7-eleven posts

Runes of Magic and Playspan team up for game cards

by Eliot Lefebvre Nov 17th 2009 at 9:00PM

Filed under: Fantasy, Business models, News items, Free-to-play, Runes of Magic

Runes of Magic has been enjoying a nice burst of success recently, and as a free-to-play game one of the biggest things that helps it is increased visibility and access to the game's microtransaction system. So it should come has little surprise that Frogster Interactive has teamed up with PlaySpan to start moving branded game cards into 7-Eleven stores, improving both visibility and accessibility in one fell swoop. In addition, Diamonds will be purchasable at PlaySpan's online store, already a hub for several popular free-to-play game currencies.

The game cards, which will come in $10 and $25 denominations, can be redeemed for in-game mounts, enhancements, and other improvements. Overall, this deal will give Runes of Magic a game card presence in over 46 thousand stores inside the US, a high visibility for a fairly young game that's pushing a still-developing business model. And it's certainly not going to hurt that you can pick up some game currency at the same time you grab a soda and one of those little taquito things for a snack on your way home from work.

Tags: 7-eleven, business-models, f2p, free-to-play, frogster, frogster-interactive, game-cards, news-items, playspan, rom, runes-of-magic

Wizard101 hits 2 million unique user mark

by James Egan Apr 30th 2009 at 5:30PM

Filed under: MMO industry, News items, Casual, Kids, Wizard101

The picture for massively multiplayer games aimed at a younger demographic is decidedly bright. Titles like Cartoon Network's FusionFall and Wizard101 from KingsIsle Entertainment have already attracted millions of players, though in the case of FusionFall, having your own TV network to promote it can't hurt those registered member numbers.

Not to be outdone, the last word we had on the number of Wizard101 subscribers placed it at over 1 million accounts, but today's press announcement confirms the figure at double that initial estimate -- Wizard101 has now hit the 2 million unique user mark. That number is likely to grow with KingsIsle Entertainment's other announcement -- beginning today, Wizard101 prepaid gift cards can be found in 7-Eleven stores throughout the U.S., in $10 denominations.

Tags: 7-eleven, cartoon-network, casual, fusionfall, kids, kingsisle, kingsisle-entertainment, mmo-industry, wizard101

The ultimate game card covers every game you play

by Tateru Nino Aug 6th 2008 at 5:00PM

Filed under: MMO industry, News items, Free-to-play

PayByCash have been more and more in the news lately, especially with their recent acquisition by Arjun Metha's Playspan in-game commerce network. Despite being only in sixth grade last year (no, you read that correctly), Metha's Playspan business pulled in over six million in series-A funding last September. The acquisition of PayByCash seems to close the circle nicely on their revenue streams, as PayByCash acts as a payments broker for those without credit cards, currently servicing more than 150 games.

Now those payments are going to be even easier, as PayByCash's Ultimate Game Card pre-paid cards are launching in 7-Eleven stores throughout the USA. Want to burn some time in Age of Conan's hyborean lands or delve D&D Online: Stormreach's dungeons, but don't have the credit-card to support your epic adventures? Want to give your favorite MMO gamer a gift? It looks like these colorful cards are the loot you've been looking for.

One of the biggest advantages of game cards like this is that they let you pay for your MMO when you've got the cash, rather than being enslaved to the MMO operator's billing cycle. Buy them when you've got the cash free (and hey, it's a 7-Eleven! Grab some Cheetos and soda!) and redeem them when and where you need to.

No word yet on whether PayByCash can do the deals to get these into stores elsewhere in the world, but if they can swing it, it will be a big deal for gamers everywhere -- especially in many countries where credit cards are quite rare.

Tags: 7-eleven, arjun-metha, free-to-play, game-card, microtransactions, mmo-industry, paybycash, playspan, rmt, ultimate-game-card

Shopping list: Milk, bread, MMO game time cards...

by Seraphina Brennan Jul 28th 2008 at 5:00PM

Filed under: Fantasy, Sci-fi, Super-hero, City of Heroes, City of Villains, Lineage, Lineage 2, Business models, MMO industry, News items, Tabula Rasa, Exteel, Free-to-play

Let's face it, getting time cards for your favorite game is a necessity. It's up there with the milk, bread, and eggs that you need for your daily survival. We have enough stories about MMO withdrawal to fill a shopping cart, so why not sell our addiction where we can easily grab it?

NCsoft got the message and is pushing their time cards out to the masses by partnering up with Target, Rite Aid, and Best Buy. Now you too can literally walk down the street to the drug store and pick up your favorite addiction -- more play time. More importantly, if you're a subscriber to City of Heroes/Villains, grab yourself a time card because it will unlock an in-game jet pack for you to use.

The approach isn't anything new, as Nexon has already been providing their cash cards to customers of 7-Eleven convenience stores for some time now. What all of this does show is a marketing push by more game companies to get their cards into the mainstream market of consumer products.

Lastly, as a friendly reminder, when you're running out to get those "essentials" at Rite-Aid or Target before that "big storm" hits, remember your desktop computer doesn't work when the power is out.

Tags: 7-11, 7-eleven, best-buy, cash-card, city-of-heroes, city-of-villains, coh, cov, exteel, l2, lineage, lineage-2, maple-story, ncsoft, nexon, rgtr, rite-aid, seven-eleven, tabula-rasa, target, time-card, time-cards, tr

7-Eleven sells Nexon Game Cards

by Samuel Axon Nov 30th 2007 at 11:30AM

Filed under: MapleStory, Culture, MMO industry, News items, Casual

Worlds in Motion reports that you can now buy game cards for MapleStory and other Nexon games at your local 7-Eleven convenience store. The game cards -- which cost $10 or $25 -- can be used to purchase in-game items.

At first, this struck us as bizarre, but it actually makes some sense. A 7-Eleven representative is quoted in the Worlds in Motion article saying that the cards are perfect for the "tweens and teens" who enjoy MapleStory -- a demographic that also happens to frequent 7-Eleven. The representative calls it "the Slurpee-beverage crowd."

It's a strange world. Next thing you know we'll be buying EQ2 game-time cards at the gasoline pump!

Tags: 7-11, 7-eleven, audition, cash-shop, convenience-store, game-cards, kartrider, maplestory, nexon, retail, store, teens, tweens, worlds-in-motion