It's long been a known fact that most "free" services are supported largely by advertising. MMOs, by and large, have stayed away from the advertising model, instead opting for item shops and subscription fees to turn a profit.
Nexon America, however, has decided to go in a different direction -- and you can probably guess what it is straight from the introduction. The company, producer of the popular games
MapleStory and
Mabinogi among others, will be
adding offer-based advertising in exchange for item shop cash starting at an undisclosed time.
The nature of the offers isn't stated, but it seems poised to run in a similar methodology to
Facebook-based games, albeit hopefully without the sometimes rampant scams. No word on whether or not the ads will intrude on gameplay itself, but it seems unlikely -- and at least for now, they simply remain another option on the main site to earn item shop currency without money. Still, it's
a notable change in model, and not something that's commonly seen outside of the realm of social gaming. Only time will tell how players will react.
