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Travis Howland Group Manager Microsoft Corporation


Leverage social networking in game mechanic - Viral Cooperative games complemented by chat Simple ­ don't require focused concentration, can be played in "bites" Broad, international appeal Teens and twenties Consider a bot ­ AI opponent or game guide Use platform features ­ SDK, user tiles, skins, winks, etc. Games that play well with music from an outside source

Ellen Beeman Executive Producer Carbonated Games

4,500,000 4,000,000 3,500,000 3,000,000 2,500,000 2,000,000 1,500,000 1,000,000 500,000 0
Rock Paper Scissors* Bejeweled* Jigsaw Too* Solitaire* 7 Hand* Sudoku Too* Reversi* Hexic* Quarto* Backgammon* Billiards* Chess* Trivia Wheel of Fortune Cubis Luxor JewelQuest MahJong Mozaki MahJongQuest Upwords
* = localized title
Uno* Checkers* TicTacToe* Minesweeper*
Messenger Games Monthly Visitors
Apr- 07 May-07 Jun-07

Messenger Game Hours by Month
35,000,000 30,000,000
25,000,000
20,000,000 15,000,000 10,000,000 5,000,000 0 Oct-06 Jan-07 Apr-07 Jul-06
Dec-06
Nov-06
Aug-06
Sep-06
Mar-07
Feb-07
May-07
Jun-07

% of Messenger Sessions
70.00% 60.00% 50.00% 40.00% 30.00% 20.00% 10.00% 0.00%
Messenger games average 49 min/session
Less 1 - 3 3 - 5 5 - 11 - 21 - 31 - 41 - 51 - More than min min 11 21 31 41 51 60 than 1 min min min min min min 60 min min

It's huge
300M users by EOFY07 If Messenger were a country... Messenger is ~2.5X Xbox Live
It's young
Bulk of audience between 13-34
It's worldwide
95% overseas Strong in Europe
It's connected
Built-in Community Messages are 5X the mail sent by USPS

WW UUs by age range*
7,000,000 6,000,000
5,000,000
4,000,000 3,000,000 2,000,000 1,000,000 13 to 18 to 25 to 35 to 45 to 55 to 65 and 17 24 34 44 54 64 up MSN Games Messenger

MSN Games web site
Messenger games
29% Male Female
71%
57%
Source: Nov 2006 Avenue A study, US-market focus
43%


We've been in Casual Games for over 10 years
1996 ­ Multiplayer card and board
Started with Bridge, Chess, Spades, Checkers, Go, Reversi, and Hearts
1999 ­ Advergames like Toyota Tundra 1999 ­ Subscription multiplayer games
Bridge Club
2000 ­ Single-player web games
Blender, Double Trouble, and Blackjack
2002 ­ Download games
Bejeweled, Mah Jong Tiles, and Dynomite
2006 ­ Tethered download subscription 2007 ­ Advertising revenue share

New Site Redesign Discoverability for Games
Search Web for Games Game Browser
New Game subscription service Community Engagement
MSN Games Forums MSN Games Alerts Member Benefits Program Community programs such as 1000 Badges club
Video Ads

Support
Service hiccup: 20 cancellations
"Thanks so much for all your help in putting that (prize box) together. Everyone that attends our event all met at MSN Games so it really means a lot to everyone when they receive something."
Community Helping Community
Thank you, Thank you, Thank you so much. Followed your directions first time..... BLAM all went through was able 2 play first game in 2 days!!!! Thank you. "Holy sweetness dude lol.....i used to work on RM (rocket mania) from let to right, and ur tip to do it from right to let, holy **** man!....... thanks for the tip dude....awesome.....now my scores are.....61,605 high score....92,615 total lifetime....Mastery level 6 badge"

1. Bejeweled 2 2. Text Twist 3. Zuma 4. Spades 5. Mah Jong 6. Bridge 7. Scrabble Blast 8. Luxor 9. Cubis 2 10. Solitaire
11. Texas Hold'em 12. Bespelled 13. Jewel Quest 14. Bejeweled (Original) 15. Cubis (Original) 16. Hearts 17. Hexic 18. Backgammon 19. Alchemy 20. Collapse
Total game hours over the past 12 months Bold ­ also a top 20 download game

1. Bejeweled 2 2. MCF: Prime Suspects 3. MCF: Ravenhearst 4. Cake Mania 5. Virtual Villagers 6. Hidden Expedition Titanic 7. Luxor 2 8. Zuma Deluxe 9. Diner Dash 2 10. Bespelled
Purchases over the past 12 months Bold ­ also a top 20 web game
11. Diner Dash: Flo on the Go 12. Virtual Villagers: Lost Children 13. Cradle of Rome 14. Mah Jong Tiles 15. Dream Day Wedding 16. Cubis Gold 2 17. Luxor 18. SCRABBLE Blast Deluxe 19. MCF: Huntsville 20. Treasures of Montezuma

Exclusivity program participation
MSN Home Page promotion
Online games; compelling upsells GameSpring parity Compelling visual graphics Taglines: call to action, etc. Promotions: contextual, discounts, themes, etc. Bundles: themes, sequels

MSN Games works with a number of preferred partners in offering games
Download and Web games ­ Oberon Media Subscription ­ Real Networks Skill Gaming ­ WorldWinner
Exceptions that warrant direct relationships
IP licensing/publishing Sponsored or advergame titles Cross-platform titles, new technologies and other platform-defining efforts
Top-tier developers can still participate in co-marketing and promotional opportunities, even if working through a partner

MSN Games: Oberon: Real: WorldWinner:
mcg[[at]]microsoft[[dot]]com developers[[at]]oberon-media[[dot]]com RA-BizDe[[at]]real[[dot]]com cmoo[[at]]worldwinner[[dot]]com

LIVE service features extended to Windows
Gamerscore Achievements And more...
Multiplayer: gamers can find and connect with other gamers on Windows or Xbox 360 A very focused release November 2007 Contact our Account Management Team: mcg[[at]]microsoft[[dot]]com

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