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Tag: Game Connect

  • Amazon Now Offers In-App Purchasing Services To PC Game Developers

    Amazon has always been a huge player in games retail, but the company is quickly becoming a major player in game development as well. It’s already heavily involved in mobile game development with a number of helpful APIs like GameCenter. Now the retail giant is starting to focus on its free-to-play PC gaming service again that started with Game Connect.

    Amazon announced today that its in-app purchasing service is now available to PC, Mac and Web-based game developers. In short, gamers will be able to use their Amazon account to buy stuff in games that use the company’s Game Connect service.

    “We’re passionate about making game developers successful, and we’ll continue to build services that make monetization easier and remove undifferentiated heavy lifting from developers,” said Mike Frazzini, Director Amazon Games. “Game developers build games that are used across multiple platforms and mediums. In-App Purchasing for Mac, PC and Web-based games is our latest service that helps game developers grow their business and increase their customer-base. For years, Amazon has focused on making the online shopping experience as frictionless as possible, and we are excited to share this expertise and technology so that game developers can offer customers this same great experience.”

    Here’s the benefits of using Amazon’s new service, according to Amazon:

  • Customers can use any credit card, gift certificate or promotional credit associated with their current Amazon account to purchase in-app items—making it simple and low friction for customers to purchase content and leading to higher sales and increased conversion.
  • Developers automatically have access to Amazon’s proven fraud detection technology, thereby reducing their exposure to fraud.
  • All transactions are supported by Amazon’s world-class, top-rated Customer Service to provide customers with the very best purchasing experience.
  • To help developers with game discovery and marketing, in-app items will automatically be available on Amazon.com, and in-app purchases can show up on best seller lists, recommendations and merchandising campaigns, helping customers discover new games and items, while adding another point of engagement for existing players.

    • The biggest benefit to developers is access to Amazon’s powerful retail presence. Millions of potential players flow through Amazon’s Web store every day, and they just might be compelled to check a game out after seeing a listing for an in-game item. Everything else is pretty standard fare that’s offered by other in-app purchasing services.

    The new service is an extension of Amazon’s Game Connect service, and as such, only requires a few steps to set everything up. Developers who want to join up with Game Connect will want to check out Amazon’s help page. All the information you need is there.

  • Amazon Enters The Free-To-Play Business With Game Connect

    In just a few years, Amazon has gone from major retailer of physical games to major player in the digital games business. They beat Steam to the punch with a massive July sale that rivaled what Steam does in Summer Sales. The only thing they lacked was a large catalog of free-to-play games and MMOs. Well, they are lacking no more.

    Amazon announced today the launch of Game Connect, a new service that will see many of the more popular free-to-play and MMOs delivered digitally to players through Amazon’s digital games portal. It’s more than just delivery though as integration into Game Connect will allow players to buy in-game items through Amazon which makes microtransactions easier for both developers and players.

    So how does this all work? Customers can now link their in-game accounts to their Amazon account for easy delivery of those crazy costumes or power-ups they want to get in their favorite free-to-play games. During the checkout process, players will see similar items from the same game or other games to increase visibility across the platform. All in all, it’s a great way to extend brand awareness across the network.

    “Customers can now discover a new category of free-to-play games and can experience the convenience of having virtual items purchased with their Amazon account delivered directly to their game accounts,” says Mike Frazzini, director, Amazon Games. “Game Connect helps game developers reach more customers, move more quickly and grow their business by simplifying the purchase process for customers. This is an exciting next step for the Digital Games Store and we have even more to come.”

    Game Connect is starting off with a pretty big collection of games that will appeal to players of different types. You’ve got more action oriented affair like World of Tanks and Super Monday Night Combat to more traditional free-to-play role-playing games like Shin Megami Tensei Imagine and Runescape.

    If you play any of these games, take note: Linking your account with Amazon Game Connect will net you exclusive in-game items that are normally valued at around $15 or more. It’s a great way for Amazon to get their foot in the door with these games and you get free stuff. It’s a win-win for everybody. Check out Amazon’s Game Connect exclusive offers at their store front.

    Game Connect is obviously Amazon firing a shot across the bow of Steam. Many companies have risen with services trying to take down Steam and all have met with minimal success. Amazon stands to make the biggest dent in Steam’s market share and Game Connect is one more tool for them to reach that goal. It will be really interesting to watch this play out over the next few months to see if Steam allows free-to-play games on their service to connect with Game Connect.