Virtual Items Remain Key Revenue Source for Social Games, But Ads Are Gaining

[Greg Bernhardt]

It is always incredible to see a breakdown of the numbers supporting virtual items, but this recent report featured on paidContent.org shows the incredible business model it has become. *I won’t rehash all the numbers here, but there are a few worth mentioning: Last year, social gaming revenues were about $856 million. It’s predicted to [...]http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=virtualnavigator.wordpress.com&blog=11498882&post=408&subd=virtualnavigator&ref=&feed=1

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[WhoWee]

I'm not sure I believe facebook didn't know they were an advertiser - let alone the 3rd largest. However, if only a few members with a few thousand friends each promoted a link - maybe to a game or a 20 second video (with an invite to continue) - it could go viral before anyone realized what was happening. There would be $0 advertising cost to the promoter.