Plans to launch a company called “Ninja Metrics” have been announced by the University of Minnesota. This company will analyze data collected already in massively multi-player online games to identify key traits among the community. Games are already examined with regards to who buys what more, but now this new research will actually take a look at what players actually do in game. This data will used to identify each player’s pycho-social motivations which will in turn allow developers to improve online experiences. “If you look at direct mail or other marketing techniques, it’s targeted at an individual’s behavior, and ignores the social influences surrounding them,” Jaideep Srivastava, co-inventor and cofounder of Ninja Metrics said. “If [marketers] can analyze the social influences, it allows [sic] them to better target a customer.”
As said before, data is already collected when you go online. When players log on, data is collected by game developers. Since consumer attention is very important in today’s markets, obviously player experience can turn out to be a very valuable thing. Online games base most of their income on subscription fees, third party advertising, and selling virtual goods. If this research can in part predict what people will do based on what they have done, it could also also give insight on what will keep players playing. It claims to be able to, among other things, predict when a player will cancel their account.
This research has no doubt attracted many of online gaming’s biggest players, but Ninja Metrics is aiming for more. Srivastava claims it is the social influences of consumer communities that are most important in online gaming, as well as other sales platforms.” He hopes to expand the focus of Ninja Metrics to apply to retailers and other businesses. ”
[Image via Ninja Metrics]
