Posts Tagged ‘Freemium’

Digital Chocolate uses OpenFeint to produce first free-to-play iPhone title

Thursday, April 1st, 2010

OpenFeint, a leading social networking platform solution provider, recently announced a partnership with game developer Digital Chocolate to help produce the company’s first free-to-play title for iPhone and iPod Touch. Titled Fantasy Warrior Legends, Digital Chocolate’s game is now available for free at the App Store.

IMG_0040Only about a month and a half after Open Feint’s announcement of their social features for free-to-play iPhone games, Digital Chocolate is utilizing these tools, and providing players with the options to post scores on leaderboards, track their progress, access live forums and chat with other OpenFeint players to share tips and tricks about the game.

“We’re excited to launch Digital Chocolate’s first freemium game on the OpenFeint social gaming network. With an engaged community of more than 17 million players, OpenFeint is the perfect platform to launch a social, RPG game,” said Jason Citron, Founder and CEO of Aurora Feint, Inc.

Fanstasy Warrior Legends is Digital Chocolate’s fourth title using the OpenFeint technology, but the first to be offered as a free-to-play. Players engage in a heroic battle as “Rento”, and must ultimately destroy the evil Demon Lord. The title was specifically designed with iPhone and iPod Touch features in mind, players use the multi-touch feature to navigate and fight monsters by touching and tapping screen controls. Likewise, Digital Chocolate is also using the microtransactions feature of the Apps Store, with a digital market built in that will allow players to make RMT’s for virtual goods that will enhance their game experience.

“Fantasy Warrior Legends is our first free-to-play game that will contain an in-game social platform, and with OpenFeint’s collaboration, we will be able to give users a sense of community,” said Trip Hawkins, Founder and CEO of Digital Chocolate (formerly founder of EA). “This allows us to give consumers an even more engaging RPG adventure.”

OpenFeint will feature Fantasy Warrior Legends in the exclusive “Free Game of the Day” spotlight on Sunday April 11th, 2010. During the promo, users will be able to download 400 in-game gems for free to beef up their action-adventure gameplay.

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in industry news | No Comments »

 

Outspark appoints (another) EA veteran to Chief of Game Operations

Tuesday, September 15th, 2009

With the influx of EA talent now floating around free-to-play games publisher and producer Outspark, it’s easy to wonder why EA didn’t just purchase the company outright. One week prior, Outspark announced that former EA senior exec Owen Mahoney would be taking over the reins as CEO, and only one week prior to that, they’d announced an exclusive publishing deal with EA’s new dance based title Dance Groove Online.

New up at Outspark is Niranjan Nagar. Mr. Nagar brings over 15 years of experience to the table, particularly via his role as VP of The Sims Internet Group at EA. In this role, he was the man responsible for growing online revenue and player community worldwide for both The Sims 2, and perhaps more importantly, in respect to Outspark’s business model (microtransactions as revenue generators), The Sims 3. Prior to EA Nagar was co-founder of SingShot Media, a song sharing platform acquired by EA in 2007.

In his new position, Mr. Nagar will head up the development of Outspark’s product lineup, as well as building infrastructure programs for massively-connected game play. He’s also planning on expanding Outspark’s market share by building on their growing reputation as an industry innovator in freemium games publishing. As noted in the Owen Mahoney report, Outspark counts 1.8 million unique users, and since their launch date in 2007, have seen traffic spike to 6.8 million unique visitors a month.

“The game market continues to see tremendous growth, especially as players around the world transition to online and free-to-play models,” said Mr. Nagar. “Outspark is a key player in pioneering this exciting area and the combination of great products and great execution are what enables us to deliver hits in the North American and European markets and capitalize on future market opportunities.”

When he took the reigns just only one week ago (officially), CEO Owen Mahoney stated that one of his primary objectives was to expand Outspark’s presence in North America, Europe, and the Pacific Rim. With the quick addition of a proven mover and shaker, he looks to be getting off on the right foot.

“Niranjan’s deep technology and management expertise as well as his track record with high-growth companies make him an excellent fit for Outspark as we focus on quickly expanding our global footprint,” said Owen Mahoney, CEO of Outspark. “His proven ability to build fast-moving teams is invaluable and accelerates our efforts to further establish Outspark as the premium publisher of free-to-play online games in North America and Europe.”

Tags: , , , , , , ,
Posted in industry news | No Comments »

 

Acclaim ditches freemium model – Chronicles of Spellborn goes free-to-play in 2010

Wednesday, July 1st, 2009

Acclaim dropped the bomb on current Chronicles of Spellborn players yesterday in their forums by announcing that the title is now (more or less) in a state of limbo until sometime in 2010, when the game will ditch the freemium model, and switch to a pure free-to-play, microtransaction supported business model.

Acclaim Games announces the re-development of their recent MMORPG The Chronicles of Spellborn which was released in February, 2009. The development is planned to carry into 2010 and will include several enhancements and changes to the current game. The enhancements and development of the new model will be carried through a joint venture between Spellborn NV and the development studio of Frogster Asia Co. Ltd. based in Seoul, the Korean studio bringing its expertise in the field of free-to-play and micro-transactions.

After the re-development, the current subscription model will be switched to a free-to-play system supported by micro-transactions. This will open the world of Spellborn to all players and give them a chance to experience the rich lore and game-play in its entirety.

Players who are currently playing the game will be able to continue playing the game in its current form via the subscription service. At the point where the new version is released, any unused subscriptions will be credited to their accounts. Any players who wish to register for a free account can sign up now at http://spellborn.acclaim.com.

spellbornThis announcement arrives just five months after the long awaited public release.  Developed by Dutch based Spellborn International, with the US release handled by Acclaim, the game allowed the opening levels, originally up to 7, then bumped to 9, to be played for free, but then required subscription dues thereafter.  This model will remain in place until the 2010 change, but interesting to note that during this transition phase, no changes will be made to game content.  In other words, not only will there be no new content updates, but any existing bugs, planned fixes, etc. are off the table for now.  The Chronicles of Spellborn is now officially in a state of limbo.

Also important to note: this decision was made by Spellborn International, and not Acclaim.  Even given these circumstances, personally, I can’t think of a better way to destroy your community, as is clearly evidenced by the 4 plus and growing comments pages in reaction to the announcement on the acclaim official forums.  I.e., why would I continue to make subscription payments until the free-to-play switch is flipped?  Yes, any unused subscription amounts will be credited, but really…what’s the point now?

While this is a nice addition to the free-to-play roster, The Chronicles of Spellborn now arrives to the party in tarnished armor, and will most probably now only occupy the corner by the drinks table, licking it’s wounds.  Sad really, as this title had plenty of potential, and what looks like a pretty dedicated fanbase.

Can Spellborn International and Frogster Asia re-invent The Chronicles of Spellborn and make the proverbial phoenix rise from the ashes?  Perhaps, but the question that begs to be asked is; at what cost?

Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in industry news | 1 Comment »

 

Free-to-play Maple Story ranks among top moneymaking MMO’s of 2008.

Monday, February 2nd, 2009

DFC Intelligence is gearing up to publish a comprehensive study of MMO worlds next month, according to GigaOm.  Wagner James Au got a special preview of the report and shares some initial estimates.

DFC’s David Cole says that the 2008 numbers are on the “very conservative” side, indicating that the 2008 numbers are still being crunched, and more exact numbers will be reflected in the February 16th reports.  “We indicate ranges because these numbers are estimates for 2008 based on where we think these products will end up,” said Cole.  And while the numbers are still being tallied, Cole estimates that the rankings should stay more or less the same, with “maybe a slot here or there” changing.

And while it shouldn’t come as a shock that the Blizzard powerhouse World of Warcraft takes the number one spot, Cole believes that if viewed from a pure profit margin, WoW wouldn’t be taking home the gold.  Asian MMO’s, which are traditionally developed at far lower budgets, have a much higher profit margin.  “Profit margin on Asian games is incredibly high,” says Cole, noting that Asian MMOs charge on or around 5-6 cents per hour with prepaid usage cards, a business model that has yet to proliferate the western gaming market.

What’s interesting to note in this projected report is the high ranking of Nexon’s free-to-play Maple Story (supported by microtransactions, prepaid cards, and international licensing), and the catalogue of Shanda’s games (Virtual item sales, prepaid cards, and freemium subscriptions).

1. World of Warcraft, launched 2004
Genre/Platform: Western MMORPG; client install with 3D graphics
Revenue sources: Monthly subscription, retails sales, prepaid cards (in Asia)
DFC estimated 2008 revenue: $500 million-plus

2. Fantasy Westward Journey, launched 2004
Genre/Platform: Asian MMORPG, client install with 2.5D graphics
Revenue sources: Prepaid cards
DFC estimated 2008 revenue: $150-$500 million

3. Maple Story, launched 2003
Genre/Platform: Asian MMORPG for kids, client install with 2D graphics
Revenue sources: Microtransactions, prepaid cards, international licensing
DFC estimated 2008 revenue: $150-$500 million

4. Shanda (company, includes Legend of Mir and World of Legend series), launched 2003
Genre/Platform: Asian MMORPG, client install with 2.5 graphics
Revenue sources: Prepaid cards, virtual item sales, freemium subscriptions
DFC estimated 2008 revenue: $150-$500 million

5. Lineage I and Lineage II , launched 1998 and 2003
Genre/Platform: Asian MMORPG, client install with 2.5 graphics (Lineage) and 3D graphics (Lineage II)
Revenue sources: Subscription, prepaid cards
DFC estimated 2008 revenue: $150-$500 million

6. Runescape
Genre/Platform: Western MMORPG for kids, web-based with 2.5D graphics
Revenue sources: Premium subscription, prepaid cards, real-world advertising
DFC estimated 2008 revenue: $50-$150 million

7. Club Penguin, launched 2006
Genre/Platform: Virtual world for kids, web-based 2.5D graphics
Revenue sources: Premium subscriptions, prepaid game cards
DFC estimated 2008 revenue: $50-$150 million

8. Lord of the Ring Online
Genre/Platform: Western MMORPG, client install with 3D graphics
Revenue sources: Subscription, retail sales
DFC estimated 2008 revenue: $50-$150 million

9. Warhammer Online
Genre/Platform: Western MMORPG, client install with 3D graphics
Revenue sources: Subscription, retail sales
DFC estimated 2008 revenue: $50-$150 million

10. Age of Conan
Genre/Platform: Western MMORPG, client install with 3D graphics
Revenue sources: Subscription, retail sales
DFC estimated 2008 revenue: $50-$150 million

Wagner continues his conversation with Cole around the most popular, in terms of active players, MMO of 2008.  To answer this question, we’ve got to go even a bit further out on the speculation branch, but Cole points out that Fantasy Westward Journey registered 2-3 million concurrent players back in August.  And although Warcraft likes to beat it’s own drum regarding their estimated 11 million+ players, “You’re lucky to get 5-10 percent [of them] playing at the same time,” says Cole.  Minho Kim, developer of Maple Story said in December that the title has 87+ million registrations, but wouldn’t comment on how many of these registered users were/are active monthly users.  Joost van Dreunen from DFC’ estimates the number to be more in the 13 – 17.4 million regular Maple Story players, roughly 15-20 percent of Kim’s estimation.

Cole admits that this year’s list looks remarkably similar to the 2007 list with Conan and Warhammer being released in 2008.  And while only 2 of the top 10 contain some type of microtransaction support, I’d estimate that this list might look very different one year from now with a number of highly anticipated (think Free Realms and Battlefield Heroes) free-to-plays coming online in ’09.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in industry news | 1 Comment »

 

Acclaim released more info about Spellborn, tags it Freemium

Wednesday, November 19th, 2008

Acclaim has recently released more info about Frogster’s Chronicles of Spellborn, the highly anticipated free-to-play, or Freemium as Acclaim has recently dubbed it, MMORPG.  The closed beta testing is scheduled to get underway starting November 27th, and has a release date of January 2009.  Acclaim has licenses for Spellborn in North America, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and South America.

European countries will go live on the 27th of November, while Acclaim plans a simultaneous closed beta opening.  Both launches will have the exact same product featuring identical Freemium (read: free-to-play, microtransaction monetization models) models, but the Europeans will act as guinea pigs, ensuring that everything is smooth sailing before the Acclaim launch.

The game has undergone some key upgrades and enhancements, now allowing more players to participate and enjoy the game.  Spellborn will feature a Freemium model whereby the game will start with a free-to-play zone, but a Premium subscription service will be required to unlock additional zone of play.

The Spellborn client will be free to download and install, and will feature said free-to-play zone with no time restrictions.  Spellborn will however, impose a level limit before kicking in the ‘Want to play more?  Pay up’ process.  Some key features of this free-to-play zone include:

  • Free players are limited to the starting zones Hawksmouth and Aldenvault.
  • A gameplay limit occurs at Fame level 7, when free players have progressed approximately 90% towards Fame level 8.
  • Upon reaching this limit, all character progression is blocked and the player will receive a pop-up informing them of this block and what is obtainable beyond this with a premium subscription.

Some element will specifically be blocked including:

  • Players will be unable to gain Fame in any way or form, frozen at a fixed amount.
  • The player will be able to accept quests, but not able to complete any objectives/quests.
  • Able to kill mobs, but the player will receive no kill credit. This means, no fame reward, no pep reward and no item reward.

Unable to travel beyond the zones Hakwsmouth and Aldenvault.

Acclaim’s freemium model is moderately priced, clocking in a $15/month to open all game content.  A decent break from the standard $30 $15 or so per month (Thanks Aetherworld and Armory Light for the catch) most MMO players are used to via World of Warcraft.    Feedback thus far has been outstanding, while MMORPG.com places Chronicles of Spellborn at #3 over the past 30 days (WoW ranks #8!), and developers have been keen to incorporate this feedback.  The hype machine is gearing up, and all I can say is, it’s worth it.  I personally played Chronicles of Spellborn at the Games Convention in Leipzig, and had a full walk through with Frogster Developers.  Spellborn really is delivering what they’ve promised; a top notch MMO at an amazing price, with a ton of features that you’d expect at this level of development.

For more, visit Chronicles of Spellborn at: www.tcos.com

Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in industry news | 2 Comments »