The power of micropayments

As you know, more and more multiplayer games are going free. It’s not like we don’t introduce enough of them here or anything. And obviously I preach the beauty of the asian business model based on the micropayment strategy.

Well, seemingly, US game publishers are starting to realize this same thought process. Electronic Arts just recently announced that they will be releasing a game along the same lines and maneuvering one of their games in the great Battlefield series to the micropayment model for markets in Europe and the Americas. It really becomes a win-win solution if you get right down to it.

If you can make a game fly and make it balanced? Someone with a free account can just as easily be the top player in the game as the next guy that pays for each and every little bit. But the obvious amazing thing is the amount of things you can introduce into a game as purchased weapons, or special abilities, or even just clothing that makes your character all the more cool, or suave. And a dollar here and a dollar there add up pretty darn quickly when you’re accounting for hundreds of thousands, or even millions of players. On top of that, a free online game doesn’t require a game developer to fear about piracy. Who’s going to pirate a free game? No one. That’s who.

It just makes perfect sense to choose this and it seems that certain American corporations are starting to realize this untapped wealth. Unfortunately, there is a bit more to it than just this. Many asian game publishers have acquired enough wealth that they have are also looking to expand overseas with American headquarters for distribution. So, the micropayment market in the West may actually get overrun by competition very quickly. Good thing that Electronic Arts is a giant in this realm and is able to put a bit more umph behind it. Hopefully some other companies also jump in before the going gets too rough.

Ahh. You just can’t beat the power of the dollar.