Industry estimates show that there are over 2.5 billion gamers worldwide. 2.2 billion of those gamers utilize smart devices to access different gaming platforms. With so many gamers around the world, revenue from the PC gaming market brought in $37 billion in the US alone.
Video games reach a wide demographic around the world. 28% of US gamers are under 18 years old, and 23% are 50 and above.
What Is A Gaming Community
The simplest definition of a gaming community is an organized group of gamers who come together, usually with common interest in a single game or series. It can be a small group consisting of a few individuals or in some cases, the numbers can rise to hundreds of thousands.
It is critical to have a system in place to guide the interactions between developers and customers. That is where community management comes in.
Check Out Case Study of Tripwire Interactive
Why Is Good Community Management Important
Managing diverse groups requires the right tools and strategies. Proper community management is critical for several reasons.
- Community Management is the link between the developers and the end customers.
- It provides a system of collecting relevant feedback.
- It is an avenue for advising developers, based on fan feedback.
- It handles customer complaints and passes on that information to the developers.
- It helps with releasing update information and rolling out proper marketing strategies.
- It provides a platform where fans can interact and learn from each other.
- With the right software, community management increases fan trust and opens up possibilities for growth.
What Is A Community Manager?
A community manager is the link between developers and players. They coordinate fan interaction, events, merchandising and social media platforms. They also handle questions, feedback and criticisms.
Qualities of a Good Community Manager
With so many responsibilities, a community manager must have specific skills including:
- Ability to juggle multiple roles
- A good understanding of the games and their player communities
- Ability to communicate well
- Well-organized to manage the different aspects of the gaming community
- Sound judgment and flexibility to meet the issues that may arise
- Passionate about the job and the different players involved
- Analytical and know-how of the right software to generate critical reports
Casting A Light on The Gaming Industry
The amount of money that moves within the gaming industry is mind-boggling. By the end of 2019, Tencent, a Chinese gaming company, brought in revenue worth $5.2 billion.
The industry as a whole generated revenues in excess of $159.3 billion. Industry experts estimate that by 2022, the revenue generation will be in the range of $196 billion.
Other than revenue generation, the gaming industry creates employment for a wide range of people. In the US alone, the industry employs almost 242,000 people.
Over 57% of developers reside in the US. Community managers, developers, cloud managers among others are some of the beneficiaries.
It is an industry that plays a significant economic role and one that must continue to grow.
Methods for Better Community Management
There are many ways to improve the way fans perceive a new game. For most companies, there is an outstanding amount of work that goes into this process, and it is far from easy.
The list below outlines a few ways that gaming studios strive to produce a better overall experience for players.
1. Announce For New Releases
An exciting aspect of gaming is the constant new releases dropping throughout the year! Developers are constantly working hard to provide their players with something new and exciting.
It is the responsibility of the community manager to work to maintain the interest of players. They have to apply strategies to pique their interest and generate the right conversations.
Finding out what will interest a large group of players quickly can be difficult, but it is possible with the right marketing and interactions. Releasing a new title is a long and grueling process that takes effort from everyone in a studio. Community managers are constantly working with other team members to ensure that the new title is staying on schedule and then relaying that information to players.
2. Track Problems
Any technical issues affecting the games require a speedy resolution. As the point of contact between the fans and developers, community managers must have a pulse on everything.
Player feedback is critical for identifying and solving issues and the interactions between those players and a studio are vital for maintaining goodwill between both parties.
3. Analyze Gamer Sentiment
One of the skills required as a community manager is the ability to generate relevant information using the right tools. They must analyze data-and generate reports based on that information.
Analyzing player feedback for every game that a studio releasesis a crucial task. The feedback that community managers provide to the developers will help them improve their game catalog.
4. Build Strong Relationships
A community comprises like-minded people who share common interests and goals. It is also a fantastic place to develop lasting friendships.
Community managers need to know the fans better than anyone else in the studio. They become the go-to person for questions, issues, news updates and more!
5. Keep Better Connection With Developers And Gamers
Community managers play a delicate role of balancing the interests of the developers and players. They are the link that acts as a liaison, information source and the one who provides solutions.
They should be able to handle the good and the bad and use their judgment to provide solutions.
Developers take a lot of pride in their products. Community managers have to handle any negative feedback with compassion and understanding.
Conclusion
Community management is not an easy role. As the link between the developer and the player, they wear many hats.
Maintaining relationships, providing timely feedback, and implementing marketing strategies, among many other tasks are required for great community management platform.
References:
- https://www.pocketgamer.biz/comment-and-opinion/65372/sponsored-pocket-sized-guide-for-community-management/
- https://blog.vanillaforums.com/gaming/game-community-management-is-it-for-you
- https://www.screenskills.com/careers/jobprofiles/games/production/community-manager/
- https://www.gameindustrycareerguide.com/how-to-become-a-video-game-community-manager/
- https://www.pulse.com.gh/bi/tech/the-dollar120-billion-gaming-industry-is-going-through-more-change-than-it-ever-has/
- https://www.businessinsider.com/video-game-industry-120-billion-future-innovation-2019-9
- https://newzoo.com/insights/articles/newzoo-games-market-numbers-revenues-and-audience-2020-2023/
- https://fortunly.com/statistics/video-game-industry-statistics/
Tim works as the VP of Sales and Marketing at NetServ Applications and oversees the development and client relationships for NetServs’ proprietary product Tatvam. Tatvam is a Customer Feedback Analytics product that leverages technologies like Machine Learning and AI to help companies monitor and improve their customer experience. Tim both manages the product log and the development teams to ensure they are consistently innovating and delivering a true value-add product, as well as continuously works with Tatvam customers to help them improve their data strategies and customer experiences.
