As the Vancouver Sun tells us this morning, Big Fish Games tests B.C. waters. It is a cute headline about a fast-growing U.S. video game company that is opening a studio in Yaletown in Vancouver.
Seattle-based Big Fish Games, one of the fastest-growing video game companies on the continent, has opened a Vancouver studio. The Yaletown office has just four employees so far, but has room for almost 50.
Big Fish Games reported revenues of $8.6 million in 2005, $24.1 million in 2006 and $50.8 million in 2007, and employee numbers have grown from 35 to 310. .. The company has found a vast audience partly because it markets to groups not generally associated with video-game playing, including women and seniors.
As it happens, Big Fish Games in the clouds is a much more apt title. Cloud computing is the current big battleground for the majors like Microsoft and Google. It is all about SaaS, or Software as a Service if the acronym is new to you. No longer do you need to download programs to your computer. All you need is the cheapest of laptops or even a netbook to give you access to whatever programs your favorite supplier is willing to offer.
By coincidence another online game service is also making the news today. That is Prize Room and this one gives you your online games completely free.
PrizeRoom provides what other methods of Internet marketing are truly missing: a new way for consumers to actually interface with sponsors’ products. In addition, all the in-game content can be branded, changed as often as desired and is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. PrizeRoom gives users not only chances to play dynamic and entertaining games incentives, but also offers opportunities for them to qualify to win great prizes and earn valuable incentives from some of the top brands in the world!
It is free because the marketers would like you to spend some time in a place where they can send their messages to you. That is the kind of Free that Chris Anderson promotes. You are really paying for whatever you receive by giving them your time. Perhaps that is the most valuable currency you can offer.