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Industry Standard

AtomShockwave hopes gamers will pay to play

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By Kenneth Li

(IDG) -- Internet media company AtomShockwave wants video game players to pay once, play often.

Beginning Wednesday, the company, formed in January by the merger of AtomFilms and Shockwave.com, is offering a pair of downloadable video game suites aimed at casual gamers.

The decision comes as online content sites are struggling to find appropriate pricing policies. With few exceptions, such as the Wall Street Journal and Consumer Reports subscription sites, online content producers have found it difficult to get consumers to pay for material that was previously offered for free.

The company expects the pricing policy to attract videogame enthusiasts who occasionally play games, but aren't always connected to the Internet.

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"We're not going after hardcore gamers," said AtomShockwave President Matt Hulett. "Mainstream gamers wanted to buy these games so they can carry them around wherever they are. Carrying it offline is a big deal to them."

The games range from licensed arcade classics like "Spy Hunter" and "Joust" to new, in-house-developed games such as the upcoming "DJ Fu." AtomShockwave will charge $19.95 for one set of games or $29.95 for both.

Many of these games have been offered for free from the site, but were not available for download, Hulett said. The company is banking on the idea that being able to play these games offline will motivate its more than 40 million registered users to pony up the fee.

It's unclear exactly how much revenue the new service will generate, but Hulett expects it to contribute significantly to its revenue stream. Currently, the company relies on sponsorship and advertising for 75 percent of its annual revenue with the remaining 25 percent coming from online and offline syndication of its online content.

The move also part of an ongoing expansion in the gaming industry to court so-called casual gamers who don't fit the gangly teenager stereotype of video game enthusiasts.

Major interactive games companies such as Sony Online Entertainment, Electronic Arts and Microsoft have carved a tidy, but expanding business in subscription games such as "Everquest" and "Ultima Online." These games, however, are primarily targeted at so-called hardcore gamers, who remain the key audience for the interactive entertainment industry.

But even the major games companies are beginning to court the average Internet consumer. Electronic Arts is planning on launching "Majestic," an episodic online game that allows casual gamers to play by phone, pager, e-mail or Web site. Majestic is one of the company's most ambitious attempts to both push the envelope of conventional online games, as well as court paying consumers outside the hardcore gaming community.

The company said the game is a cyber-thriller involving a software company and is loosely based on the 1997 movie The Game and the X-Files.

Unlike multiplayer online games, like Ultima, which require players to devote huge chunks of time to advance within the game, Majestic only requires players to spend about 15 minutes a day playing.

"I think this industry will become more mainstream entertainment-focused," said Neil Young of Electronic Arts. "We're going to see more interactive entertainment experiences for mature people."







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RELATED SITES:
• AtomFilms
• Shockwave.com

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