Move over, Wii. Currently, free and low-cost apps are what gaming consumers are downloading and playing these days, most of which are on mobile devices. In a recent podcast interview, MPD CEO Karen Webster spoke with BlueSnap CEO Ralph Dangelmaier to learn just how these video game merchants are able to eliminate the friction with in app game purchases, particularly when the gamers are competing with others all over the world.
A gamer’s nirvana: playing the coolest games anytime, anywhere, with anyone who happens to be anywhere. And, buying gold or flaming swords – within the game, without any friction at all – after all who wants to be bothered with entering in payment information in the heat of the battle.
Now a multibillion-dollar market, the video game industry is growing dramatically, said BlueSnap Ralph Dangelmaier in a recent podcast interview with MPD CEO Karen Webster. The two types of games to focus on specifically are the free-to-play games that involve downloading a free app, as well as those that are purchased in an app store.
Merchants, however, are monetizing from these games in a distinctive way. For one, they are trying to get game players to make low price purchases within the game, whether it is for gold or a flaming sword or any object to help them get to the next level. These purchases are made after users already downloaded the game for free (or at a very low cost). That model, said Dangelmaeir, is unique.
But what’s driving innovation in the payments space, he said, is this “easy-to-buy” aspect. The Holy Gaming Grail is to enable a gamer to make purchases right in the field of play, without disruptions – in a single click. And, as Dangelmaier points out, when gamers play others overseas, that one-click purchase might need to be in somebody else’s language and currency.” BlueSnap, said Dangelmaier, is making this possible, having integrated its payment solution into products like Game of Thrones Ascent by providing merchants with a set of templates to customize, and allowing gamers to have a seamless, one-click checkout, even if their opponent is in another country.
“For the consumer, they’ve never left the game – and that is driven volume and sales for merchants,” he said.
For more on how BlueSnap’s payments solution is helping video game merchants monetize their games, listen to the full podcast here. (Plus, you’ll even find out what mobile games Ralph and Karen play!)
Listen to the full podcast by clicking below.
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