Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Tuesday, Jun 13, 2006
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Tuesday, Jun 13, 2006 |
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Info-Tech
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Internet Marketing - Advertising Online gaming firms see scope for ad revenue Abhinav Ramnarayan
Tapping more revenue Sify is now free of cost, but to go pay shortly. Level Up to avoid subscription model .
Chennai , June 12 Can a branded denim jacket protect you from gunfire? Probably not in real life, but in `Gunz', an online multiplayer third person shooting game, it might be the case pretty soon. Advertising in online games could be a source of revenue for online game publishers in the burgeoning online gaming market, said Mr Venkat Mallik, Managing Director, Level Up Network India, an online game publishing firm that is managing and promoting Gunz in India. He explained that Gunz operates with the player equipping himself with weaponry, medipacks and protective armour and then going out and waging war against other players throughout the country. These items, from grenades to overcoats, could potentially have a label against them if advertising and manufacturing companies take to the concept. Level Up is currently in talks with some of them, he said. It is a nascent market now, with Level Up recently introducing a subscription model for its previous game Ragnarok, and Sify not yet charging for its online game A3. Mr David Appasamy, General Manager, Corporate Communications, Sify, said that the market depends on the level of home PC and broadband penetration. Sify's MMORPG, `A3', is free of cost, but will look at a subscription model in the future. When asked if a price-sensitive consumer base was ready for subscription, he said, "It is a leisure activity, so once people really begin to enjoy it, they will be willing to put some money into it." Though Sify has not firmed up a specific subscription cost, it `will not be terribly expensive'. Level Up, with Gunz, has decided to avoid the subscription model altogether. "One section of the game will always be free," says Mr Mallik. On the other hand, certain servers, maps, and perhaps some in-game items that are for purchase (in the game, the player basically equips himself as best he can to kill everybody else who is playing) will be paid for both in `bounty' - the game's currency - as well as in rupees. The mode of payment has not been decided, but the company has looked at issuing Level Up pre-paid cards, credit card payments and Itz cards - a payment mode for applications such as shopping online and surfing the Net.
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