Introduction

The Electric Sheep Company is an Emmy award-winning creator of virtual worlds and social games for major brands and media companies. We develop for a wide range of needs and budgets, building on top of our best-in-class technology and proven experience.

Tapping into New Revenue Streams

Virtual worlds and social games are enormously popular, used every month by hundreds of millions of people and creating a market in the billions of dollars. They also enable powerful new revenue streams for businesses, through virtual goods, subscriptions, sponsorship, and real-world retail tie-ins. Lightweight virtual worlds can typically earn between $1.00 and $2.00 per unique user per month (monthly ARPU), while more intense MMOs average $5.00 to $10.00. A well designed social game distributed across the major social networking sites can earn between $0.30 and $0.70 in monthly ARPU.

ESC works with our clients to understand their business goals and target customer demographics, apply the appropriate revenue models, and design effective compulsion loops that fit those goals.

Client Examples

Lifetime Networks: Fashion Improv

ESC designed and developed Fashion Improv, a social gaming application for Lifetime Networks’ games studio.  Launched on the Facebook platform in April 2010, the 3D experience allows players to create a unique avatar, assemble a diverse wardrobe of virtual clothing, and pit their fashion sense against the greater community in a real time multiplayer gaming challenge.  The experience is highly social in nature with players inviting their friends to themed parties to chat and challenge one another’s styles.

RIDEMAKERZ Casual MMOG

RIDEMAKERZ is a casual MMOG (massively multiplayer online game) targeting boys 6-12. Players can explore a rich world filled with gameplay options, customize a virtual replica of their real-life remote controlled RIDE as well as personal spaces.  The experience includes a virtual economy, leveling and achievement systems, a social graph, and gameplay that is affected by the accessories and customizations added to the cars. Socialization occurs via white list chat and visual emote communication cues. The experience also features tight integration to RIDEMAKERZ retail ecommerce systems. Created with ESC’s proprietary virtual world technology, the RIDEMAKERZ Virtual World was built to scale and handle over 1 million total users by the end of 2010.

MTV: Sponsor Integration

For 2+ years, ESC worked with MTV to produce community events, help manage the diverse group of technologies and vendors selected by MTV, and integrate sponsors like Pepsi, Secret, AT&T Wireless, and Sunkist within MTV’s virtual world (vMTV). The Pepsi virtual soft drink was the vMTV’s top-selling product in 2007, moving more than 110,000 cans that were virtually recycled and used more than 650,000 times. The cans were also seen in use over 2.4 million times by 85 percent of the user base. A study published in AdWeek showed that consumer responses to integrated sponsorships within the virtual world were significantly more positive than to TV or Web advertisement views.

Showtime Networks: Enriching the Fan Experience

ESC worked with Showtime Networks to enhance the website community experience for The L Word’s dedicated fan base. The lightweight virtual experience was used by thousands of fans from around the world, included video content about the cast, and had integrated links over to Showtime’s ecommerce site.