May as well invest in gaming, real estate is in the tank.

A host of investors have plunked down close to $17M into PlaySpan which is provides micro-transaction capabilities for game developers. The typical American response for our gaming appetite is similar to our food appetite – we like the all-you-can eat model, but this may be changing. As more free-to-play games launch with success and the market gets saturated with $15 per month titles, we may all be looking for alternatives. PlaySpan may provide us all a way to pay-as-we go, and already does for apparently 200 games according to their press release. I know I would not cancel so many of my accounts if I could have payment options (how many $15/month subscriptions can you really handle?). Echoing these sentiments from today's announcement:

"Online games publishers and social media application developers are looking for new sources of revenue beyond traditional advertising and subscriptions.  We are enabling a new business model in the form of micro-transactions for users that prefer the pay-as-you-go model," said Karl Mehta, Founder & CEO of PlaySpan.  "It is a testament to our market-leading position, demonstrated growth, and the long-term potential of virtual goods and micro-transactions that we have raised a significant round in spite of the current economic climate."

I've typically kept a skeptical eye towards any mechanic where my costs may run away with my credit card (i.e. I fall asleep at the keyboard and get charged for 10 hours of beauty rest), but through the trial and error of what has happened with other games and countries, it looks like some of these pricing models are starting to make sense. For more information on where you can use PlaySpan, go to their website to learn more about how they plan to expand into Europe and Asia.

Last Updated: Mar 13, 2016

Comments