BWI: 31% of Digital Goods Buyers Have Also Sold Digital Goods: Landmark Study by VGMarket and Playspan

Press release from Business Wire India
Source: PlaySpan India Pvt Ltd
Thursday, October 29, 2009 09:31 AM IST (04:01 AM GMT)
Editors: General: Consumer interest, Entertainment; Business: Advertising, PR & marketing, Banking & financial services, Business services, Information technology; Technology
--------------------------------------------------
31% of Digital Goods Buyers Have Also Sold Digital Goods: Landmark Study by VGMarket and Playspan
Study Demonstrates Significant Desire by Majority of Players to Sell Digital Goods

Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, Thursday, October 29, 2009 -- (Business Wire India) -- VGMarket, a market research firm specializing in the video game industry, and PlaySpan, the leader in monetization solutions for online games, virtual worlds, and social networks, today announced the second installment from its landmark study that examines in-depth, individual digital goods sellers and trends across multiple game genres and platforms. The survey is comprised of responses from a sampling of 2,425 customers across the PlaySpan Marketplace, Spare Change, and Ultimate Game Card.

Sponsored by PlaySpan and conducted by VGMarket, the research revealed that In-Game Virtual Currency is the most frequently sold digital good from player to player and that two out of three sellers sold in-game currency in the last 12 months, earning a median of $22 (U.S.). In terms of genre, one out of two sellers made a sale in a social network game over the last 12 months and earned a median of $50, while one out of four sellers made a sale in a Free to Play game over the last 12 months, with their median earning being $98, or nearly double that on social networks.

All in all, 31% of the total number of respondents said they have sold digital goods and 39% of the remaining 69%, expressed that they are either interested or very interested in doing so. Other interesting demographic information from the study revealed that 89% of the sellers were male with median age of 21 and having an annual household income of $30,000.

"For individuals looking to derive income from secondary markets, this study serves as a useful guide," said Michael Gluck, President, VGMarket. "It's not only the type of item and genre that are deserving of consideration, but the demographic characteristics of sellers and annual dollar amount they are able to generate can provide publishers valuable information about what makes most sense in terms of selecting a business model."

"We believe we're at the tipping point of the industry, which parallels the used game market in its infancy. Unfortunately, publishers ignored the used game market potential and GameStop created a billion dollar business from it. With the secondary market for digital goods, publishers still have the opportunity to embrace it and capitalize on it and PlaySpan is here to help," said Eric Hartness, Chief Marketing Officer of PlaySpan.

Please note: The report highlights detailed responses to PlaySpan's Digital Goods Survey, which was completed by 2,425 customers of PlaySpan Marketplace, Ultimate Game Card, and Spare Change. Responses were collected between July 15 and July 31, 2009.

About VGMarket

VGMarket is a market research firm specializing in the video game industry, with experience providing online survey research, concept testing, and play testing for top tier franchises such as The Sims, Battlefield, Need for Speed, Lord of the Rings, Littlest Pet Shop, Rolando, Dead Space, and Mafia Wars. Clients include EA, Capcom, 2K, Ubisoft, Smith & Tinker, PlaySpan, ngmoco, and Zynga. Known for low prices, fast turn-around, and high quality methodology, VGMarket is widely regarded as the best value in video game market research.

About PlaySpan, Inc.

PlaySpanT is the leader in monetization solutions for over 1,000 online games, virtual worlds, and social networks. PlaySpan's patent-pending in-game virtual goods commerce and micropayment platform enables game publishers and developers to generate new revenues, acquire new users, and extend the loyalty of existing users.

PlaySpan also offers global payment solutions through its subsidiary PayByCash® with 85 payment methods in 180 countries. The ULTIMATE GAME CARD® is used by consumers to pay for 300 multiplayer games and around 700 games on popular social networking sites. It is available in about 45,000 retail locations across North America and growing rapidly worldwide.

Social network payment solutions are available through Spare Change©. Acquired by PlaySpan in April 2009, Spare Change is the first and leading payments platform designed specifically for social networks. Featured on over 700 applications, across Facebook, MySpace and Bebo, Spare Change empowers developers to successfully monetize their applications through micro payments. The Spare Change platform enables users to make safe, convenient, and friendly 1-click purchases through a variety of funding sources.

PlaySpan is headquartered in Silicon Valley with offices in Charlottesville, Virginia, Cincinnati, Ohio, and Mumbai. Investors include Easton Capital, Menlo Ventures, STIC and Novel TMT Ventures. The company has recently won the 2009 OnHollywood Category Award for Best Gaming Company.

For more information about PlaySpan, visit: http://corp.playspan.com

For more information about Spare Change, visit: www.sparechangepayments.com


CONTACT DETAILS
Vinayak Rao, PlaySpan India Pvt Ltd, +91 9820045958, Vinayak.rao@playspan.com

KEYWORDS
CONSUMER, ENTERTAINMENT, MARKETING, BANKING, BUSINESS SERVICES, IT, TECHNOLOGY

If you wish to change your Business Wire India selection please click on this link http://www.businesswireindia.com/media/news.asp and use your personal username and password to login.

Submit your press release at http://www.businesswireindia.com