InfoAnda - Free games boost gaming industry revenue |

Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case
Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They

Taiwan denies boycotting Australian film festival
Thursday, August 6, 2009

AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e

Merkel's support dips, regional ally resigns International
Thursday, September 3, 2009

By Sarah Marsh and Noah Barkin

BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German

Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who

Asian markets mixed after Wall Street rally
Wednesday, March 18, 2009

By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an

Zynga hit by twin lawsuits after stock carnage | | 1 August 2012
Europe travel mayhem as arctic freeze strikes again | 18 December 2010
Eminem seen as top contender in Grammy race | | 2 October 2010

At least 30 dead in Pakistan mosque attack: minister | 4 December 2009

Forum Views () Forum Replies ()

Read more with google mobile : Free games boost gaming industry revenue |

Edition: U.S. Africa Arabic Argentina Brazil Canada China France Germany India Italy Japan Latin America Mexico Russia Spain United Kingdom Home Business Business Home Economy Technology Media Small Business Green Business Legal Deals Earnings Summits Business Video Markets Markets Home U.S. Markets European Markets Asian Markets Global Market Data Indices M&A Stocks Bonds Currencies Commodities Futures Funds peHUB World World Home U.S. Brazil China Euro Zone Japan Mexico Russia Afghan Journal Africa Journal India Insight Global News Journal Pakistan: Now or Never? World Video Politics Politics Home Front Row Washington Politics Video Technology Technology Home MediaFile Science Tech Video Opinion Opinion Home Chrystia Freeland Felix Salmon Breakingviews George Chen Bernd Debusmann Gregg Easterbrook James Pethokoukis James Saft John Wasik Christopher Whalen Ian Bremmer Mohamed El-Erian Lawrence Summers The Great Debate Unstructured Finance Newsmaker MuniLand Money Money Home Analyst Research Global Investing MuniLand Reuters Money Alerts Watchlist Portfolio Stock Screener Fund Screener Personal Finance Video Life & Culture Health Sports Arts Faithworld Business Traveler Left Field Entertainment Oddly Enough Lifestyle Video Pictures Pictures Home Reuters Photographers Full Focus Video Article Comments (0) Follow Reuters Facebook Twitter RSS YouTube Read Obama accuses Congress of holding back U.S. recovery 20 Aug 2011 GM says bankruptcy excuses it from Impala repairs 19 Aug 2011 'Real Housewives' Star Russell Armstrong to Receive Two Funeral Services 20 Aug 2011 "Zero hour" for Gaddafi as besieged Tripoli rises up | 20 Aug 2011 Giffords now knows who died in Tucson shooting spree 20 Aug 2011 Discussed 243 UPDATE 3-White House denounces Perry as Republicans target Fed 204 GM says bankruptcy excuses it from Impala repairs 182 Stop coddling the super-rich: Buffett Watched Lockheed Martin presents airship of the future Thu, Aug 18 2011 Pope vigil interrupted by strong wind and rain. Sat, Aug 20 2011 Gunfire in Tripoli Sat, Aug 20 2011 Free games boost gaming industry revenue Tweet Share this Email Print Analysis & Opinion Flickr founder looks to strike lightning again Of the Tea Party, by the Tea Party, for the Tea Party Related Topics Technology » Media » iPad » Visitors play ''World of Warcraft'' at an exhibition stand during the Gamescom 2011 fair in Cologne August 18, 2011. Credit: Reuters/Ina Fassbender By Michelle Martin COLOGNE, Germany | Sat Aug 20, 2011 8:57am EDT COLOGNE, Germany (Reuters) - An increase in the number of people playing free games is providing the gaming industry with an additional source of revenue as gamers shell out millions for virtual goods and add-ons. Free games, once the bane of the gaming industry, are now proving lucrative for game developers who entice people to pay for virtual costumes or tools which enhance game experience. According to a survey published by German tech industry association Bitkom earlier this month, 45 percent of German gamers opt for free-to-play versions only. Matthias Hellmund, head of mobile development at German game developer Exozet said the target group for $70 console games was gradually shrinking as gamers get used to games on Apple's iPad which are free or cost 99 cents. "But people don't necessarily spend less, because fans might be willing to invest even hundreds of pounds for a game experience they really like - so some spend more money than they would on a premium-priced game," he told Reuters at Gamescom, Europe's largest video games trade fair. Bitkom found that 43 percent of German gamers splash out on games which require them to pay before they play, spending an average of 15 euros a month. But some gamers who use free-to-play games spend much more than that on a single micro transaction -- up to 1,500 euros ($2,113) for a rare sword or special armor in some cases -- Christian Funk, a virus analyst at Russian computer security company Kapersky Lab, told Reuters. Funk monitored Ebay -- one of the most important sales channels for virtual goods -- in June found more than 3,641 virtual items for use in Activision Blizzard's "World of Warcraft" game were sold at an average price of 132.33 euros ($186.4) during a 14-day period. Based on these figures, Funk estimates that gamers spend around 11.5 million euros on virtual goods for that one game per year, giving a glimpse of what kind of sums the micro transaction industry was handling, he said. "The value is in the rarity - gamers are prepared to pay real money for virtual goods," he said, adding some virtual items were status symbols for players. "Just as in the real world people are willing to spend lots of money on nice glasses, watches or sports cars, this is just a hobby," he said. GROWING AUDIENCE The audience for free-to-play games is growing rapidly. Wooga, Europe's largest social game developer, has seen the number of people who play its free games on Facebook rise from 3.15 million active users in January 2010 to 32.83 million in June 2011, data from media research firm Screen Digest shows. Around 3 percent of people who play Wooga's games pay for virtual goods such as magic wands or for the ability to complete a mission instantly. "It's more attractive to pay if I like a game and if I want to progress faster and not pay 60 euros but not know what I get," Wooga spokeswoman Sina Kaufmann told Reuters. The company claims to be the world's biggest supplier of "magic equipment" after selling more than 28 million magic wands to gamers who play its "Monster World" since the game's launch in May 2010. But while these sales figures are good for the industry, the micro transactions business has brought challenges with it. Game developer Richard Garriott said free downloadable games are "here to stay" and that the industry was becoming more creative about monetizing seemingly free-to-play games such as by charging players to move on to the next level or by converting people to paying a subscription. (Reporting by Ludwig Burger; editing by James Jukwey) Technology Media iPad Related Quotes and News Company Price Related News Tweet this Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/ Comments (0) Be the first to comment on reuters.com. Add yours using the box above. Social Stream (What's this?) Edition: U.S. Africa Arabic Argentina Brazil Canada China France Germany India Italy Japan Latin America Mexico Russia Spain United Kingdom Back to top Reuters.com Business Markets World Politics Technology Opinion Money Pictures Videos Site Index Mobile Legal Bankruptcy Law California Legal New York Legal Securities Law Support & Contact Contact Us Advertise With Us Connect with Reuters Twitter Facebook LinkedIn RSS About Privacy Policy Terms of Use Our Flagship financial information platform incorporating Reuters Insider An ultra-low latency infrastructure for electronic trading and data distribution A connected approach to governance, risk and compliance Our next generation legal research platform Our global tax workstation Thomsonreuters.com About Thomson Reuters Investor Relations Careers Contact Us Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests. NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.

Other News on Sunday, 21 August 2011
Trouble Brewing? Milwaukee, Mets shake off Fielder-Byrdak spat
N Secretary General, Ban ki-Moon sends special envoy to Nepal
Oliver Fisher, Steven O'Hara unlikely leaders at Czech Open
To the Max: Scherzer notches 13th win for Tigers in important win vs. Tribe
Hikers in Iran get 8 years, U.S. reacts with humanitarian appeal
Zero hour for Gaddafi as besieged Tripoli rises up |
Biden tells China not to count out U.S. strength |
More than 50 rockets fired from Gaza, Israeli killed |
Egypt says Israeli response to deaths insufficient |
Carolina Panthers ink center Kalil to six-year, $49M pact
Iran jails U.S. hikers as spies for 8 years |
Brandon's back: Inge returns with homer, double to lead Tigers past Indians
Choi leads, Lewis three back at LPGA Safeway Classic
Djokovic, Murray to clash in Cincy final; Sharapova ousts Zvonareva in semis
Syrian forces fire heavy machineguns in Homs |
Webb Simpson scorches back nine to take lead at Wyndham Championship
Colts perhaps bracing for season that starts without injured Peyton Manning
Couples on doorstep of first senior major at Players Championship
Controversial football recruit Lache Seastrunk to transfer from Oregon
Irene moves over Caribbean, seen becoming hurricane |
Jet crashes in Canadian Arctic, 12 killed |
Libyan rebels fight for Tripoli airbase:activist |
Verizon strike to end but talks to continue |
Missouri teachers sue to block social media law |
Free games boost gaming industry revenue |
Exclusive: Bain to buy Australia's MYOB for $1.3 bln: sources |
Reality star Kim Kardashian weds Kris Humphries |
Pressure mounts on Indian activist to tone down demands |
Gaza militant fire a dozen rockets at Israel |
Vietnam stops anti-China protest, detains many |
Dinosaurs, the human mind on Disney's Pixar slate |
Suicide bombers kill at least 12 in Yemen's south |
Assad to speak on Syria TV, dozens arrested |
Nepali parties seek more time to form new government
U.S. hikers' lawyer to fight Iran spy sentence |
Norway marks attacks with remembrance ceremony |
Marcos Ambrose wins Montreal Nationwide race
Lauren Jackson delivers big in return from injury, powers Storm past Liberty
Seven Iraqis killed in Turkish airstrike, mayor says |
Gio Gonzalez fans nine in gem; A’s trounce Blue Jays
Pat Curran tops Marlon Sandro, wins Bellator Summer Series featherweight tourney
North Korean leader tours Russia before meeting Medvedev |
Rosales, Sounders pass Dallas for second in West with big road win
Kevin Harvick wins Michigan Truck race
Analysis: If Libyan rebels win, can they rule? |
Collections of sailing-related items featured in exhibit in China
Iraq dreams big with infrastructure projects |
With HP tablet dead, who can challenge Apple? |
Greece at new risk of being pushed off euro
Bodies of missing Tenn. mom, Jo Ann Bain, and daughter found
Female Breasts Are Bigger Than Ever
AMD Trinity Accelerated Processing Units Now in Volume Production
The Avengers (2012 film), made the second biggest opening- and single-day gross of all-time
AMD to Start Production of piledriver
Ivy Bridge Quad-Core, Four-Thread Desktop CPUs
Islamists Protest Lady Gaga's Concert in Indonesia
Japan Successfully Broadcasts an 8K Signal Over the Air
ECB boosts loans to 1 trillion Euro to stop credit crunch
Egypt : Mohammed Morsi won with 52 percent
What do you call 100,000 Frenchmen with their hands up
AMD Launches AMD Embedded R-Series APU Platform
Fed Should not Ignore Emerging Market Crisis
Fed casts shadow over India, emerging markets
Why are Chinese tourists so rude? A few insights

USD EUR - 1 year graph	VPN on MacOSX	BlogMeter 1.01