It’s a substantially different business model from online fantasy games like ‘World of Warcraft’, which tend to require subscriptions, at $15 or so per month, and usually don’t allow users to buy things for real money, online or off.
Once players download the game, they see advertising and can buy all sorts of virtual clothing and upgrades for a few dollars apiece. Launched as a beta program earlier this spring, ‘Kaneva, created by an Atlanta-based company of the same name, had 84,000 members in October, according to comScore. Nexon, which has offered free, socially rich video games for years in South Korea, introduced its English-language version of ‘KartRider’ for use in North America in September. “They’re going to be able to monetise their users at the same level (as the games do),” Jessica Tams, managing director of the Casual Games Association, said of the social network sites. “The reason why Facebook is a really compelling MMO is because it’s fun and you get something out of it,” he said.
MySpace and Facebook are massively multiplayer games in disguise, says Gabe Zichermann, who is developing ‘rmbr’, which he says will make a video game out of tagging and sharing digital photos. They’re less about skill levels and escapism and more about joining friends and strangers in virtual spaces where chatting, comparing fashions, going dancing are all options.įor their part, networking sites are encompassing more interactive features that consume increasing amounts of users’ time - long considered a defining feature of computer games. Played in virtual worlds with advertising and goods for sale, games like ‘KartRider’ and ‘Kaneva’ now go beyond the scope even of early interactive games.
“I’ve seen gaming go from a solitary thing to where there really is a cinematic experience going on in front of you that you can share in a social capacity,” said Dague, whose site coordinates matches in Xbox Live games like ‘Halo 3’ and hosts forums about gaming. And gaming sites would benefit from increased membership and broader acceptance.ĭavid Dague, a 34-year-old executive in Chicago who runs a website called, said games have changed fundamentally since the early days of ‘Space Invaders’.
Social networks that incorporate more features of “massively multi-player online games” could enhance their already-substantial earning power. Game developers say there’s money for both sides in this convergence. “As opposed to Mario, who’s only going to jump.” What people will say is more interesting to me,” Hicks said of her preferred game.
“I run around and act like a 40-year-old person. Games like ‘Kaneva’ are attracting players that games like ‘Super Mario Brothers’ never did.
Social and gaming networks, once considered polar opposites, are cross-pollinating as online interactions replace prime-time TV and other, more traditional media experiences. The 41-year-old homemaker likes the shopping-and-partying game - where she operates a virtual nightclub and hosts parties - because it helps her interact with people, not provide escape from them as traditional games often do. DALLAS: Jo Ann Hicks doesn’t identify with gamers, but she spends hours online every day playing ‘Kaneva’.