Virtual Goods and not so virtual revenue
Sunday, December 13th, 2009by Chilldor
Recently there has been lot of talk about virtual goods which are sometimes referred also as microtransactions.
According to wikipedia definition:
Virtual goods are non-physical objects that are purchased for use in online communities or online games.[1] They have no intrinsic value and, by definition, are intangible.[1] Virtual goods include such things as digital gifts[2][3] and digital clothing for avatars.
Martin wrote recently here that
analysts estimate, this year, virtual goods revenue will be $1 billion in the U.S. and about $5 billion worldwide. Another analyst predicts annual revenues will reach $15 billion by 2012.
Not a small amount considering that they have no intrinsic value (beside online environment they are sold in). Most analyst agree that this is just a beginning and that market is only starting to evolve into serious player in mobile services world.