Many MMOs have thrown the traditional client aside and work right in the web browser. This week, Richard looks at this trend in this edition of Richard Aihoshi's Free Zone. Check back each Monday for more columns from Richard, where he focuses in on the free-to-play genre.
It's difficult to gauge how large the browser MMOG segment is at this time, but I have no doubt it's substantial. In part, I suspect this is because, as with F2P in general, North America currently trails the global market. This means less information floating around for people like me to find. Another reason is that when companies anywhere do release numbers, they typically talk about registered users, a practice I truly dislike since the figures are far less meaningful than others such as concurrent or active users would be.
That said, I've heard from very credible sources that popular international titles generate revenues well in excess of a millions dollars per month. Such amounts pale in comparison to World of Warcraft, but they don't look bad at all beside moderately popular subscription offerings. This is especially true when we consider the cost of development, both pre-launch and ongoing, is undoubtedly far lower. Operating expenses might be too.
Read his full article here.
