, the top 10
will be selected by the event attendees and the Google Play team. The top 10
will then get the opportunity to pitch to a jury of industry experts, from which
the final winner and runners up will be selected.
Even if someone is NOT entering the contest:
Even if you're not eligible to enter the contest, you can still register to
attend the final showcase event in London on 16 February 2017, check out some
great indie games, and have fun with various industry experts and indie
developers. We will also be hosting a workshop for all indie games developers
from across EMEA in the new Google office in Kings Cross the next day, so this
will be a packed week.
Posted byMatteo Vallone, Google Play Partner Development Manager
To build awareness of the awesome innovation and art that indie game developers are bringing to users on Google Play, we have invested heavily over the past year in programs like Indie Corner, as well as events like the Google Play Indie Games Festivals in North America and Korea.
As part of that sustained effort, we also want to celebrate the passion and innovation of indie game developers with the introduction of the first-ever Google Play Indie Games Contest in Europe. The contest will recognize the best indie talent in several countries and offer prizes that will help you get your game noticed by industry experts and gamers worldwide.
Prizes for the finalists and winners:
An open showcase held at the Saatchi Gallery in London
YouTube influencer campaigns worth up to 100,000 EUR
Premium placements on Google Play
Tickets to Google I/O 2017 and other top industry events
If you're based in Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France (coming soon), Germany, Iceland, Israel, Netherlands, Norway, Poland (coming soon), Romania, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, or UK (excl. Northern Ireland), have 15 or less full time employees, and published a new game on Google Play after 1 January 2016, you may now be eligible to enter the contest. If you're planning on publishing a new game soon, you can also enter by submitting a private beta. Check out all the details in the terms and conditions. Submissions close on 31 December 2016.
The process:
Up to 20 finalists will get to showcase their games at an open event at the Saatchi Gallery in London on the 16th February 2017. At the event, the top 10 will be selected by the event attendees and the Google Play team. The top 10 will then get the opportunity to pitch to a jury of industry experts, from which the final winner and runners up will be selected.
Even if someone is NOT entering the contest:
Even if you're not eligible to enter the contest, you can still register to attend the final showcase event in London on 16 February 2017, check out some great indie games, and have fun with various industry experts and indie developers. We will also be hosting a workshop for all indie games developers from across EMEA in the new Google office in Kings Cross the next day, so this will be a packed week.
Papumba is an educational games developer based in Argentina, with a core team of four people and a vision to grow a global business.
Watch Gonzalo Rodriguez, CEO, and Andres Ballone, CFO, explain how working with a team of experts from across the world and adapting their games to local markets helped them find success globally.
Posted by Jamil Moledina, Google Play, Games Strategic Lead
Last Saturday, we hosted the first Google
Play Indie Games Festival in North America, where we showcased 30 amazing
games that celebrate the passion, innovation, and art of indies. After a
competitive round of voting from fans and on-stage presentations to a jury of
industry experts, we recognized seven finalists nominees and three winners.
Bit Bit Blocks is a cute and action-packed competitive puzzle game. Play with your friends on a single screen, or challenge yourself in single player mode. Head-to-head puzzle play anytime, anywhere.
Numbo Jumbo is a casual mobile puzzle number game for iOS and Android. Players group numbers that add together: for example, [3, 5, 8] works because 3+5=8.
Presented by Chetan Surpur & Eric Rahman, Highkey Games
ORBIT puts a gravity simulator at the heart of a puzzle game. Launch planets with a flick of your finger, and try to get them into orbit around black holes. ORBIT also features a sandbox where you can create your own universes, control time, and paint with gravity.
Antihero is a "fast-paced strategy game with an (Oliver) Twist." Run a thieves' guild in a gas-lit, corrupt city. Recruit urchins, hire thugs, steal everything – and bribe, blackmail, and assassinate your opposition. Single-player and cross-platform multiplayer for desktops, tablets, and phones.
Presented by Nicola Geretti & Alexander Krivicich, Super Bit Machine
Armajet is a free-to-play multiplayer shooter that pits teams of players against each other in fast-paced jetpack combat. Armajet is a best in class mobile game designed for spectator-friendly competitive gaming for tablets and smartphones. Players compete in a modern arena shooter that’s easy to learn, but hard to master.
Presented by Nick Iorfino & Alex Reed, Bactrian Games
Norman's Night In is a 2D puzzle-platformer that tells the tale of Norman and his fateful fall into the world of cave. While test driving the latest model 3c Bowling Ball, Norman finds himself lost with nothing but his loaned bball and a weird feeling that somehow he was meant to be there.
Parallyzed is an atmospheric adventure platformer with unique gameplay, set in a dark and enchanting dreamscape. You play twin sisters who have been cast into separate dimensions. Red and Blue have different attributes and talents, are deeply connected, and have the ability to swap bodies at any time.
Finalists nominees and winners also received a range of prizes, including Google
I/O 2017 tickets, a Tango Development kit, Google Cloud credits, an NVIDIA
Android TV & K1 tablet, and a Razer Forge TV bundle.
Indie Games Contest coming to Europe
We’re continuing our effort to help indie game developers thrive by highlighting
innovative and fun games for fans around the world. Today, we are announcing the
Indie Games Contest for developers based in European countries (specific list of
countries coming soon!). This is a great opportunity for indie games developers
to win prizes that will help you showcase your art to industry experts and grow
your business and your community of players worldwide. Make sure you don’t miss
out on hearing the details by signing up
here for updates.
As we shared at the festival, it’s rewarding to see how Google Play has evolved
over the years. We’re now reaching over 1 billion users every month and there’s
literally something for everyone. From virtual reality to family indie games,
developers like you continue to inspire, provoke, and innovate through
beautiful, artistic games.
Hutch is a London based mobile studio focusing entirely on racing games, with
more than 10 million players on Google Play. For their latest game, MMX Hill
Climb, they used A/B testing and game analytics to improve the game design and
experience resulting in more than 48 mins daily active usage per user.
Watch Shaun Rutland, CEO, and Robin Scannell, Games Analyst, explain how they
were able to deliver a more engaging user experience in this video.
Posted by Jamil Moledina, Google Play, Games Strategic Lead
To celebrate the art of the latest innovative indie games, we’re hosting the
first Google
Play Indie Games Festival in North America on September 24th in San
Francisco. At the festival, Android fans and gamers will have a unique
opportunity to play new and unreleased indie games from some
of the most innovative developers in the US and Canada, as well as vote for
their favorite ones.
Registration
is now open and the event is free for everyone to enjoy.
We’re also excited to announce the games selected to exhibit and compete at the
event. From over 200 submissions, we carefully picked 30 games that promise the
most fun and engaging experiences to attendees. Fans will have a chance to play
a variety of indie games not yet available publicly.
Check out the full list of games selected here
and below.
Fans will also have the opportunity to vote for their favorite games at the
festival, along with an authoritative panel of judges from Google Play and the
game industry. They include:
Ron Carmel, Co-founder of Indie Fund; co-creator of World of Goo
Hyunse Chang, Business Development Manager at Google Play
Lina Chen, Co-founder & CEO of Nix Hydra
David Edery, CEO of Spry Fox
Maria Essig, Partner Manager, Indies at Google Play
Noah Falstein, Chief Game Designer at Google
Dan Fiden, Chief Strategy Officer of Funplus
Emily Greer, CEO of Kongregate
Alex Lee, Producer, Program Manager, Daydream & Project Tango at Google
Jordan Maron, Gamer and independent YouTuber “CaptainSparklez”
We are also thrilled to announce that veteran game designer and professor
Richard Lemarchand will be the emcee for the event. He was lead designer at
Crystal Dynamics and Naughty Dog, and is now Associate Chair and Associate
Professor at the University of Southern California, School of Cinematic Arts,
Interactive Media and Games Division.
The winning developers will receive prizes, such Google Cloud credits, NVIDIA
SHIELD Android TVs and K1 tablets, Razer Forge TV bundles, and more, to
recognize their efforts.
Join us for an exciting opportunity to connect with fellow game fans, get
inspired, and celebrate the art of indie games. Learn more about the event on
the event
website.