Free Games Flourish Under Bad Economy

There is no question that right now just about everyone is looking for ways to save. Games are an area of the household budget that people tend to look at first when trimming the fat. As a result, free online games are seeing a sudden bump in activity and the trend is only increasing as time goes on. comScore has recently released a report outlining the growth of traffic in 2008 for a handful of online gaming sites, and the results (listed below) indicate a steep upward trend.

No doubt with netbooks beating any other type of computer purchase, these free online games are just about the only thing those handy little systems are able to handle. Surely as more people are getting online casual games like Stack’em and Word Wrap are going to see more visitors. But are once avid gamers that purchased their titles really turning to free games to get their fix these days? The numbers don’t lie, and it appears that this is indeed the case.

    Top Online Gaming Sites
    December 2008 vs. December 2007
    Total U.S. - Home/Work/University Locations
    Source: comScore Media Metrix
                                                Total Unique Visitors (000)
                                          Dec-2007      Dec-2008      % Change
    Total Internet : Total Audience       183,619       190,650             4
    Online Gaming                          67,457        85,977            27
    Yahoo! Games                           16,184        19,468            20
    EA Online                              12,673        15,369            21
    Disney Games                           11,933        13,458            13
    WildTangent Network                     7,650        13,306            74
    Addictinggames.com                      9,706        11,343            17
    AOL Games                               8,380        10,750            28
    MSN Games                               9,685        10,263             6
    Miniclip.com                            7,264         8,636            19
    Nick.com Games                          6,020         7,092            18
    Spil Games                              1,821         6,715           269
PR Newswire

The increases some of these sites are telling of what we may expect in the coming year. Will the gaming industry lower their prices from a standard fifty-dollar admission fee to their newest titles down to a spot more appealing to their fan base when times are tough? Time will tell.


Other News Sites that have Covered this Story:
LA Times
BizReport
comScore, Inc.