---
title: "Why Social Mobile Games Need a Platform Now More than Ever"
description: "Many mobile social games are freemium but lack strong social effects. Only with the help of SNS platforms do mobile social games truly become social and achieve cost-effective acquisition, retention, and monetization rates. Join Ethan to learn about the current state of the platform market. He'll discuss how platforms interact with social games, why social games greatly benefit from platforms, and how game developers can leverage platforms today. Finally, he'll show how this plays out in different markets by drawing on case studies from the US and Japan."
url: "https://www.speakrphone.com/ethanfassett/why-social-mobile-games-need-a-platform-now-more-than-ever"
canonical: "https://www.speakrphone.com/ethanfassett/why-social-mobile-games-need-a-platform-now-more-than-ever"
lastModified: "2026-01-29T04:45:05.839Z"
---

# Why Social Mobile Games Need a Platform Now More than Ever

**Speaker:** [Ethan Fassett](https://www.speakrphone.com/ethanfassett.md)
**Event:** Casual Connect
**Location:** Hamburg
**Date:** 2012-02-01

Many mobile social games are freemium but lack strong social effects. Only with the help of SNS platforms do mobile social games truly become social and achieve cost-effective acquisition, retention, and monetization rates. Join Ethan to learn about the current state of the platform market. He'll discuss how platforms interact with social games, why social games greatly benefit from platforms, and how game developers can leverage platforms today. Finally, he'll show how this plays out in different markets by drawing on case studies from the US and Japan.

## Topics
- mobile game
- social networking service
- freemium
- video game monetization
- video game marketing

## Resources
- [Why Social Mobile Games Need a Platform Now More than Ever](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8icoWiR8y1w)