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South Korea's Free Computer Game Business Model Hits the US
Anti-Globalism writes with this excerpt from AFP via Yahoo! News:
"Seoul-based 'free-to-play' computer game titan Nexon on Wednesday blasted into the US videogame arena with a 'Combat Arms' online first-person shooter title that makes its cash from optional 'micro-transactions' by players. The game makes its money from players that buy animated helmets, outfits, emblems or other virtual items to customize in-game characters. To keep the battlefield even, players earn experience or advanced weaponry by skill so people essentially can't pay for power. ... Startups and established game makers including Japanese goliath Sony are venturing into the free computer game market, according to DFC Intelligence analyst David Cole. 'It looks like it could be very big,' Cole told AFP. 'It's one of the things everybody seems to be looking at. The challenge is it is a very new model and it remains to be seen whether customers used to a free model will be tight when it comes to actually spending money on it.'"
Fails to mention EA's Battlefield Heroes no? I haven't played yet, but I've heard it has potential. Just a fun game to mess around with for half an hour or something.
It has been okay in Firefox off and on all night as I've gone through the site. I haven't loaded it up in IE or Opera yet though. If anything I'd expect it to render best in Opera and worst in Internet Explorer.
"So long and thanks for all the fish."
Plus there are hundreds of free Ultima Online servers running, google it.