Ad-subsidized games a hit: Paid game providers taking note

Ad-subsidized mobile content appears to be gaining steam even as the paid gaming segment treads water.
MobileRated, a Canadian ad-subsidized gaming subsidiary of Kalador Entertainment Inc., said it has seen downloads increase one-third over the past three months, delivering more than 1 million free mobile games per month. The company boasts a portfolio of 500 titles and claims to support more than 2,000 phone models, using both text marketing messages and in-game ads to generate revenue.
“The nature of mobile phones changes the gameplay dynamic, but less than many would have believed,” said MobileRated President Richard Mosher. “The marketplace is not stagnating, it is evolving.”
Indeed, some struggling publishers are beginning to see ad-subsidized offerings as a viable business, while others claim the tack threatens the very business model of mobile games. Greystripe, a San Francisco-based distributor of free games, recently forged alliances with Vivendi Games Mobile and Hands On Mobile, but other, more established game makers fear that giving games away may kill consumers’ willingness to pay for such content.