Microsoft helped popularize paid downloadable content on video game consoles with the Xbox 360 and its nearly 10-year old online platform, Live. Game publishers, including the Redmond-based tech giant, have already taken full advantage of players' unquenchable thirst for new maps, virtual avatar clothing and smaller, arcade-light experiences. The only place left to go is free.
New rumors suggest Microsoft is looking into bringing Facebook/PC-style freeware to Xbox Live that costs players only as much as they choose to invest.
Video game trade news and business site Develop reported on Friday that it spoke with "several sources" (anonymously, natch) who claimed Microsoft was engaged in secret talks with unspecified, unnamed developers about launching a free-to-play model on Xbox 360. Microsoft and its partners could then charge players for an upgrade to a more feature-rich experience, said the sources. Another monetization option should be familiar to anyone with even basic knowledge of the Facebook hit "Farmville": a per-item charge for in-game content.
There's no word on just what types of games would be offered (put down your pitchforks, hardcore gamers - for now, anyway) if Microsoft indeed follows through, but the move would compliment the company's recent endeavors to elevate Xbox Live into more than just a way to shoot strangers in "Call of Duty" or rip out the spines of cross-country friends in "Mortal Kombat."
Over the past few years, Microsoft has brought several non-gaming features to Xbox Live: Netflix, Hulu Plus, Facebook, Twitter and last.fm to name a few. It confirmed at this year's E3 event that YouTube and Bing support would hit the Xbox 360 in the fall, in addition to expanding its live TV service. Skype support is also in the cards; Microsoft announced it would purchase the telecommunications company for $8.5 million in May. Last week, the deal was approved. The company is also preparing to unleash interactive NUads next spring. It doesn't take a degree in marketing to see that freeware titles would prove a good fit for the novel new advertising option.
For now, just consider this an attractive, albeit recurring rumor additionally prettied up by Microsoft's recent social media forays. (via PCWorld)
What do you hope to see from Microsoft and others if freeware hits Xbox Live? Would you bite knowing full well about the not-so-hidden monetization features? Let us know what you think in the comment section.
