Free games: a threat?

July 30th, 2007

Simonc at GameSetWatch has some interesting thoughts on whether free games are a threat to the AAA game publishers. He concludes that some consumers may “get their ‘fill’ of games from the free Flash-based ones.”

Personally, I think the competition driven by free (or ad-based) games put out there by non-game companies to drum up business for their main business lines will only force the real AAA publishers to innovate (or find innovation and exploit it), and the best games will continue to thrive as they outpace the free loss leaders (though they may put in more and more ads, till they become as bloated with product placement as hit movies are today).

Wind-up toys, once a mainstay of toymakers and a delight to children, are now shoveled over the counter along with Happy Meals. But the best toymakers have gone on to create innovative and genuinely fun new toys over the years.

Entry Filed under: Game Business, Advertising, Flash Games, Video Games