[7 / 0 / ?]
Quoted By:
Sweet addiction
Candy Crush a $1m-a-day saga
LONDON
EVOLUTIONARY: Candy Crush is more a fine-tuning of existing concepts than a new type of game
UNEXPECTED SUCCESS: Mr Knutsson, chief creative officer and co-founder of King, said that no one in his team foresaw Candy Crush's success when developing the game. He has said that the company will keep adding levels to the game.
STAND in a crowded commuter train and you will see a multitude of people. Goldfish-mounted, eyes glazed, deeply breathing, fixated on only one thing.
Getting rows of red jelly beans or orange lozenges to disappear.
Worldwide, Candy Crush Saga is estimated to make US$1 million per day from its users, according to Appdata.
It is one of a growing number of games that are free to download but generate extraordinary revenues by nudging addicted players into paying to get gizmos that help them progress.
Players buy add-ons, extra lives and access to higher levels. These microtransactions have been criticised, but its British-based developer, King, is quick to point out that more than half of players who reach the last level in Candy Crush Saga have done so without any financial outlay.
The hefty revenues have led to speculation that King, which has its headquarters at London's Kings Cross, is preparing for an initial public offering (IPO) of shares in the United States.
King has taken advantage of a change in the way people play video games. There was a time when a particular demographic was over-represented among gamers - young men at home, using consoles.
The advent of smartphones and tablets has changed gaming - so much so that the typical Candy Crush Saga player is a woman aged 25-45.
Some people's devotion to the game leads to them changing their smartphone's internal clock so that they get more lives.
One gamer, Ms Laura Wilson, travelling on a Friday-afternoon train from Kings Cross to Newcastle, played for only a few minutes before her lives ran out.
With a small sigh she closed the app on her iPad and opened an e-book. For her the e-book was scant consolation.
"You get addicted," she explained matter-of-factly.
Candy Crush is not so much a new type of game as an incredibly well-researched and careful fine-tuning of existing concepts.
It displaced Bejeweled, a similar matching game originally developed 12 years ago, from the Facebook gaming charts earlier this year. Now other games aim to replicate Candy Crush's success with minor tweaks.
Mr Sebastian Knutsson, chief creative officer and co-founder of King, said that no one in his team foresaw Candy Crush Saga's success when developing the game, initially for the company's website.
Though he said that "we don't want to be a Candy Crush company", the game is far and away King's largest property.
It accounts for the lion's share of the company's 225 million unique monthly users. Appdata, an analyst of iOS and Facebook applications, estimated that Candy Crush Saga has 137 million active monthly users alone, topping charts.
Mr Knutsson said that King will keep adding levels to the regular Candy Crush. The addiction will continue.
Nervously, Ms Amy Bolton, a 21-year-old student at Newcastle University, admitted that before she goes to sleep, she'll often fit in a game.
"And when I close my eyes to go to sleep, I can see all the shapes still, like a virtual Candy Crush in my head."
BBC NEWS
Candy Crush a $1m-a-day saga
LONDON
EVOLUTIONARY: Candy Crush is more a fine-tuning of existing concepts than a new type of game
UNEXPECTED SUCCESS: Mr Knutsson, chief creative officer and co-founder of King, said that no one in his team foresaw Candy Crush's success when developing the game. He has said that the company will keep adding levels to the game.
STAND in a crowded commuter train and you will see a multitude of people. Goldfish-mounted, eyes glazed, deeply breathing, fixated on only one thing.
Getting rows of red jelly beans or orange lozenges to disappear.
Worldwide, Candy Crush Saga is estimated to make US$1 million per day from its users, according to Appdata.
It is one of a growing number of games that are free to download but generate extraordinary revenues by nudging addicted players into paying to get gizmos that help them progress.
Players buy add-ons, extra lives and access to higher levels. These microtransactions have been criticised, but its British-based developer, King, is quick to point out that more than half of players who reach the last level in Candy Crush Saga have done so without any financial outlay.
The hefty revenues have led to speculation that King, which has its headquarters at London's Kings Cross, is preparing for an initial public offering (IPO) of shares in the United States.
King has taken advantage of a change in the way people play video games. There was a time when a particular demographic was over-represented among gamers - young men at home, using consoles.
The advent of smartphones and tablets has changed gaming - so much so that the typical Candy Crush Saga player is a woman aged 25-45.
Some people's devotion to the game leads to them changing their smartphone's internal clock so that they get more lives.
One gamer, Ms Laura Wilson, travelling on a Friday-afternoon train from Kings Cross to Newcastle, played for only a few minutes before her lives ran out.
With a small sigh she closed the app on her iPad and opened an e-book. For her the e-book was scant consolation.
"You get addicted," she explained matter-of-factly.
Candy Crush is not so much a new type of game as an incredibly well-researched and careful fine-tuning of existing concepts.
It displaced Bejeweled, a similar matching game originally developed 12 years ago, from the Facebook gaming charts earlier this year. Now other games aim to replicate Candy Crush's success with minor tweaks.
Mr Sebastian Knutsson, chief creative officer and co-founder of King, said that no one in his team foresaw Candy Crush Saga's success when developing the game, initially for the company's website.
Though he said that "we don't want to be a Candy Crush company", the game is far and away King's largest property.
It accounts for the lion's share of the company's 225 million unique monthly users. Appdata, an analyst of iOS and Facebook applications, estimated that Candy Crush Saga has 137 million active monthly users alone, topping charts.
Mr Knutsson said that King will keep adding levels to the regular Candy Crush. The addiction will continue.
Nervously, Ms Amy Bolton, a 21-year-old student at Newcastle University, admitted that before she goes to sleep, she'll often fit in a game.
"And when I close my eyes to go to sleep, I can see all the shapes still, like a virtual Candy Crush in my head."
BBC NEWS
