Degree Type
Honors Capstone Project
Date of Submission
Spring 5-1-2011
Capstone Advisor
Dr. Linda Cushman
Honors Reader
Dr. Minet Schindehutte
Capstone Major
Management
Capstone College
Management
Audio/Visual Component
no
Capstone Prize Winner
no
Won Capstone Funding
no
Honors Categories
Professional
Subject Categories
Advertising and Promotion Management | Sales and Merchandising
Abstract
Skill gaming is a type of online gaming in which people play fun, easy to learn, casual games, in a tournament setup - sometimes backed by small wagers, in attempt to win cash prizes. Launched in April, 2009, SkillAddiction (SA), now host to over 54,000 customers across more than 150 countries, brings people together to compete in any of their favorite casual games, in which the outcome is predominantly based on the player's skill. SA has incorporated innovative features to set itself apart from competitors, such as a virtual scavenger hunt, and interactive community features, and continues to develop the application and add games on a regular basis.
The $1 billion skill gaming industry is dominated by only three firms, who have had years of uncontested market control. This concentrated dominance has stifled innovation and disabled consumer involvement. Furthermore, due to inherent restrictions of a skill gaming business, competitors have disregarded a large portion of their target audience in major geographical areas. A huge deficit in the supply of skill gaming to the consumer group exists as a result of the unwillingness to pursue alternate monetization efforts.
SA has built its application around offering players the most opportunities to benefit from playing at a skill gaming website, both quantitatively (cash and prizes) and qualitatively (community interaction and site features). This is made possible by additional revenue drivers that SA has implemented into its business model, diversifying risk across multiple types of revenue streams, and enabling a low cost fee structure that benefits the players directly.
SA reaches the broadest scope of online gamer - from young to old, women and men, casual or professional in its appeal by offering designs and games that can be enjoyed and appreciated by whole market. Also, SA has introduced the first virtual currency system into a casual skill gaming platform, fueling competition, motivating activity in previously dormant market segments, and making winning a possibility even without playing directly for cash.
SkillAddiction's customers have participated in over 550,000 tournaments and over 3,000,000 game plays. These figures have been reached without any substantial marketing efforts. Going forward, SA plans to focus its marketing efforts into several online campaigns.
SA incorporates three sources of revenue: collected tournament fees, advertising, and Offers. SkillAddiction will be incorporating a fourth revenue driver by the end of 2010 which will be a subscription-based gameplay model for the website. SkillAddiction is looking to enter into the mobile and social skill gaming markets to gain first mover advantage and secure the fifth and sixth revenue drivers for the company.
Without financial backing, SA is on track to generate $50,000 in revenues in 2010.
Recommended Citation
Louie, Taylor, "SkillAddiction Business Plan" (2011). Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All. 275.
https://surface.syr.edu/honors_capstone/275
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