| If you are looking for new games to play online, then | | | | for new games to play online. At the Login |
| there is good news. The one industry that is posting | | | | Conference in Seattle, various panellists were |
| record profits even during the dark days of economic | | | | discussing the modes of revenues that the online |
| recession is the online games industry. Not only in 2009, | | | | games industry is researching and mobile payments of |
| but the gaming industry has shown remarkable growth | | | | paid content is one them. David Marcus, founder of |
| over the last decade, so much so that many online | | | | Zong – a mobile payment company suggested that |
| companies are concentrating on the traffic and | | | | many kids do not have money to play online games, |
| revenue that their websites are getting from online | | | | but they have cell phones which are often paid by their |
| games alone. A few years ago, online gaming used to | | | | parents. Therefore, introducing a billing system |
| be a niche market with some successes among | | | | whereby gamers have to pay by entering their cell |
| gaming sites but today, leading developers are jumping | | | | numbers could be a good option. Rob Goldberg of |
| on the bandwagon to get a piece of the pie with many | | | | GMG Entertainment suggested prepaid gaming cards |
| people looking for new games to play online. | | | | which parents can buy for their children to keep their |
| A current research from Interfax China, a business | | | | gaming habits in check. |
| news company, revealed that the total revenue | | | | Whether these people are successful or not, the online |
| produced by online games alone in China will cross 2.5 | | | | games industry is here to stay. Yahoo! Games alone |
| billion dollars in 2010. Interfax added that online web | | | | has witnessed a 25% spurt in internet traffic and they |
| games are almost as popular as other console based | | | | believe that much of this can be accredited to the |
| games and if current games such as World of | | | | current slowdown. People are looking for cheaper |
| Warcraft and Warhammer Online did not renew their | | | | modes of fun and entertainment and playing free |
| target market, they might become unrelated to the | | | | online games is definitely one of them. Surprisingly |
| new generation of Asian gamers. | | | | enough, even women are increasingly playing these |
| The research further noted that the main source of | | | | games on the internet during small coffee breaks or |
| revenue for these gaming websites was in game | | | | while at home. Evidently, not only is the traffic rising but |
| advertising. This model is fast becoming the leading | | | | even the variety of gamers in increasing. |
| trend among international gaming websites as free | | | | One flipside however, that the online games industry |
| online games attract a sizeable chunk of web traffic | | | | faces is that people continuously look for new games |
| and displaying small ads to these gamers means big | | | | to play after getting bored of the same old ones, so |
| bucks. | | | | developers end up making second rate games. Unless |
| Capitalising this is another strange but lucrative revenue | | | | steps are taken to improve this, this growth can also |
| model which gaming companies are trying to come up | | | | trickle down soon. |
| – make money from cash-strapped kids who look | | | | |