Filed under: Games, Internet, News
Are ad-supported video games the next big thing?
Last year Electronic Arts released classic strategy game Command & Conquer as a free, ad-supported download. Now the company is going one step further with plans to release a brand spanking new game as a free download (with advertisements, of course). The New York Times reports that the upcoming Battlefield Heroes title will also allow users to spend real money to buy outfits, weapons, and other virtual goods.The game is due out this summer. But more importantly, it indicates to us that EA, which regularly produces PC and console games that can sell for $50 or more sees the possibility of generating revenue in multiple ways. We doubt they'll stop selling high priced games anytime soon. But if the ad-supported model proves successful, it could expand the gaming market.
Right now, the folks who are willing to spend the money on bleeding edge games (and the bleeding edge computer or video game console that can handle them) are just the tip of the gaming iceberg. There are millions of people who are already playing simple, ad-supported online Flash games like Line Rider or the troubled Scrabulous. If companies with expertise in creating engaging, high quality games like EA are willing to use the same business model, many people who would never dream of dropping $150 to play Rock Band might be interested in downloading a first person shooter, RPG, or strategy game.
With Halloween fast approaching, it's a great time to get in some practice defending your territory against zombies. In Graveyard Shift, you take aim at zombies and other creepy-crawlies, blasting them into splatters of cartoony green guts. It's a casual first-person shooter, and it's very easy to get the hang of - use the mouse to aim, click to fire. Graveyard Shift has at least 15 levels, and it might even have some secret stages I haven't unlocked yet.
They key to getting good at Graveyard Shift is learning to use ...
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
James said 4:09PM on 1-24-2008
I hate ads, but will put up with them if I cannot avoid seeing them in order to get what I want. That is, I use the Adblock extension, so this site comes to me 100% ad-free. I use MythTV commercial flagging so I can watch TV without any advertisements at all, or download torrents that already have to commercials removed (since I could have done it myself anyway, I don't see the act as immoral, even if it might be illegal). If I can run this software through a simple proxy that strips the advertisements out, I might go to that much trouble. But if it's any harder than that, I'd rather watch the ads and get the game for free than pay for an ad-less game. Does that make sense?
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tchetch said 7:43AM on 1-30-2008
no, it means you're obsessive
Lane said 4:51PM on 1-22-2008
I usually don't mind ads, as long as they don't flash and take up the entire screen. I like ads that seem to flow with the game, like a certain brand of cell phone or a certain TV channel that broadcasts the news.
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