Ten Ton Hammer - Taking MMO Gamers to the Next Level!

Questions by Cody “Micajah” Bye, Managing Editor
Answers by Jimmy Yang, President of JACT

The Internet is a strange and dangerous place. Every day thousands of people are scammed out of their time, money, property and identities. Yet there are still some services that seem “too good to be true” but are actually run by honest, hard-working individuals that are striving for success. Recently, Ten Ton Hammer’s Cody “Micajah” Bye had a conversation with Jimmy Yang whose JACT service (which offers free prizes and products simply for playing video games) often falls under that “too good to be true” stigma time and time again. To clear the air, Jimmy opened himself up to Ten Ton Hammer’s questions, and he answered every inquiry we threw his way. If you’re interested in winning more free prizes than the ones you already get with Ten Ton Hammer, check JACT out!

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JACT will support WoW's Wrath of the Lich King.

Ten Ton Hammer: To start, can you give our readers a brief summary of what JACT is all about? What kind of service do you provide gamers? What sort of prizes do you offer?

Jimmg Yang: JACT was created in an effort to build a community large enough to leverage our strength in numbers.  Simply, we want to have enough users to go to sponsors and say, “Hey, you can advertise here with us because we have the audience you want.  What we want in return are your products and services we can share with our community.”   Of course we want to build a viable business as well.  So in order to do this we built a rewards system for gamers.  The idea was to have a complete synergy between JACT, the gamer, and the advertiser.  More succinctly, JACT is about providing a link between advertisers and the coveted demographic of PC gamers.  

We provide gamers with a software client (called Eamonn) that tracks gaming behavior.  As they play, they accrue credits called JACT Bux.  JACT Bux are used to redeem prizes in JACT’s online Mall.  Prizes range from relatively low redemption value, such as guitar picks, to relatively high redemption values, such as iPods.  JACT also offers PC and console games, DVDs,  gaming gear, a load of other prizes.  Prize selection changes constantly.  Additionally, we try to be as responsive as we can to the prize requests of our users.  If enough users want something in the mall, then we do our very best to be able to put that prize in the mall.  For those who like a little bit of chance, we have weekly prize drawings that gamers can participate in, and, on occasion, we offer larger prizes in our drawings.  In July, we awarded an Xbox 360 Elite, and, on December 12, we will draw the winner of a brand new gaming rig sponsored by iBuyPower.  

Ten Ton Hammer: Is there any sort of membership fee? The prizes seem pretty extravagant. What sort of business model do you operate on?

Yang: JACT users do not have to pay anything for membership.  All of our prize offerings are sponsored by advertisers.  When users are browsing the mall, they are served ads based on the games they play, the prizes they view, and their general demographic characteristics, such as age and location.  Additionally, companies covet gamers because they are so influential in the proliferation of new products and because they have been so difficult to reach.  Accordingly, companies sponsor prizes to be awarded by JACT because those companies want those products in the hands of the gamer.  This is how we are able to give away prizes without our users incurring any costs.  And the upside for gamers is that our users can potentially have access to new product releases before everyone else.  So from that standpoint we can also act as a virtual product launch platform, allowing specialized companies to release new products to members of our community and gauge the response to those products.

Ten Ton Hammer:  There are a number of massively multiplayer online games on your “supported games list” including World of Warcraft, EverQuest II, and Lord of the Rings Online. How exactly does a game make it on that list? Are gamers “rewarded” the same for each type of game they play? Will we see upcoming MMOGs like Stargate Worlds and Warhammer Online on this list?

Yang: We attempt to accommodate our users as much as possible.  We are already planning to add Stargate: Worlds and Warhammer Online to our supported games.  And, obviously, we are already planning for WotLK.  Ultimately, if enough of our users want JACT to support a game, we will do everything within our power to add it to our list.  But it’s not all about just MMOs or strategy games.   We are also in the initial stages of rolling out competition-based gaming on our servers.  Currently, we have a Counter-Strike Source plug-in that allows gamers to earn rewards based on their performance.  Everyone likes a little competition.

Ten Ton Hammer: How do gamers redeem the “BUX” that they earn? Is it as simple as shopping online, albeit with your virtual money?

Yang: Yes. If gamers have enough BUX and have shopped online, then they are good to go.

Ten Ton Hammer: Will JACT always be free to the consumer?

Yang: JACT membership will always be free to the gamer.  In the future, if our users want us to provide additional services, we may offer those at a premium.
 
Ten Ton Hammer: What are your eventual goals for JACT? Where do you see your website going? What sort of offerings will you have in the future?

Yang: We want JACT to become the premier online destination, where gamers and advertisers can coexist, and get value out of it  We hope that anybody playing PC games will want to be part of the JACT community.  In the future, we would love to see our strength in numbers become so great that we draw sponsorship for prizes like cars, vacations, and other big ticket items.  As far as the website is concerned, building around our community and their wants and needs is always the plan for the future.  

Warhammer Online is also a game supported by JACT services.

Ten Ton Hammer: Is there any way for users to read feedback about previous giveaways? On a similar line of thought, will gamers be able to share their experiences with other users if they enjoyed the services that JACT provided?

Yang: JACT provides a platform for users to submit their own unedited, unbiased reviews that are posted publicly within JACT’s community section.  If users prefer a more structured soap box, we encourage them to fill out a survey in which they can rate us and share with us their questions, concerns, and suggestions.  We rely on feedback from our users to make our service better.  Additionally, we greatly appreciate users sharing their positive impressions of JACT with others. And, to show that we’re serious about our appreciation, we offer a referral program that results in bonus BUX  when users invite their friends to join.  

Ten Ton Hammer: Is there anything else you can tell Ten Ton Hammer readers and gamers interested in JACT?

Yang: Well, I want to be completely transparent on what we do here at JACT.  From the onset we have gotten a lot of the “too good to be true”  or “sounds like a scam” type responses.  I want to take this opportunity to address the critics. .  We created the JACT community with the idea that strength in numbers effectively attracts sponsors.  Our demographic is highly coveted by advertisers, so JACT created the rewards system as a conduit.  What we are talking about is basically bartering for sponsorship with our audience’s viewership.  It’s that simple.  What one gamer cannot accomplish, 100,000 can.  It’s nothing new.  Product placement exists on TV and movies, at live marketing events where companies hand out samples, in consumer research programs that welcome outreach to the consumer.  Those are all similar to what we are doing. 

Also, people should think of our service as they would their credit card points or airline miles.  They are not going to be getting rewards overnight, but if they were going to travel or swipe a card anyways, why not get a little something more?  The mentality should be “Well, I’m gaming anyway” instead of “What!?, I can’t get prizes overnight.”  We are always looking for ways to improve our service for the gamer, but the rewards program is the core of it.  Sometimes something “too good to be true” can happen because the idea is good enough and is carried out with honesty, integrity and dedication.  We’d like to think JACT is one of those examples.