SingStar: Lessons Learned In Free 2 Play On Console
Next up, Sonys London Studio director, Dave Ranyard gives an interesting talk on the evolution of SingStar. Although the talk itself specifically relates to SingStar, the decisions it has made over the years are no doubt relevant to many other games. Much of Ranyards talk mentions barriers to entry e.g. anything that a consumer must do in order to use the game, the first thing he mentions, for example, is that a SingStar user must have microphones. Launching in 2004 on PS2 and migrating to PS3 in 2007, SingStar was able to take advantage of the then new generation by building an online community, with an emphasis on fun. Initially the SingStar store was released with around 70 songs, it now has thousands, with a few users accumulating more than 1000 songs. SingStar was able to get users involved by taking the game to them and showing them how fun it could be, it has now sold over 25 million discs and has around 3.5 million online users. SingStar has experimented with different features with varying results, like the voice control and guitar functions, that have since been dropped. With the introduction of a free SingStar viewer, SingStar was able to build a presence and make baby steps towards becoming a free to play platform. In 2009 SingStar added quick buy options into the game loop and wireless microphones helped to decrease another barrier to entry. Since 2010, SingStar users have been able to manage their game online, making purchases and activating downloads via a website and removing a cumbersome pre-game experience. Becoming free to play application in October 2012 removed further friction between the platform and the user, and returned to the core gameplay that helped it become so popular. SingStar appreciates its passing users as well as its loyal customers and tries to accommodate both, it is also well aware of how seasonal changes impact users downloading and playing habits as well as taking note of when major artists are particularly relevant or touring. SingStar, Ranyard says, is continually looking to innovate, especially after seeing sharp growth in its user base since becoming free to play. Though it looks to the future in terms of being as widely and easily accessible as possible, SingStar sees a lot of life in the current generation of consoles yet, aiming to continue to remove those barriers to entry.