Inside Social Games

The microtransaction platform space continues to grow as yet another contender has entered the fray. The latest company is called GamersGate, and the Swedish developers have just released its GamersGate Microsuite platform.

As one could surmise, the platform offers game developers the opportunity to insert a means of offering transactions anywhere in a game or virtual world. GamersGate wants to help developers to increase likelihood of purchases (impulse buys, as it were). With GamersGate, a player that needs an item immediately in order to accomplish an objective can buy that item as they need it without ever having to leave the game world. To a gamer, that is far more useful, and due to its proximity and convenience, they are far more likely to buy.

PlaySpan offers a similar product which is capable of providing transactions the same way.

One interesting factor about GamersGate, however, is that it gives away its software tools for free. Like other companies, they do take a small portion of all virtual goods purchases for themselves. Furthermore, gamers will be able to use their virtual currency on any of the supported games within GamersGate.

Based on commentary from Theodore Bergquist, GamersGate chief executive, the company has been talking with a number of different game publishers, and a number of titles that will utilize the new system are expected to release some time during the first quarter of 2009.

[ via VentureBeat]