NOV. 16, 2010 • Online game rentals have a new twist with the launch of WildTangent Games. The object is still to encourage consumers to purchase, but the new site makes it very easy to try before buying. Many of the 1,300 available titles can be played for free for up to several hours, much longer than the norm. There is also the option to rent games. WildTangent says the average cost for a rental session works out to be 30 cents.
Impact: Letting people demo titles for hours is novel, yet WildTangent may be bucking the prevailing F2P trends with its rental model. Why pay when you can play for free?There is so much F2P content out there online that many consumers may compare WildTangent rentals to F2P online games, and favor the latter despite the low session costs. Another issue is that gamers are used to their F2P sessions being saved, not a feature supported by WildTangent’s free play, which cancels all saved game data following the session. This is a new twist that may take off, but we think success will tied to the availability of compelling content not found elsewhere.
