Revolutionary Business Model For Online Game Developers

I don't know if any of you have been to www.ijji.com or played their games, but this company and the game developers it works with have come up with a brilliant business model, one that will challenge established video game/computer game giants. The model goes like this:

1. Create the online game

2. Have Ijji host the game, or built your own website for it.

3. Let players download the game for free.

4. Let the players play without charging any monthly fees.

5. Give players the option of buying special premium items to enhance their character. They don't have to buy them, but if they do, their character can be personalized, and they will have a slight edge over players who do not buy the items.

The business model above is exactly what Maiet and other companies at Ijji are doing. It doesn't sound like a lot of money, until you do the math:

The currency that is used to buy premium items on the website are called Ijji coins. The cheapest is $5, and it buys you 50 Ijji coins, that can be used to buy items for various games.

The most popular game on ijji.com is Gunz: The Duel. I play it a lot, and I'm lvl 31. Anyway, I spent 30 in the last month and a half on premium items.

Na Gunz has about 10,000 members. Lets say in a hypothetical situation, only 4,000 people spent $10 on the premium items, which equals 100 Ijji coins. $4000 multiplied by $10 equals $40,000 in a month and a half.

Keep in mind that Gunz has servers in Korea, Japan, Brazil, and India. If the numbers are multiplied by these companies, you are potentially looking at $120,000 in a month and a half.


Do you guys understand this business model? While the game is free to download can play, players are simply given the option to enhance their character by purchasing more items. The low cost multiplied by a large number of players turns into a lot over the course of a month.


This is also why I want to make my own online game.............