FierceGameBiz News

[Sirhc]

Hi Everyone,

I come across interesting articles in my FierceGameBiz about MMOs and other things that may have an impact on us as participants, MA, or just interesting inside blurbs about the Biz. Instead of starting a new Thread each and ever time I find an article I will just update this post and add what I find pertains to EU and the article link.

Here is the most recent MMO news blurb:

TODAY'S SPOTLIGHT... Making the virtual goods market a reality
Sony hopes a one-year-old program called Station Exchange will pave the way to making the sale of virtual assets for hard currency an integral part of the gaming experience, instead of an illegal one.

CNET report link: http://news.com.com/Real-world+success+with+virtual+goods/2100-1043_3-6156925.html

hmmmm seems like the big boys are slowly morphing their MMOs into what we in EU already know.

PS. MODs if this thread oversteps any rules in EF please let me know and I will discontinue adding new information to it.

 

[Sirhc]

Interesting article about China gaming are they alluding to EU?

News blurb in my FierceGameBiz email:

According to market intelligence firm Niko Partners, China's video game market experienced explosive growth in 2006, with nearly a billion dollars of online gaming revenue pushing the industry to a 68 percent rise. The addition of 3.4 million gamers pushed the total number of gamers up to 37.5 million, of which 90 percent play online games. PC gaming sales also boosted the industry, with sales up 904,000 units from 2005's 700,000 units.

"Chinese online game operators introduced free-to-play massively multiplayer games that are, in fact, not at all free, because gamers spend money on virtual items and services in the game. These free-to-play games helped the market size rise beyond expectations in 2006," said managing partner of Niko Partners Lisa Cosmas Hanson. "That said, getting a product into the market is not easy. The complex regulatory environment in China is still the greatest barrier to entry for foreign game companies." Piracy also remains a major issue in the country, the report notes.

Link to the article:

http://biz.gamedaily.com/industry/feature/?id=16037