By Christiaan Hetzner
2 hours, 30 minutes ago
LEIPZIG (Reuters) -
Sprawling virtual worlds in which
electronic avatars do battle with mythical beasts may offer
game publishers a unique chance to combat piracy, especially in
Asia, where the format is wildly popular.
On Thursday, the video game industry gathered at Europe's
largest games convention in Leipzig to tantalize the 200,000
expected visitors with upcoming offerings that include an array
of new MMOs -- massively multi-user online games.
Players usually have to buy the software to play the game,
a model that invites bootleggers to get a cut of the action, so
publishers are increasingly looking to offer the software for
free.
Instead of paying 150 euros ($205) to buy a permanent
membership to the "Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar"
gaming world, for example, companies would then charge only for
performance enhancements each time a player wants to upgrade
his online alter-ego.
Speaking on the sidelines of the GC, Ubisoft's Chief
Executive Yves Guillemot raved about the prospects of the genre
and in particular this new form of "MMO-lite" for avid gamers.
"They all have the ability to get it, and if they want to
progress you can sell (enhancements) to them," he told Reuters.
Chinese companies like Nasdaq-listed CDC Corporation and
Shanda Interactive Entertainment helped pioneer this revenue
model with their MMOs Yulong and Legend of Mir II in 2005.
ADDICTIVE
Electronic Arts said the enhancement-based model was
certainly the best strategy for Asia, where the online gaming
market over $3 billion and there is virtually no demand for
protected games software due to rampant copy infringement.
"We had many people playing but nobody paying. The online
games drive the pirate out of the business," said Gerhard
Florin, general manager of international publishing at the
world's largest video games company.
Best known through Vivendi's "World of Warcraft," online
video games revolutionized the industry by taking a pastime
that had retreated to the privacy of one's home from their
arcade hall origins back out into the social sphere in a
fantasy cyberspace inhabited by hundreds if not thousands of
gamers.
The genre's success has both been the subject of research
by a Stanford University PhD graduate and a spoof on The
Simpsons. MMOs also have a darker side, though, having been
linked to addiction and even the death of several hard core
gamers who could not stop.
Stanford's Nicholas Yee concluded that the average MMO
gamer spends about 22 hours a week playing, motivated just as
much by a desire to socialize and build relationships, and
suggests they might have a greater sense of control in their
lives than do people who passively watch TV.
France Telecom games unit GOA and its distribution partner
Electronic Arts aims to release "Warhammer Online: Age of
Reckoning" early next year, while Frogster is showcasing "The
Chronicles of Spellborn" and Funcom unleashes "Age of Conan:
Hyborian Adventures" that it promises to be both bloody and
barbaric.
-- Additional reporting by Niclas Mika
