J2ME Business Model

To really understand how you can make money from your game, it's best to start by looking at exactly how the game can generate revenue. For the most part you'll deal with mobile (cell phone) games because these represent the vast majority of the J2ME game business.

Carrier Downloads

The most common way to obtain revenue from a game is for a mobile carrier to offer it as an optional "paid for" download. The reason this is popular really comes down to convenience. A mobile phone user can browse a list of game titles (on his phone), select one, and then purchase it instantly. The game then downloads over-the-air (OTA) and is ready to play immediately (see Figure 18.1). The charge for the game, typically only a few dollars, appears on the user's phone bill at the end of the month.

It's easy to see why this type of sales mechanism is so popular. Users don't need to access the Internet and wade through myriad game optionsthey trust their carrier to offer a vetted selection of quality games. The download is direct to the phone, so the user doesn't need to fiddle around with transferring it from his PC. Payment is also easier because of the existing relationship (and trust on both sides), resulting in lower cost and a lower risk of charge-backs and fraud. All in all, it's a great system.

Carrier Revenue Shares

Because J2ME has networking facilities built in by default, you see new games that utilize the communications medium (especially on mobile phones) for multiplayer gaming as well as to download new content, such as new levels or episodes. To do this, the player has to transfer data across the carriage network, which results in charges for the airtime or data packets.

In some cases carriers may share a portion of this revenue with the content provider. This way the carrier can make a game available at a reduced rate or even for free and then rely on the network usage for payback.

Internet Downloads

Downloading a game directly onto your phone from the carrier's network is convenient; however, it's inherently limited to what the carrier elects to provide for you and what you can reasonably download over the mobile networktypically a few hundred kilobytes. It is possible to browse to external sites and download games, but this tends to be rare for most mobile phones (navigating to Internet sites might be possible, but it's certainly not popular).

On some devices, especially in the "smart" phone class, it's common to have the phone connected to the user's PC (via docking station, USB, or even Bluetooth). The user can then browse the Internet using his PC and then download the game onto his phone at high speed. Downloading and installing a multi-megabyte game is easy using this method. Because no carrier is involved in this process, the user needs to establish a separate billing arrangement with the content provider. Once this arrangement is set up, it's usually an easy process to purchase and install games.

There's nothing really new about purchasing and downloading software from a Web site, so plenty of sites have already added J2ME sections to their portfolios. Handango (http://www.handango.com) is an excellent example of this (see Figure 18.2).

Designing for Revenue

How your game generates revenue can have quite an impact on the type of product you want to produce. Games sold directly through the phone, for example, such as in a carrier's portal, are an impulse purchase. Thus cheap pricing and focus on simple access are all about getting a player to make a snap decision to purchase the game. Games that succeed in this space need to be instantly attractive to the player. That means a catchy name, great-looking promo graphics, and possibly a style of game they readily understand. Tying the game to an existing franchise brand is also a popular method to gain immediate trust from the player.

On the other hand, if you're developing a game that earns revenue from the air time or data transfer, then you have the added goal of keeping the player online as long as possible. The game needs to be able to not only attract the player, but also keep him coming back for moreno simple feat. A continuous stream of updates or episodes is one method you can use to do this; multiplayer games that require constant interaction with other players are also a common option. The key is that you need to develop an experience that retains the player's attention over a longer period because this directly translates to the revenue your game generates.

Alongside this are games sold directly through Internet portals. These are a little different. Portal sites have more space in which to provide information, so potential players can view screenshots, movies, and even background stories before they choose to buy a game. They can also see reviews, recommendations, and sometimes even comments made by other players. The bad news is that if your game isn't that great, reviewers and users will slam it. The opposite is also true, though; if the game is great, the portal will help it succeed.