J. Alison Bryant, Ph.D.
We bring together the heart of the creator,
the mind of the researcher, and the soul of the consumer,
to bring about groundbreaking play and entertainment products
for kids and families.
The Golden Rules
1. Make my life easier. 2. Make my kids happy.
What provides “value?”
Together Time"
Learning/Creativity"
Brands/Characters"Communication"
Safe/"Ad-Free"
Replay/"Reuse"Intuitive"
Multi-child Use"
84% of parents would be interested in
playing asynchronous,
coopera9ve games with their kids
70% of parents think that playing with their
kids on mobile devices helps their
development
Sources: PlayScience “Mobile Playgrounds” (2011) & “Ruckus Reader” survey (2012); ESA “Essen9al Facts” (2011)
45% of parents play computer/video games with their kids every week
(é from 36% in 2007)
Gaming has value!
2%
6%
8%
15%
18%
20%
30%
4%
10%
13%
22%
16%
19%
17%
First Second
Kids want to spend time with family and friends
Play video games
Play a game on your computer
Watch television
Spend time with your friends in person
Spend time with your friends online
Spend time with your family in person
Read or look through magazines
47%
39%
34%
37%
21%
16%
6%
Top 2 Choices
Source: Nickelodeon & StarCom Project 2008
Together Time & Time Alone
Parents and kids want both things to do together AND things to do alone. In either case, the technology has to work for them.
If itʼs coplay, give us something to actually do together!"
If itʼs for my child, make sure they can do it alone."
Families with kids overindex on every type of media
They also tend to be earlier on the adoption curve, especially for technologies that can be used by multiple family members or are seen as educational.
About ¾ of U.S. families have at least one “smart” mobile device in their home (and most have more). Of those that have at least one, here is the breakdown: "
Tech & entertainment purchases are impacted by siblings
Products generally have a longer use life for older siblings than younger ones; and households with siblings generally “age up” their media use quicker. Products that can be used for multiple kids (in age-appropriate ways) have considerable value for multi-child households.
Digital Dads
This generation of Dads more involved in family media, especially when
it comes to newer technologies.
Today’s Dads are highly engaged in social
media, and Millennial Dads even have more
friends online than Millennial Moms.
Dads play a more active role in technology and
media purchase decisions for the family.
Dads are also more likely to spend more on
technology-related items. They spend
$0.45 more for iPhone apps and $0.75 more for iPad apps than Moms.
And they like to be spoken to as Dads.
Sources: NPD “Kids & Gaming” (2011), 500 Startups, 2012
91% of U.S. kids 2-‐17 are gaming (é from 82% in 2009)
The fastest gaming growth segment is
preschoolers (é 17% since 2009)
Kids comprise 44% of new physical so^ware dollar
sales
Families spend 5x more on physical games than apps
The families & tech space is a $2.1 TRILLION market
The family (gaming) dollar
The economies of access
…and smaller • 2/3 of all phones
purchased now are smart phones
• Tablet ownership expected to increase by 200% across the U.S. and Western Europe over the next two years
It’s getting bigger… • The price of large-screen
TVs continues to drop dramatically
• 80% of TVs shipped by 2015 will be connected (currently about 1/3)
Grandparents’ role is increasing in importance
This is for both the day-to-day functioning of the family unit, but also with regard to kids’ entertainment.
3 in every 10 adults is a
grandparent."
The grandparent population is larger
than either the African American
or Hispanic"Population."
The median ages for becoming a
grandparent are 50 (W) and 54 (M)." Grandparents
control the majority of finacial
assets today."
Grandparent spending on their
grandkids has grown 7.6% every year since 2000."
Source: Grandparents.com (2009). The Grandparent Economy.
Grandparents make 45% of
nonprofit donations"
Grandparents account for 42% of all spending
on gifts."
7.3"
12.6"
10.7"
9.1"
6.7"
15"
16.1"
1.4"
45-54"
55-64"
65-74"
75-84"
2020" 2010"
3-Generation Households (MMs)"
Source: MetLife Mature American Report (2011)
GP Age
What grandparents want from technology
• Co-play experiences • Special/unique experiences • More consistent communication • Tangible gifts (even for digital items) • Information/Marketing that speaks to
them (as grandparents) • Educational experiences
Grandparents are fast adopters of new platforms
They are not the first adopters, but they catch up quickly.
Remember…
Play is not only for kids!
The FUNdamentals of Family Game Design
Accessible Pladorm (2 to 92)
User-‐friendly Interface (If you have to
explain it, it’s wrong)
Think about family as both nuclear and extended
Remember that social gaming for kids means family
gaming
Conscious inclusion of
family experience
The future of family gaming is…
Remember that for families…
Thank You!
Let’s Play!
J. Alison Bryant [email protected] www.playsciencelab.com
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NOTE: The ridiculously a d o r a b l e “ g a m i f i e d ” photos of the sisters in this deck are from Jason Lee: jwlphotography.com