Social gaming giant Zynga has announced that it will be accepting bitcoin for in-app payments in chosen games, as a “test” with payment processor BitPay. The move opens up $ 200m per quarter in prospective markets for the digital currency.
The Zynga team account posted the following on reddit:
“The Bitcoin test is only available to Zynga.com players playing FarmVille 2, CastleVille, ChefVille, CoasterVille, Hidden Chronicles, Hidden Shadows and CityVille. The games can be accessed at http://zynga.com.
Zynga is often functioning to enhance our buyer knowledge by incorporating player feedback into our games. We look forward to hearing from our players about the Bitcoin test so we can continue in our efforts to offer the greatest possible gaming knowledge.”
Sources connected to BitPay and Zynga customers rapidly confirmed the announcement as accurate.
It may also be worth mentioning that Union Square Ventures and Andreessen Horowitz, who contributed to Zynga’s Series A and B funding rounds in 2008-09, also each have a stake in bitcoin payment processor and wallet service Coinbase.
Zynga is amongst a new generation of firms focused on social gaming. These games, which frequently piggyback on current social networks, draw users into addictive play sessions, in which they can compete and collaborate with their pals.
Zynga’s revenue comes in two types: direct payments in games, and income from partners. Direct payments are made inside games to get assets that can support players to compete.
Reddit user ‘betafall’ posted this video displaying the simplicity of making a bitcoin buy inside a Zynga game:
The firm also announced a push into real cash gaming, releasing ZyngaPlusPoker and ZyngaPlusCasino in the UK in early 2013. In the US, it announced that it would pursue a genuine money gaming license, but in July, it backtracked on the decision, ending its real funds gaming efforts in America.
Zynga has a turbulent history when it comes to the use of alternative currencies for in-app purchases. In 2010, the organization reportedly threatened to finish its connection with Facebook right after the social networking giant tried to force it into employing its personal virtual currency, the now-defunct Facebook Credits, for purchases inside its games. Had that deal gone ahead, Facebook would have pocketed 30% of all in-game payments created to Zynga on Facebook-hosted games.
The organizations overcame their dispute and signed a 5-year contract, but Zynga also began its personal Zynga With Friends network, which connects players of its games from different platforms. It also developed a Zynga API permitting developers to generate social games on its network.
Founded in 2008, the business went public in December 2011. Last year was hard for Zynga – in July, figures emerged suggesting it had lost virtually half of its user base in the course of a year.
Zynga’s casual, mobile-friendly marketplace stands in contrast to the traditional console game market place, in which sprawling, complicated games typically rival Hollywood films in spending budget and production time. In the console sector, companies have moved away from virtual currency. Microsoft, for example, abandoned its Points program earlier this year, returning rather to straightforward fiat currency for purchases, made by means of credit cards.
Taking bitcoin as an in-game currency would bring several advantages, ventured Jeffrey Green, senior analyst at pymnts.com, who specializes in the payments business. “The rewards would be to give the user one more payment choice. Give the user what he wants, so to speak,” mentioned Green, who wrote an evaluation of virtual currencies launched by big on the web firms when at Mercator Advisory Group. He explained:
“The challenge would be the volatility of bitcoins and what their worth may be when exchanged for dollars. Volume wouldn’t be very high, but there probably will be gamers out there seeking for some thing novel to try.”
There is also the commission to take into account. PayPal charges commission on payments, and even though large fish like Zynga might get a discount, bitcoin’s low-to-no transaction fees are tough to argue with.
There are, nonetheless, damaging aspects to using bitcoin for in-game payments. Notably, the virtual currency does not but enable for recurring payments, which could be valuable in social gaming.
Disclaimer: CoinDesk founder Shakil Khan is an investor in BitPay.
View Games Giant Zynga Begins Playing With Bitcoin on CoinDesk.
Games Giant Zynga Begins Playing With Bitcoin
No comments:
Post a Comment