Marketing Essentials 2012Chapter 22:
Physical DistributioneMarketing FeatureOnline Games
Online games are virtual games that players enjoy through their membership in the virtual community. Physical distribution of the product is nonexistent because everything involved in the game is online. For example, Bridge (card game) players from around the world may play Bridge with one another through an online Bridge site. Since Bridge is a card game, language is not a barrier for players. Cards are displayed and a simple mouse click allows players to bid and select the cards they want to play when it is their turn. Free-to-play online games, like Farmville (published by Zynga®, an American company), make money by selling virtual products to players to use on their virtual farm. Players from around the world have joined Farmville to have fun buying virtual cows, flowers, barns, tractors, corn, and the like for their virtual farms. Innovate and Create
Ask students if they have played any online games and what their experiences were with those online sites. Inquire if the sites were free and if they had to pay, what they paid for and how they paid. Have students work in a group to design an online game based on a current game they play or create an entirely new, simple game that could be played by others their age around the world. Ask them to include all the factors they have to consider since the game would be played in other countries as well as in the United States.  | 
