Posts Tagged ‘micro transaction’

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OMG! zOMG! nets half a million signups!

Monday, December 8th, 2008

OMG rly?  Gaia Onlines’ first entry to the casual MMO space has certainly stuck a chord with audiences world wide, with Gaia recently reporting that zOMG! has reached the 500,000 player benchmark – clearly indicating that they’re onto something good.  Something VERY good.

The new MMO entered it’s open beta testing phase on November 6th, and in just over a month Gaia has seen a landslide of registrations and active players on it’s servers.

As discussed in our coverage of the opening of the beta, zOMG! is flash based a casual MMORPG that pits players against monsters and enemies in 16 different zones with a wide variety of battle rings and recipes to choose from.  The main story centers around the unexplained transformation of inanimate objects into now living beings bent on wiping out the human race.  The ‘Animated’, as they’re know in-game consist of yard flamingos, gnomes, plungers, etc. can only be defeated by characters equipping themselves with magical rings and battling it out.

Existing zOMG! players now have an entire new army of fellow players to engage and play with in their ongoing campaign to smash the evildoers and live in peace and harmony.  And it’s not all just smash and grab in the land of zOMG! as the game also incorporates elements of social networking and entertainment, streaming music, and naturally, Gaia Online’s in-game, microtransaction based item mall.

When zOMG! went into an open beta phase, Senior Producer David Georgeson stated,

“Our top priority is providing a high-quality MMO gaming experience that’s fun and challenging, and also user-friendly for all levels of players.  We received a lot of great feedback from gamers during our Closed Beta, so we’re throwing open the doors as we update the game with new features and additional content.”

It seems like Gaia and company are and have been listening to players’ feedback,

“Positive feedback from satisfied players not only aids our team in modifying and ultimately perfecting the zOMG!! gameplay experience; it is truly rewarding,” said David Georgeson, Senior Producer of zOMG!! at Gaia Online. “After a lengthy development process, it’s almost surreal to watch players dig right into the storyline and begin realizing the game’s full potential.”

While Gaia Online is no stranger to massive usership, currently home to seven million plus gamers that enjoy Gaia’s wide selection of free-to-play titles, another 500,000 players in the zOMG! space doesn’t hurt anything.

Given the troubling financial climate, Gaia Online is also attributing a bit of the success of zOMG! to the inherent nature of the business model: Free-to-play.  If the price wasn’t enough of a selling point, providing a feature rich game in a browser based format makes adventuring through zOMG! even easier with no download, or credit card required.

Learn more and take zOMG! for a spin on your own over at zOMG.com.

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Free-to-play Empire of Sports in ‘Private Launch’

Monday, September 22nd, 2008

Sports MMO’s seem to be one of the newest and fastest growing trends in the virtual world, and developers F4 and Infront are soon to be tossing their entry onto the playing field.  Officially billing itself as a non MMO, Empire of Sports is an errr… non- massive, multiplayer online game focused on and around, you guessed it, any and all things sports.

Players start their non-mmo adventure as a rookie, and level up skills through a variety of entry-level sports: Soccer, Tennis, Basketball, Skiing, and Bobsledding.  You may also choose to participate in a wide variety of training exercises.  Word on the street is that Empire of Sports has a few goodies still up its sleeve and plans on introducing Track and Field events into the game in the near future.

An interesting and ‘real world’ touch to the experience gaining process is that each sport has a number of skills attached to it.  Training exercises can be done in single player mode that increases your general skills (think balance, reaction time, muscle structure) and you can practice specific skills to increase your ability in individual sports.  In other words, it’s a whole lot like being a real world athlete – you can go to the gym to pump some iron, thereby increasing your overall athleticism, or head off to the green ‘bounce back’ wall and work on developing that killer backhand.

As you train and gain experience in particular sports, you gain a competitive advantage over opponents.  You may also purchase in game equipment to give you some extra pwnage power.  Items can be acquired in three different ways: some are earned as a reward for winning a particular tournament or match, some are purchased with ‘won’ in game currency, while the others, and perhaps most important, can be purchased via an in game mall with microtransactions.  According to F4 and Infront, the microtransaction gear is not meant to provide über status in the game, and should not provide an unfair balance to the competitive non-MMO.  A nice balance considering the game should attract a wide variety of players, some with massive amounts of time on their hands, while others would still like to have some nice gear, but don’t have hours and hours on their hands to win the appropriate cash and/or tournament(s).

As with 99.44 percent of all (non) MMO’s, Empire of Sports supports guilds, aiding in quickly and easily finding others that have a similar play and/or time schedule.

Empire of Sports is currently in ‘Private Launch’ at the moment, which basically means you’ll need to fork over an email address to get playing….but other than that, you’re in like Flynn.  Empire of Sports is free-to-play with microtransactions supporting the continued development and support.

Give them a visit at www.empireofsports.com

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Combat Arms set to take Europe by storm

Thursday, September 11th, 2008

Nexon Europe Limited, the European branch of top free-to-play publisher Nexon recently announced that they plan on launching ‘Combat Arms Europe’ via a closed beta test starting in late October of this year.

Combat Arms is a multi-player first person shooter that has already received praise far and wide, and features non-stop action in various battlefields where players engage enemies in different game modes.  Not just your typical FPS, Combat Arms takes the genre to a new level by allowing for massive character customizations, as well as a weapon modification system.  This modification tool allows players to attach various enhancements to their weapon(s) of choice including, scopes, silencers, and extra ammo.  Combat Arms also features a unique backpack system which allows players to combine various sets of weapons, thereby creating their own customized bringer of death.

My own personal experience with Combat Arms matches up with company jargon – it is rather easy to pick up and learn the basic and more advanced controls, thereby allowing just about anyone to have a fair chance at fragging goodness.  Racking up some in-game spendable cash is easily obtainable, but also providing a decent challenge.  Experience points and cash are handed out based on the number of victories and kills shots made.  Once accumulated, these cash points allow players to rank up and acquire mounts and new weapons and equipment.  As with most MMO’s, Combat Arms features a full clan system, allowing players to recruit, manage, and communicate with other clan members.

“The FPS genre is traditionally an area for hardcore gamers with a steep learning curve, but Combat Arms takes it to another level, offering a low barrier of entry with its free-to-play offering and low system requirements,” says Sung-Jin Kim, Manager of Europe Business Team at Nexon. “Yet, the sophisticated graphics and in-depth gameplay mechanics do not fall behind the FPS titles that are out in the market, and can therefore accommodate beginners as well as hardcore gamers at the same time. The response to Combat Arms in the North American region was huge, and we have experienced a great demand from the European audience to set up a service for Europe. Now we are happy that we are just about to bring the title to the European continent, starting with the closed beta in late October”.

Nexon’s Combat Arms is free-to-play and financed via various cosmetic microtransactions.  If you’re living in North America, or don’t mind a bit of lag with your frag, you can pick up the combat arms client at: http://combatarms.nexon.net/.  The client is currently available only to PC users, but runs just fine in either Parallels or VMWare on Mac.

While most of Nexon’s titles focus around ‘fun’ and ‘play’ offering a first person shooter is certainly a great way for Nexon to expand it’s portfolio and start bringing in a completely different type of gamer.  Response thus far as been mostly positive, from an often skeptical target audience.

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Mixing Free-to-play and Subscription – GardenParty opens Public Beta

Monday, September 8th, 2008

Asylum Entertainment has announced that it’s new children’s game GardenParty has entered the Public Beta phase.  Focusing on children from 5 – 11, GardenParty is a world built for and aimed at play and interaction.  Players plant seeds and grow them into new toys or other games that can then be shared with other online players.  An interesting and perpetual play concept: a game that grows more games for more sharing and interactivity.

The initial invitation only beta started back in May, during which time developers say they’ve made the game more stable, included a number of user improvements and suggestions, and continued implementing online child protection and safety measures.

Building on the concept of ‘Grow you own fun!’, GardenParty is a world ready to explore, where the game is limited only by the imagination of players.  Gardeners buys seeds, plant them, and tend to them in their private garden by watering them until fully grown.  Not designed to be a ‘solo’ game, GardenParty promotes collboration and community, encouraging users to explore the world, meet others, take aprt in various in-game activities, and buy and grow seeds from all around the in-game world.  Starting out in Time Town, other areas that are open for exploration include:

DISCO
Hop on down to the underground disco cavern and join all your buddies whilst you show off your great dance moves. Work in a team to get the dancing game started and see who can dance the best!

LAZY LAGOON
If the hot sun is getting too much for you, why not go for a paddle in the beautiful tranquil lagoon. If you keep a close eye out you might see a fish swim up to the surface, quickly swim over to him as a big school of fish will be swimming by at that moment. You can go fishing and quickly earn some orbs. The bigger the fish the better of course!!

SPLASH DOWN

Paddle through the tunnel over to Splash down. If you see an item like a jigsaw piece high up in the sky, why not fly up there to get it? – How do you fly, you ask? – good question, well If you visit Willy in the shop, you might discover a special seed which will help you take flight!

JIGSAW CAVERN

From splash down, you can then walk through to the jigsaw cavern and drop off the piece of the puzzle that you found. You are one step closer to finishing the puzzle! If you work in a team, the puzzle will be completed in no time!

ROCK HEIGHTS

Here you will discover a secret portal to take you up to space! This is only possible though if you complete the painting on the wall. A secret doorway will reveal itself which will take you to the launch pad. Team work is the key to completing the task. Watch out though, only the first three into the shuttle can go up to space, the rest will have to wait for the rocket to return back to the Garden Party launch site.

GardenParty also features a frequently updated website, along with forums where users can further interaction and make suggestions for game improvement.

While child online safety is often a huge concern to parents, Asylum ensures that it has gone to great lengths to ensure player’s safety.  They’ve partnered with the relevant bodies and comply with all online laws and regulations.  In order to gain these certifications, Asylum has had to follow specific terms and privacy conditions to comply with standards and COPPA laws.

Asylum Entertainment is looking to public beta test for approximately one month before releasing a v1.0.  GardenParty will remain free-to-play, while premium content will require a subscription fee.  The GardenParty website currently has a tab listed as ‘Shop’ where users will be able to buy real-world fan items such as T-shirts,  toys and other accessories like keyrings, posters and stickers.  No word yet as to if Asylum has interest in implementing a micro-transaction system, but given the premise of the game and number of available in-game purchases, it might be a viable option in the near future.

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Blizzard to introduce cross game Achievement System in WoW, Starcraft, and Diablo

Saturday, August 2nd, 2008

World of Warcraft lead designer Jeff Kaplan recently revealed Blizzard’s plan in introduce an achievement system in conjunction with the Wrath of the Lich King launch.

“Eventually, our plans are for the Achievement system to become an account-based system,” he explained.

“It’s basically a gamerscore,” Kaplan said, when I made reference to Xbox Live’s Achievement system. “For now the points are just a ‘WoW’ character score. As we graduate to that Blizzard Account system, which is right on the horizon, it will switch over to a Blizzard Level.”

“Your ‘WoW’ score would be just one factor that will go into your Blizzard Level. And rather than call it a ’score,’ we just wanted it to be like you’re leveling up on Blizzard games… You’ll have this Blizzard identity, and you’ll be able to see things like ‘Oh, this guy was great at Diablo III, but he never played Starcraft and he was mediocre in WoW. That sort of thing,” says Kaplan.

Beta testers of Wrath of the Lich King have already gotten a taste of the new Blizzard Account system.  Beta players have been required to temporarily create a Blizzard Account that’s tied to the WoW accounts.  However, this beta is just that, a test account, and will not function as actual ‘Live’ Blizzard Accounts, and will not count towards purchases in the Blizzard store once the real system is active.

While achievement systems are nothing new to the gaming industry and games themselves, this is however a highly significant move from Blizzard.  Blizzard has bucked the trend for years now, firmly ignoring the growing trend in free to play, micro transaction based MMO’s, favoring the traditional subscription based model.  With the introduction of a pan-Blizzard product database, could there be a weakening of this philosophy?  Would it be possible someday in the near future to equip my Orc hunter with a new gun or outfit based on achievements?  And if I can get these items through an achievement system, how far off are we from dropping a dollar here, and a few dollars over there to grab that purple version of the gun and match it perfectly with newly acquired epic flying mount?

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EA’s Free to Play Battlefield Heroes delayed

Thursday, July 31st, 2008

Sad to say fellow free to play fans, the long awaited Battlefield Heroes is off the radar for a summer launch.

Swedish development team DICE announced recently that they’re going to hold off on their ambitious summer 2008 release.  According to the Battlefield Heroes site, they’re now targeting a release date of  ‘Late 2008’.  Do I smell a Thanksgiving/Christmas release?

Battlefield Heroes is a colorful and playful extension of the popular first person shooter series that revolves around a cartoon look.  Battlefield Heroes serves as EA’s vehicle to test the treacherous waters of Free to play, ad-driven, micro transaction based gaming.  Heroes is a browser based version of the popular Battlefield universe.  The EA/DICE project has also been toned down and simplified adding a light-hearted, cartoonish take on combat in an attempt to induct a wider audience.

Battlefield Heroes remains one of the highest profile free to play games in the North American market.  Given the hype and profile, it’s a bit understandable that EA wants to iron out every conceivable wrinkle before unleashing the fun on the general public.  The closed beta started back in May, and DICE sites a number of beta tester information and comments that they want/need to address before the game goes live.  While this may be a setback for fanboys wanting their cartoony first person shooter, it’s better to have things right before releasing a sub standard product.  If EA manages to get this free to play title right, it very well may be the herald and benchmark for all free to play titles in the North American market.

To top off the ‘Just hold your horses’ announcement, I did a bit more checking around on the Battlefield Heroes site: Battlefield Heroes is currently being developed only for the Windows XP or Vista OS.  What about all the Mac players out there?

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Gaming takes top spot in Asia Pacific Online Content Market

Tuesday, July 29th, 2008

New analysis and a report by Frost & Sullivan places gaming in the top spot of ‘What’s driving the Asia-Pacific Online Content Market?’ Asia is not free of the global piracy concern, but revenues for paid online content rose 25.6% in 2007 and are looking at projections of another stellar year (an expected 21%), reaching a market size of US$4.67 billion by December 2008.

The study shows that online music and video have felt the impact of piracy yet gaming remains relatively unscathed, accounting for 81.3% of revenues generated in 2007. To put that in perspective, 10.8% came from the music industry, and 7.9% is owned by video.

The study conducted by Frost and Sullivan covers the Asia Pacific Online Content Services Market – 12 Asia Pacific countries. The study places the combined earned revenues of US$3.86 billion in 2007 and estimates this to be worth US$9.2 billion by the end of 2013, at a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 15.6% (2007-2013).

Online gaming is projected to lead this massive growth of digital content at a CAGR of 14% and will continue to be the big player in the premium or paid content revenues in 2013 with a market share of 75.1%, US$6.9 billion.

Premium content services including news, greeting cards, research, dating and credit reports are more of a niche product and are not included in this study.

Frost and Sullivan’s industry analyst Kamlesh Kalwar said, “Today’s Internet has come a long way from being just a medium for disseminating information and is now increasingly becoming the mainstream channel for distributing and accessing ‘infotainment’ content as well.

“As the percentage of people accessing the Internet for leisure time entertainment grows rapidly, the market for both paid online content services as well as ad-revenue supported free online content services is expected to grow in tandem with this shift in the consumption of entertainment content,” he says, adding that the Internet has become a great alternative to traditional media channels for music, videos and games thus spawning a digital culture.

As expected, China and Korea are the largest consumers of premium online content. Together, they count for a massive 79% of revenues in 2007. China is the single largest gaming online gaming market with the increased penetration of entertainment applications reaching the top of the list. Gaming in China is blazing new paths, and China is expected to contribute up to 46.7% of the Asia Pacific content revenues by the end of 2013.

One of the factors driving Asia Pacific consumption of premium online content is the increased availability of broadband internet connections. “As faster Internet speeds enhance the overall online experience, users are spending more and more time online playing games and visiting social networking sites,” Kalwar says. “The growing broadband penetration has not only expanded the netizen base, but also created a conducive environment to encourage users to spend a greater amount of time online engaging in entertainment activities by enabling the convenient sharing, personalisation and sourcing of relevant content.”
He adds, “As such, premium online content services and applications like audio- and video-streaming and downloads, as well as online gaming is expected to see a surge in demand.”

Kalwar also mentions that with widespread availability of net speed, comes the unfortunate side effect of illegal downloads, piracy, and BitTorrent and other P2P networks. While piracy runs rampant in Music and Video, it remains a relatively small problem in the gaming world. The main factor combating this problem is that users need to be registered with a certain game publisher before they can play the game.

Kalwar says, “In an effort to shake-off the ghosts of piracy, stakeholders are grappling with the right business model to monetize content. For selected content, particularly online video and music streaming services, the ad-sponsored revenue model has been widely used.

“Game providers on the other hand have adopted the FTP (free-to-play) revenue model where gamers are not charged an upfront cost to play games online, and instead aim to profit through in-game advertising and virtual sale of in-game items like weapons, ammunition and such. In nascent markets, there has been a consistent attempt to increase sampling by giving the base version for free and charging for the advanced versions once the subscriber is hooked,” he adds.

Such FTP billing models, richer and wider product offerings, and the growing popularity of MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role-playing game) is expected to drive growth in the online gaming segment.

If you are interested in a virtual brochure, which provides service providers, vendors/manufacturers, end users, and other industry participants with an overview of the Asia-Pacific online content services market, then send an e-mail to Sarah Lourdes at sarah.lourdes@frost.com, with your full name, company name, title, telephone number, fax number, and e-mail address. Upon receipt of the above information, an overview will be sent to you by e-mail.

About the Asia Pacific Online Content Services Market Study:

The Asia Pacific Online Content Services Market study is part of the Communication Services Growth Partnership Service program, which also includes research in the following markets: WAN services, enterprise mobility, IPTV, user-generated content (UGC), social networking, broadband access technology, mobile content, telecom services, managed and hosted services, and network transformation case studies. All research services included in subscriptions provide detailed market opportunities and industry trends that have been evaluated following extensive interviews with market participants. Analyst interviews are available to the press.

About Frost & Sullivan:

Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company, partners with clients to accelerate their growth. The company’s TEAM Research, Growth Consulting and Growth Team Membership empower clients to create a growth-focused culture that generates, evaluates and implements effective growth strategies. Frost & Sullivan employs over 45 years of experience in partnering with Global 1000 companies, emerging businesses and the investment community from more than 30 offices on six continents. For more information about Frost & Sullivan’s Growth Partnerships, visit http://www.frost.com.

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Outspark introduces micro transaction based incentives to Fiesta

Saturday, July 26th, 2008

Leading free to play, micro transaction based MMO Fiesta, published by Outspark has announced a new addition to the popular MMO.  The new in game mini game, Remi’s Rare Finds focuses on winnings featuring exclusive, rare, and previously unreleased in game items such as mounts, weapons and power-ups.

In order to participate in Remi’s game, Outspark capitalizes on their micro transaction business model and offers the opportunity to players provided they spend 1500 SparkCash, Outspark’s in game currency.  SparkCash is available in blocks of 3,500, 7,000 and 17,500 at $5, $10 and $25 respectively.

Players may then keep items won in Remi’s Rare Finds, or exchange it for other in game credits.  Each 5 credits may be used as a free play.  Outspark plans to add new and unique items to the game each month, thereby driving further and continued interest in the play.

“Engaging our community is very important to us, and Remi’s Rare Finds is the newest exciting addition to a game already filled with rich, dynamic gameplay,” said Outspark founder and CEO Susan Choe “Each play offers a chance at some great in-game items, and we’re sure our players will love it.”

About Outspark

A unique publisher and operator of free-to-play multiplayer online games, Outspark is redefining interactive entertainment through an engaging virtual playground accessible to players of all ages and experience levels. The company’s global reach enables it to select the most compelling social games from talented development teams located around the world. Backed by Tencent, Altos Ventures and DCM, Outspark is headquartered in San Francisco, CA, with a subsidiary office in Seoul, Korea. For more information, visit www.outspark.com.

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Innovative strategy in attracting new gamers to free to play, micro transaction based ijji.com

Thursday, July 24th, 2008

Trialpay and NHN USA have announced a partnership that will give online gamers 50 “G Coins”, the portal’s in game currency, just for completing a real world transaction via TrialPay.  TrialPay is a familiar e-commerce site where users can do everything from buying clothes, sending flowers, signing up for a movie rental service, etc.

With the increasing popularity of Free to Play games in North America, thousands of returning and new gamers are arriving at ijji.com’s portal everyday.  To sweeten the deal, and in an attempt to bring the ‘casual gamer’ into the fold, NHN brokered the partnership with TrialPay.

Ijji.com already has 6 Million registered users, and is rapidly becoming a hotspot for any and all things free to play.  The portal is home to a wide ranging catalogue of unique online games that run the gamut on interests and styles.  Hardcore FPSs and Fantasy role players are the most popular and appeal to the widest range of ijji’s registrants.  Players utilize G coins to customize every aspect of their gaming experience.

“This partnership with TrialPay helps everyone enjoy the advantages of using G Coins simply by doing business with name-brand advertisers,” said Whon Namkoong, CEO, NHN USA Inc. “Virtual money makes a good online gaming experience event even better. Whether you’re a Drift City racer looking to upgrade your car or a Luminary adventurer in need of a Miracle Hammer or Teleportation Ticket, the TrialPay partnership enables our community to get the G Coins necessary to ‘purchase’ virtual goods for free.”

“NHN USA’s ijji.com has quickly emerged as one of the most popular online gaming destinations in North America, and we are thrilled to partner with them as they continue to bring more players into the incredibly lucrative F2P U.S. market with the site,” said Alex Rampell, co-founder and CEO, TrialPay. “TrialPay has partnered with more than 2,000 advertisers, so there is an ideal offer for every ijji.com user.”

To get 50 G Coins for free through TrialPay, please visit: https://billing.ijji.com/payment/freeGCoin.nhn

About NHN USA
Headquartered in Irvine, Calif., NHN USA, Inc. is the North American subsidiary of Korea’s leading Internet company NHN. Founded in 2006, NHN USA has quickly emerged as a premier online entertainment publisher. The company’s game portal ijji.com, which boasts more than six million unique registered gamers, hosts a diverse suite of free-to-play online games each with an optional micro-currency model that enables players to enhance their gaming experiences by purchasing in-game items. ijji.com’s extensive game portfolio includes GUNZ The Duel®, SOLDIER FRONT™, GUNBOUND® Revolution, DRIFT CITY™, LUMINARY Rise of the GoonZu™ and MINING BOY™, and will soon include the highly-anticipated Unreal Engine 3-based massively multiplayer online first-person shooting (MMOFPS) game Huxley.

About TrialPay
TrialPay unites advertisers, merchants and shoppers to create the first payment platform that benefits all parties. Using TrialPay, merchants turn lost and indecisive shoppers into paying customers by giving away their product for free when a shopper completes an offer from blue-chip advertisers. Advertisers pay a bounty that equals or exceeds the merchant’s regular price to create a profitable transaction out of a stalled or abandoned cart. TrialPay ensures that every shopper finds an offer that compels him or her to purchase by pairing premium brands with the added value of a free product. With TrialPay everyone wins: shoppers get a free product, advertisers acquire new customers and merchants earn significant revenue from lost or unlikely customers.

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What will gamers pay for?

Monday, July 21st, 2008

In the rapidly developing economy of Free to play, micro transaction based games being turned out every day, it’s sometimes hard to see the good from the bad.  Mon Macutay, Marketing Manager for Level Up Phillippines recently published a great article on what gamers will and will not pay for.

Macutay outlines how and why Free to Play games are micro transaction based, and what exactly gamers will pay for, and what will drive them away.  Below is an excerpt from Macutay’s article:

Why They Won’t Pay

Repeat after me – Your players will not pay if…

  • There’s something wrong with the game – cheats, exploits and bugs are your top bane. Work with the developers to fix the game FAST… or else, you’ll start losing players. Technical problems are a fact of life in the industry. Suffice it to say that I’ve seen some through my watch. But trust me, we hate it just as much as you do when there’s something wrong with the game.
  • You can get away without paying – if the game design is poor… i.e. you can just farm your way and get strong even without paying, then there’s something wrong with the game (see above). The average joe must spend a little more time doing this than someone buying items from the item mall or paying for premium. If they don’t… Houston, we got a problem.
  • It’s a damn boring MMO world – that’s where the creative genius of the community team comes in. This is why publishers do events… all to make the players happy, have something to do, and yes, to eliminate boredom. Besides, you don’t want to kill monsters 24/7 eh?
  • Service Sucks – Customer service is an integral part. Not just in the gaming industry but in any business. And any company would welcome changes to improve upon this. A satisfied customer is more likely to play more and THEN pay.

Why They WILL Pay

  • Right Pricing – The key to a good F2P game is how the Item Mall is designed and how the prices are managed. A lot of conflict boils from developer vs. publisher debates on pricing. Don’t model your price on the country where the game was designed, damnit! Price the items too high and you’ll get a very small conversion rate. Price it too low and you run the risk of damaging game balance and integrity. In this war, it’s the consumable items that will win you the battles.
  • There’s nothing wrong with the game – This is the direct opposite (obviously) of the above. There might be MINOR bugs, but not enough for the community to be pissed off. This means that the game is great and you’ll just have to work your butt off for it to stay that way.
  • The items give VALUE – perhaps one of the most important reason why players will pay. Case in point, if all the items you sell are just better versions of the normal loot. Example, a potion that just slightly heals better – then that’s just a lazy excuse for game design. Chances are, you could play without it. During testing, you should’ve spotted this like a wolf inside a sheep’s pen. Look at the how specific items give real value to the players – not just as individuals but also as groups (when going on instances, at arenas or during territorial battles). Buyers of games seldom check this fact.
  • It’s a fun game – If the game isn’t like 80% of other MMO’s out in the market (which are basically clones of each other), then you’ve got your work cut out for you. At the end of the day, when you yourself play the game, if you don’t have fun, don’t expect your future players to enjoy it either. That’s a no-brainer.There’s nothing new – A good game will soon fall to pieces if there are no new updates. I’ve often observed games going through the hype of pre-launch, launch and then they go spiraling down for a crash landing a few months into it because there’s no new content. Make sure you have something new at least every quarter. You don’t want a community of gamers (all into the level cap) without anything to do, right?

To read the rest of this article, visit gmtristan.

To this, we say…right on!  Not only is this right on the money, but could and should serve as a roadmap to any and all free to play game publishers out there today.  Notice that most of his points focus on the actual game design and play, and mention very little regarding the micro transaction.  This falls exactly inline with the fatfoogoo philosophy:  (Publishers) focus on what you do best: game development, and leave the complexities of cross national transaction and taxation, security, customer support, and processing to the experts: fatfoogoo.

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