Online Games Find Success in a Recession
Even as the economy takes a tumble, the popularity of online games is on the rise. Online game properties continue to see positive growth as Americans turn to ad-supported games as a form of affordable escapism.
Nearly 86-million Americans visited online game sites in December 2008, a 27 percent increase over the previous year, reports comScore, Inc., a leader in measuring the digital world. While these numbers are astonishing on their own, comScore also reports that the total time spent playing online games increased by 42 percent.
This means more people are playing online games and they’re playing for much longer periods of time. In fact, a survey conducted by Slingo Inc., a thought-leader in the casual games industry, reveals that nearly half of all visitors to the Slingo.com portal play casual games seven days per week.
What does this mean for advertisers? In spite of the recession, online game sites are among the stickiest entertainment sites on the Web. By tapping into this highly engaged audience, advertisers can connect with consumers more easily than in other advertising platforms where the message is often tuned out.
Affordable, Escapist Fun
So why are online games more appealing than ever during an economic downturn? In part, it’s because many people enjoy online games as an escape from the pressures they may experience at work or in the home.
“By concentrating and focusing on the game, a person can take a ‘mental vacation’ from whatever it is at the moment that is causing stress in his or her life,” says Dr. Carl Arinoldo, a stress and relaxation psychologist, in an interview with the Long Island Exchange. “And, given the engrossing quality of these games, the concentration and focusing are quite easy to accomplish and stick with!” Despite the influx of bad economic news, online games continue to serve as digital stress busters.
In addition, as people feel the financial crunch and being to tighten their purse strings, the entertainment budget is among the first things to go. “Not only have consumers turned to outlets such as gaming to take their minds off the economy, but as they curtail their discretionary gaming-related purchases they are turning to free alternatives,” said Edward Hunter, comScore director of gaming solutions, regarding the usage of free online game sites. Since most ad-supported online games are free to play, people can have guilt-free fun in the comfort of their own homes.
Economic Bright-Spot
While the economic picture for most industries is grim leading into 2009, the outlook is bright for the online gaming industry which continues to benefit from growth in its display advertising business model. More than 8.6-billion display ads were placed on online game portals in November 2008, reports comScore, for a 29 percent increase over the previous year. Combined with the surge in the number of people visiting online gaming sites and the increased time spent playing online games, this has resulted in a 30 percent increase in the number of unique display ad exposures.
While the average person’s frequency of exposure to display ads remained constant, the number of display ads per page view dropped by 17 percent versus the previous year. This means that visitors to online game sites were exposed to approximately the same number of ads as before, but there was less ad clutter so each message had greater impact.
Additionally, the model of combining video ad content with casual game content promises to leverage the true value of casual games: user engagement. People are more willing to watch video ads that run before a game starts or between game levels, as opposed to video ads that appear in front of other video content. With online games, the payoff is big enough that viewers are willing to wait and, more importantly, to watch. In fact, according to leading online video advertising network SpotXchange, in February 2008, over 90% of the InGame video advertisements they served were watched in full. This level of engagement means the effectiveness of the video ad goes through the roof.
As greater numbers of people flock to their favorite ad-supported online games for budget-friendly entertainment, more advertisers are seeking the opportunity to reach this highly engaged audience. The increased revenue from display and video ads enables the online game portals to reduce ad clutter, providing a better visitor experience and offering advertisers a greater ROI. In the end, it’s a win-win-win situation for the advertisers, the game players, and the online game portals.
About Slingo
This article is provided by Slingo.com, a leading online destination for people who love to play games, win prizes and have fun. In fact, 1 out of every 20 people in the U.S. has played Slingo online. The Slingo website offers free, original online games, downloadable games, and contests with cash prizes, as well as a social-networking community for game players. For more information, please visit http://www.slingo.com/.
R.L. Fielding has been a freelance writer for 10 years, offering her expertise and skills to a variety of major organizations in the education, pharmaceuticals and healthcare, financial services, and manufacturing industries. She lives in New Jersey with her dog and two cats and enjoys rock climbing and ornamental gardening.
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Xbox 360 Live 4000 Points [Online Game Code]
- Get Game Add-Ons: Songs, Maps and More
- Play Xbox LIVE Arcade Games
- Stream HD Movies and TV Shows in 1080p
- Add style to your avatar
The 4000 Microsoft Points Card is your ticket to a vast world of entertainment. Redeem your points through the Xbox LIVE Marketplace to crank your favorite games up a notch with add-ons like new songs, maps, levels and more. You can also download HD movies or TV shows for an instant movie night or pick up and play arcade games the whole family will love.
Rating: 
(out of 270 reviews)
List Price: $ 49.99
Price: $ 49.99
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Review by Thomas Eck for Xbox 360 Live 4000 Points [Online Game Code]
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In order to activate the card, you must scratch off an area on the back of the card to reveal a 25 digit code. Unfortunately, when I scratched mine off, five of the numbers came off in addition to the protective coating, thus making the card unusable. I called Microsoft’s Xbox support and after about 20 minutes of going back and forth with an agent and then the “floor supervisor” on it, I was informed there simply was nothing they could do for me. As an IT professional, I found their support agents to be quite unprofessional – a sharp contrast from their enterprise support which strives for 100% “very satisfied” customers.
Quite surprised by Microsoft’s inability to help, I called Amazon’s customer support, explained the situation and much to my surprise, they immediately provided a replacement card and apologized profusely for the pre-Christmas issue. The replacement was provided at no cost, a return label can be printed from their site, and they even expedited the shipping for me – all without my having to ask.
Amazon is a top-rate retailer and continues to exceed my expectations with every order I place.
At the end of the day, there are two morals of this story. First, be careful scratching off your activation code; and second, if you do happen to get a card like mine, don’t bother calling Microsoft – they won’t do a thing to assist you on it. Do what I should have done from the start and deal directly with Amazon instead.
Review by Frank for Xbox 360 Live 4000 Points [Online Game Code]
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First off, I’m an otherwise very happy Xbox Live Gold member. Instead of buying a points card from a retailer, I made the mistake of buying the points online from Microsoft through the Xbox. I used my gamer tag account and entered my credit card on the TV and I bought 500 points. I got the email confirmation that I bought the points. I then used the points. So far so good.
Over the next two days, four other Xbox charges totaling $30 mysteriously appeared on my credit card. Someone bought more points and a game subscription using my credit card info. I called Xbox Live support- their answer was “we don’t give refunds.” I explained that it’s not a REFUND if my account is used fradulently. They still said no.
Note that clearly the security leak was with them, as no other fraudulent charges appeared on my credit card…just Xbox charges.
I then asked them to delete my credit card info from my Xbox Live account. They said they could not do this. I could not believe this! Given that someone had access to my credit card and they were unwilling to remove my credit card info, I had no choice but to cancel my credit card.
My advice- buy the points from a trusted source like Amazon. Don’t ever give Microsoft direct access to your credit card info. I hope this helps.
Review by Zeph Greenwell for Xbox 360 Live 4000 Points [Online Game Code]
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This is a great denomination to release Microsoft points in. Since most games on Xbox Live Arcade are purchased in 400 point ($5) increments this card give you the ability to download ten 400 point games or five 800 point games or some other combination (you get the idea). $50 is also a much more acceptable amount than the $62.50 for 5000 points. Since this is on a card it makes this possible to give as a gift or buy without using a credit card. This would be a worthwhile purchase for anyone with an Xbox 360 and Xbox Live.
Review by Patio B. for Xbox 360 Live 4000 Points [Online Game Code]
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This is a lot better than doing it through your xbox. For one, no tax. The other reason, for me at least, is that if you put your credit card into xbox live, you cant remove it. You can change it, but it will always have a credit card on file. Buying these points through xbox live would have cost me $54.12. I would rather save that $4.12, thank you.
Review by M. Erickson for Xbox 360 Live 4000 Points [Online Game Code]
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These reviews show up on the list for all four options, the one, three, and twelve month subscriptions, as well as the marketplace points. Carefully choose the “Size” above, which is where you choose between live “gold” months and marketplace points. Amazon just put all of these different products onto the same page, calling them different sizes.
There is of course a difference between months and points, as you can spend points without a gold subscription (just use the free included “silver” subscription with every XBOX 360), and you can certainly buy gold months without having to get any extra points. So one is not required for the other. The points get you extra content downloads, and the months get you online play time.