I'm watching "Newbie to Big Spender: Understanding the Player Lifecycle", by Kongregate's CEO.[1] That's from 2012. This was made before they felt a need to apologize for the business model. It's openly about to hook players and turn them into big spenders. There's a 4-stage process to hook them. Few players start out as big spenders in a game. Heavy spending comes later. Game levels are designed accordingly. The user shouldn't be pressured to pay until they have 50 plays or so. By Stage 4 (Committed Players), players are no-longer price sensitive and will buy cosmetic items.
68% of revenue comes from players who spend over $500 in a single game. Their biggest whale back then had spent $30,000 on one game. All those people who spend $5 don't matter. That's the free-to-play business.
68% of revenue comes from players who spend over $500 in a single game. Their biggest whale back then had spent $30,000 on one game. All those people who spend $5 don't matter. That's the free-to-play business.
[1] http://developers.kongregate.com/blog/newbie-to-big-spender-...