14 DAY TRIAL // Venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers has stated that an online gamer needs to create 3 dollars worth of value during one hour of play in order to keep himself entertained and engaged with the title he is playing.
The figure has been offered by Bing Gordon, who is a partner at the firm, and he says that all players, regardless of whether they are playing free-to-play social titles or traditional subscription-powered MMOs, need the illusion of creating value in order to continue their commitment to a game world.
Bing Gordon is a veteran of the video game industry and has served as Chief Creative Officer for publisher Electronic Arts for about ten years and received a 2011 Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences Lifetime Achievement Award.
In a title like FarmVille, the seemingly ubiquitous Facebook game from Zynga, a player needs to create gifts for other players or coins for his own use adding up to 3 dollars in order to be satisfied with his gaming experience and have a positive experience about the time spent.
It's not clear how Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers has arrived at the 3 dollar value figure and whether players are actively evaluating the value they are generating in a video game while playing or whether the entire process takes place on a subconscious level.
The 3 dollar figure is easier to evaluate in free-to-play social games, but it's harder for someone who is playing World of Warcraft to put a clear value on his actions after one hour of playing the MMO.
It's also not clear whether the satisfaction derived from social interaction with other players can be counted towards the 3 dollar satisfaction mark.
At the moment Gordon Bing is heading the sFund, a venture capital pool which will invest 250 million dollars in social applications.
The sFund is being backed by companies like Amazon, Facebook and Zynga.