Report: Free-to-Play Web Games See Most Virtual Purchases

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 14, 2009 - 10:28am.

Santa Clara, Calif. - As online games increasingly look towards virtual goods transactions to generate revenue, a new survey found that free-to-play games attract the greatest number of virtual goods buyers, and that virtual currency is the most popular purchase.

The survey was conducted by market research firm VGMarket on behalf of micropayments firm PlaySpan, and polled 2,425 users of PlaySpan's Marketplace, Spare Change and Ultimate Game Card products.

It found that over half (58%) of gamers have made virtual goods purchases in free-to-play games over the past year, as have 34% of massively multiplayer online game players, and 23% of social network game players.

In-game currency was the most popular purchase (71%), followed by weapons (37%); subscription codes (30%); wearable items (26%); power-ups (25%); and virtual gifts (19%).

The median purchase in free-to-play games was $75; the figure was $60 for multiplayer titles, and $50 for social network games.

Related Links:
http://corp.playspan.com

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