DFC Intelligence estimates that the market for English language client-based free-to-play games will grow from $250 million in 2009 to $2 billion by 2015. The growth will be due to a combination of broadband adoption and an increasing openness to buying digital content from consumers.
“For many Korean companies the market in North America has not taken off nearly as fast as they expected, said DFC analyst Insun Yoon. Much of this can be attributed to the immature infrastructure and a lack of established payment and service mechanisms. The good news is that this is starting to change and consumers are starting to realize that the game play of top high-end F2P games can be quite sophisticated.”
“F2P games can have multiple payment options and most successful games look to bundle products in creative packages such as the ability to buy a monthly or annual subscription that include a set amount of virtual currency, said David Cole, an analyst at DFC. Creativity in marketing, packaging and distribution are the keys to generating increased revenue.
By the end of 2010, it is expected that English language client based free-to-play games will have 128 million registered users, not as high as some browser based games, but still significant. “Registered user numbers are a fairly meaningless metric in this market. Once a consumer is able to get a game downloaded and running conversion rates for high-end F2P games tend to be fairly high,” says Yoon.
To find out more, visit www.dfcint.com.
