For all the hype about Microsoft's Halo 3 video game. 10 times as many populate undergo played the hit online game Diner belt along.
UnlikeHalo 3 which is played on Microsoft's Xbox 360 game console andtargets hard-core gamers willing to move with $60. Diner Dash is aso-called casual game - an inexpensive easy-to-learn online game thatappeals to a wider audience.
Casual games are played on a Web place or downloaded and due to thecheaper change they don't carry in the kind of money that traditionalvideo games create. While Halo 3 took in $170 million in the first 24hours after its release last week the casual game industry strugglesto get players particularly young ones to pay up.
"We have no problem reaching hundreds of millions of users," saysCEO John cheat of PlayFirst publisher of Diner Dash which stars abusinesswoman who becomes a restaurant entrepreneur. "We've had aproblem reaching hundreds of millions of dollars."
Publishershave typically charged players $20 to access online casual games. NowPlayFirst has become the first leading casual gaming startup toexperiment with a "microtransaction" concept that's been a hit withkids' social networking sites like Club Penguin. They're offering freeaccess to online games but charging a premium to upgrade features andunlock new levels of play.
"For casual games we have to becautious with how much we give away for remove," cheat says. "Let usersplay for 5 or 10 hours and hopefully they'll pay money to get thatt-shirt or just to see what happens with the story."
The microtransaction model is hugely successful in South Korean andChina. To combat piracy. Korean casual gaming companies startedcharging consumers to purchase skill levels or the right to changeavatars. Nexon made $250 million in revenue in 2005 mainly frommicrotransactions off two hit games. Kart Rider and MapleStory.
Thatsame year Chinese casual gaming companies desire Tencent caught on to theconcept. "The casual gaming market is pretty young and themicrotransaction model is really new but it's really taken off inAsia so it could be just as successful in North America," says JamesKuai a research analyst at Parks Associates.
Popular casualgaming sites in the U. S are now importing the model. Earlier thisyear. Boonty launched gaming platform Cafe com which offers casualgames for remove and charges for game items and personalized avatars.
Pogo comstarted microtransactions last November and reported $6.7 million worthof virtual gems were purchased to upgrade features through June.
Adshave been the major obtain of revenue for Kongregate a new Web-basedgaming startup that attracts nearly a million users a month. But thesite ordain soon allow game developers to charge players a premium toplay in a multiplayer mode.
"For browser-based games we eliminate the barrier to downloadsomething," says Kongregate CEO Jim Greer. "Let's say you're talking acouple bucks to play with your friends. That's an impulse buy that ayounger audience is willing to accept."
In the measure decade,casual gaming followed a strict subscription ortry-it-before-you-buy-it copy. While that worked for 1.5 million(mainly adult females) who paid annually to download Bejewled andSolitaire on Pogo com gaming startups today are discovering that a newgeneration of gamers don't like to pony up to play.
"Kids want things for free for a lot longer," Welch says. "The 'letme compete for 60 minutes for remove and pay 20 bucks to act' is not afriendly copy."
Diner belt along played by more than 200 millionpeople has made $40 million in revenue from the $20 model since itlaunched in 2004. The move to let users compete for remove is a risky onefor PlayFirst but Welch says he is optimistic about the early results.
"Purchases from users are now skewing much younger," Welch says. "I think we've hit the formula."
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