Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, Wednesday, July 21, 2010 -- (Business Wire India)



VGMarket, a market research firm specializing in the video game industry, and PlaySpan, the global leader in monetization solutions for online games, virtual worlds, social networks, and videos, today announce the full availability of their 2010 Digital Goods Report that reveals consumer behavior patterns among existing customers of third-party and first-party online game marketplaces.

The PlaySpan/VGMarket landmark study quantifies digital goods purchasing behavior at the genre and item levels and also also provides statistics on 1st party purchasing directly from publishers and 3rd party purchasing through online marketplaces, and those who sell digital goods directly to other players.

Social Network Games Drive Revenue

Comparing information from 1st party sites, Social Networks lead the way with the median spent on digital goods coming in at $50 per year. This was followed by MMO ($40), Casual Games ($40), Free to Play Games ($40), PC Games with Online Play ($37) and Console Games with Online Play ($20). Also worth noting is that overall 32% of respondents made purchases within social networks.

It was also reported that although males are playing significantly more games and are the primary drivers of total digital goods sales, North American women 25 and older are spending disproportionately large sums of money on digital goods. When looking at the median spent on 1st party purchases within Social Network games, the average female spent $55 dollars, compared to only $30 for males. Females also spent twice as much ($50 compared to $25) when comparing purchases of in-game currency and the median overall expenditure was higher for females than males, at $80 to $60 respectively.

“The report demonstrates a number of significant trends and monetization opportunities available to both first-party publishers and third-party marketplaces through the sale of digital goods. Each type of digital good has a unique level of demand, and the amount of money that a consumer spends on digital goods continues to vary widely by genre,” said Michael Gluck, President, VGMarket.

“As a leader in monetization, our goal with this report is to shed light on the rapidly changing digital goods industry, while providing our clients, partners, and others with valuable information they can use to make timely and informed business decisions. We look forward to continuing working with established researchers such as VGMarket to publish the latest industry data and trends, so that others can better understand the dynamics of the marketplace,” said Eric Hartness, Chief Marketing Officer of PlaySpan.

The VGMarket survey was comprised of responses from a sampling of 2,221 customers between the ages of 13 and 64 across the PlaySpan Marketplace, Facebook via Spare Change, and Ultimate Game Card.

For more information or a copy of the study, please contact Eric Hartness at eric.hartness@playspan.com or Michael Gluck at Michael@VGMarket.com

About VGMarket

VGMarket is a market research firm specializing in the video game industry, with experience providing online surveys, play testing, concept testing, and focus group research for publishers including EA, 2K, SCEA, SOE, Capcom, Ubisoft, Namco Bandai Games, Spin Master, PlaySpan, Intel, ngmoco, and Zynga. Known for low prices, fast turn-around, and innovative methodology, VGMarket is widely regarded as the best value in video game market research.

About PlaySpan, Inc

PlaySpan™ is the global leader in monetization solutions for more than 1,000 online games, social networks, and video producers. PlaySpan's patent-pending in-game digital 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 provides global payment solutions through its UltimatePay™ product which enables users to make safe, convenient, and friendly in-app purchases using over 85 global payment methods in 180 countries. UltimatePay includes PlaySpan’s ULTIMATE GAME CARD®, the #1 selling multi-game pre-paid card, available in over 48,000 retail locations across North America and a growing list of countries worldwide.

PlaySpan is headquartered in Silicon Valley with offices in Ohio, Virginia, and Mumbai. Investors include Easton Capital, Menlo Ventures, STIC and Novel TMT Ventures. PlaySpan was honored as one of the 2010 OnMedia Top 100, AlwaysOn Global 250, and won the 2009 OnHollywood Category Award for Best Gaming Company.