Citing “trusted sources,” IGN is reporting that Microsoft will soon make free-to-play games available through Xbox Live.
By doing so, gamers can play the games for free, but will purchase virtual content (currency, weapons, clothes, etc) just like in popular Facebook games like MafiaWars and CityVille.
The industry has seen an expansion into F2P, with big publishers like EA even trying the model on shooters like Battlefield Play4Free.
That game is still in beta.
For now this is still rumor, but we will keep you updated.
Result for: play games
According to the International Gamers Survey 2010, Apple’s iOS devices have surpassed the Sony PSP as a gaming platform in the United States, while closing in on the popular Nintendo DS.
The group says about 77 million Americans play games on portable devices and mobile phones, with a whopping 40.1 million using iOS devices such as the iPhone/iTouch or iPad.
That number far surpasses the 18 million figure for Sony PSP gamers, and closing in on the 41 million figure for the very popular Nintendo DS. The survey only includes gamers aged 10 and up.
Almost 70 percent of users play games on their PSP or iPad three days a week while only 50 percent of DS, iPhone and iTouch users do the same.
Additionally, Nintendo DS owners are the most willing to spend money on games, with iPad owners being the least willing.
Rounding out the top 5 platforms are LG at 15.6 million mobile gamers, and finally BlackBerry at 12.8 million gamers.
Result for: play games
According to a new report from Bloomberg, Microsoft’s Xbox Live service brought in $1.2 billion revenue for the fiscal 2009 year.
For the year ended June 30th, about 12.5 million Xbox Live users paid an annual fee to play games online which Bloomberg says would account for about $600 million in revenue. Xbox Live COO Dennis Durkin says on top of that, sales of DLC, movies and TV topped subscription revenue for the first time ever, and by a significant margin, leading us to the final $1.2 billion figure.
Success with Xbox Live is key to Microsoft’s Entertainment division, which has seen slow sales of Zune media players, slow smartphone sales, and a barely profitable Xbox 360 console, which sees most of its profit from software and accessory sales.
Adds Matt Rosoff, an analyst at Directions on Microsoft: “Xbox Live has helped sell a lot of consoles and created a lot of loyalty. Everyone has been talking about Microsoft’s inability to innovate, but this is a pretty good example where they have innovated. They timed it just right with this one.”
If accurate, revenue would have jumped from $800 million in 2008, a pretty hefty increase.
