Massively http://massively.joystiq.com Massively http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif Massively http://massively.joystiq.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[Behind the Mask: The responsible microtransaction]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/03/24/behind-the-mask-the-responsible-microtransaction/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/03/24/behind-the-mask-the-responsible-microtransaction/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/03/24/behind-the-mask-the-responsible-microtransaction/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

It's no surprise to anyone that I am a pro-microtransaction gamer. Microtransactions make lots of money for the publisher and focus more on pleasing the game's core audience instead of relying on the silent majority of its subscriber base. However, microtransactions can quickly feel like exploitation. When a publisher overcharges or underprovides, it can cause cascading failures as the game's core customers become upset.

Champions Online has jumped into the freemium market, and the game itself is pretty fun without the player needing to pay any money at all. Gold subscriptions, which allow for much wider customization and access to numerous fun features, are also a reasonable expenditure. There are quite a few other things to buy in the store... some of which are a little more responsible than others.

Continue reading Behind the Mask: The responsible microtransaction

MassivelyBehind the Mask: The responsible microtransaction originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 24 Mar 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>a-potion-is-worth-less-than-a-big-macbehind-the-maskbusiness-modelsc-storecash-shopchampions-onlinecocrypticcryptic-champions-onlinecryptic-cocryptic-studiosf2pfeaturedfreemiumlightspeedmicrotransactionsopinionoverpricedThu, 24 Mar 2011 17:00:00 EST<![CDATA["Free-To-Play" model pulls in a dollar per user in the west]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/06/16/free-to-play-model-pulls-in-a-dollar-per-user-in-the-west/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/06/16/free-to-play-model-pulls-in-a-dollar-per-user-in-the-west/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/06/16/free-to-play-model-pulls-in-a-dollar-per-user-in-the-west/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

One dollar per user per month may not sound like a huge revenue for any game, but when you start thinking in the terms of the user base of games like Habbo Hotel, Club Penguin and RuneScape you start to realize how much a dollar is really worth.

Lightspeed, a venture capital firm, recently did a few calculations to come up with the figures of how much revenue is generated by a single user in today's most successful free-to-play, microtransaction supported MMOs. What they came up with is a pretty interesting look at how much a "successful" MMO will make. For example, Habbo Hotel pulls in around $1.30 on average for each of their active users per month, while RuneScape pulls in 84 cents per active user per month.

The one figure that stood out from the pack was Second Life, which pulled in 9 dollars per user per month thanks to things like land ownership and the premium subscription that land owners have to buy to be able to own property. Even with Second Life in the mix, it's interesting to see that these types of MMOs don't make much per user, yet still can pull in great amounts of revenue by entertaining huge player bases.

[Via Kotaku]

Massively"Free-To-Play" model pulls in a dollar per user in the west originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 16 Jun 2008 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>club-penguindisneyeconomyfree-to-playhabbo-hoteljagexkotakulightspeedlinden-labmicrotransactionrunescapesecond-lifeslsubscription-basedMon, 16 Jun 2008 16:00:00 EST<![CDATA[MapleStory reaps over $29 million in U.S. virtual item sales]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/05/31/maplestory-reaps-over-29-million-in-u-s-virtual-item-sales/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/05/31/maplestory-reaps-over-29-million-in-u-s-virtual-item-sales/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/05/31/maplestory-reaps-over-29-million-in-u-s-virtual-item-sales/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

2007 proved to be a good year for Nexon in the United States, particularly with its free-to-play MapleStory. The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) reports that the although the game has 85 million users worldwide, only 5.9 million of them are U.S. players. Given the relatively small percentage of its player base located in the United States, it's surprising that MapleStory made an absolute killing on in-world transactions in 2007; the WSJ reports that 'Nexon's U.S. revenue last year more than tripled to $29.3 million from $8.5 million the prior year.'

Jeremy Liew provides some additional commentary on the Nexon windfall over at Lightspeed: "With $30m in US sales and 6m US registered users, assuming a 20% "active player" rate and 10% "buyer rate", that implies an ARPU of $20/mth which sounds about right and is consistent with number we've seen from games in Asia. It sounds like the US will be following very similar models of virtual goods monetization that we've seen in Asia." It's interesting that the predominantly Asian business model of legitimized RMT is already gaining some degree of acceptance in the United States, albeit a slow acceptance.

Via PlayNoEvil

MassivelyMapleStory reaps over $29 million in U.S. virtual item sales originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 31 May 2008 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>economyfree-to-playlightspeedlightspeed-venture-partnersmaple-storymicropaymentmicrotransactionmmo-industrynexonplay-no-evilplaynoevilrevenuermtvirtualvirtual-goodsvirtual-itemSat, 31 May 2008 15:00:00 EST