two & a half gamers session #102 – Legend of Mushroom’s Success: 150+Mil IAP revenue in 4 months? Social features, guilds, UA & Admon

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This is no BS gaming podcast 2.5 gamers session #102. Sharing actionable insights, dropping knowledge from our day-to-day User Acquisition, Game Design, and Ad monetization jobs. We are definitely not discussing the latest industry news, but having so much fun! Let’s not forget this is a 4 am conference discussion vibe, so let’s not take it too seriously.

The Team:

Jakub Remia⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠r- Game design consultant

Felix Braberg⁠ – Ad monetization consultant

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Matej Lančarič – User Acquisition & Creatives consultant

Join our slack channel here: SLACK CHANNEL

Summary
In this episode, the hosts discuss the success of the game Legend of Mushroom in South Korea and compare it to Legend of Slime. They explore the similarities and differences in game design and core gameplay mechanics. Guest Ken Landen shares his thoughts on the game’s monetization and social features. The hosts also highlight the unique farm and theft mechanics in Legend of Mushroom. The conversation covers various topics related to the game Legend of Mushroom. The hosts discuss the social features and guild mechanics, the timer helper mechanic, unlocking auto-lamping, session links and lamp upgrades, the asynchronous delta event in Clan Wars, different types of events, cultural references like the durian fruit, ad monetization and the lack of urgency to watch ads, implementing banner ads, and the debate on QA and UA. They conclude with their final thoughts on ads and game design. In this conversation, the hosts discuss the advertising strategies and revenue of a mobile game in different regions. They analyze the use of Twitter ads in the US and the game’s revenue in Japan and the US. They also examine the advertising channels used by the game and the effectiveness of their creatives. The hosts highlight the importance of localization in different markets, particularly in Asia. They discuss potential improvements for the game and give their overall rating. The conversation concludes with a mention of upcoming reviews and appreciation for the listeners.

Takeaways
Legend of Mushroom has achieved significant success in South Korea, surpassing expectations and earning high revenue.
The game shares similarities with Legend of Slime in terms of game design and core mechanics, but also introduces some unique features.
Monetization and social features play a crucial role in the success of mobile games, and Legend of Mushroom has both strengths and areas for improvement in these aspects.
The farm and theft mechanics in Legend of Mushroom add an interesting and interactive element to the gameplay experience. Legend of Mushroom has unique social features and guild mechanics that enhance the gameplay experience.
The timer helper mechanic, taken from other games like Forex, allows players to receive assistance from their guild members on various timers.
The game could improve by unlocking the auto-lamping feature earlier in the gameplay progression.
The implementation of banner ads could provide additional ad revenue without significantly impacting IAP revenue.

Agenda:
00:00 Introduction and Welcome
01:10 Legend of Mushroom’s Success in South Korea
05:27 Game Design Similarities
08:08 Different Core Gameplay
10:18 Discussion with Ken Landen
13:29 Monetization and Social Features
21:21 Farm and Theft Mechanics
22:49 Social Features and Guild Mechanics
23:18 Timer Helper Mechanic
24:14 Unlocking Auto-Lamping
25:00 Session Links and Lamp Upgrades
26:13 Asynchronous Delta Event in Clan Wars
27:21 Different Types of Events
28:48 Durian Fruit and Cultural References
29:45 Ad Monetization and Urgency to Watch Ads
30:37 Implementing Banner Ads
33:17 Debate on Implementing Banner Ads
36:29 Discussion on QA and UA
37:43 Final Thoughts on Ads and Game Design
39:55 Twitter Ads in the US
42:11 Revenue in Japan and the US
44:01 Advertising Channels
45:33 Creatives and Localization
48:00 Creative Strategy
51:32 Localization in Asia
52:37 Improvements and Rating

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