Bing Gordon: online gamers should generate $3 per hour
World is being "gamified" says Zynga board member and ex-EA exec
Online gamers should always generate an average of $3 of value per hour, regardless of the game they are playing, according to comments made by former EA executive Bing Gordon.
Now a partner with venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, as well as a board member of Amazon, Ngmoco, and Zynga, Gordon insisted the metric was necessary for "an illusion they're creating value".
Speaking to GamesBeat, Gordon used specific examples of earning gold in World of Warcraft (based on its worth on the black market) and generating $3's worth of gifts or coins per hour in FarmVille.
Gordon claimed that the lines between game and the real world were becoming blurred and that his metric was evidence of the world becoming "gamified".
As well as referencing Foursquare, Gordon pointed to the work of Zynga as pioneering the trend and giving a reason for players to constantly return to a game for minor rewards. This he says makes it easier for Zynga to generate revenue, from the increased percentage of users paying for items in free-to-play games.