Blog

Leading developer and publisher of online games, Ntreev USA, has re-launched the popular casual golf game Pangya to the North American audience. Similar to other Ntreev titles, Grand Chase and Trickster, Pangya is a free-to-play game with the option for users to purchase virtual items through microtransactions. Players can enhance game-play through new characters, vanity items and equipment with the in-game currency called Pang.

Sometrics is proud to have Ntreev as a partner and offer their users the option to earn Pang through our Advertiser Supported Transaction platform, providing an alternative payment method that makes it not only easier to get items but create a lift in revenue. Check out the embedded video for a glimpse at Pangya then pick up a club to play at http://pangya.ntreev.net/ - and feel free to contact us if you want to find out how your site can benefit from the AST platform too.

(source: http://venturebeat.com)

Today’s news of Playspan’s acquisition of SpareChange should not come as a huge surprise to anyone who is paying attention to the microtransaction business within social and casual gaming. The deal just makes sense. Both companies should see significant synergistic benefits from this merger. SpareChange will use the Playspan brand and resources to build on their already huge presence within the Facebook, Bebo and Myspace platforms. On the other hand, with this acquisition, Playspan gets to tap into the “social” gaming market which is a natural fit. It will be very interesting to see if Playspan can ride their recent momentum into bigger deals, such as handling the micropayment backend for Facebook or Myspace, or will we see a major competitor emerge in this space. This will definitely be something to keep on eye on throughout the remainder of 2009.

Sometimes having a quality product and addictive game play won’t always lure or keep users. This can be attributed to a few factors – the huge selection gamers are faced with when figuring out which site or title suits them best, lack of funds to dedicate to one game specifically or not enough time for all the games they enjoy. If this hurdle was not already apparent, look at some of the tactics publishers are using to acquire new gamers and then keep them playing (and satisfied).

Funcom recently began a free trial program tied with virtual items for their game Age of Conan with the hope that users will be so hooked after they start playing that they must purchase the title. In addition to these perks, Funcom is offering free virtual items with the actual game purchase – a move likely to help new users adapt more quickly.

Earlier this week Electronic Arts announced they were giving away free tokens to players on their casual game site Pogo. These tokens can only be used for “cosmetic” uses to customize avatars, but still a step toward giving users a reason to stick around to play and deepen their social ties with the site.

Though these options might work great to hook people into falling for your game, the money to give away free tokens and let users play for free is coming from your pocket. Give players a way to “earn” virtual items before they decide to purchase and if they like it enough they will turn into a paying player. This doesn’t mean earn through game play (too much time) but earn through an Advertiser Supported Transaction model.

Sometrics AST platform helps users earn virtual items quickly which helps get them engaged in a game and turn them into paying users – providing publishers with money throughout the process.