Mobile app store operator GetJar plans to shake up the mobile game industry by giving away millions of copies of mobile games for free.
That’s going to make it tough on companies that are trying to sell high-quality mobile games, but it will also give GetJar a shot at higher revenue by encouraging players to sample free games and then buy later.
San Mateo, Calif.-based GetJar runs what it calls the world’s second largest app store, after Apple’s App Store. It sells games and other apps for its mainstay business. But in a partnership with Glu Mobile, GetJar will provide consumers with a number of Glu games for free in a two-week pilot program at GetJar.com.
“We anticipate we’ll give away a couple of million games or so,” said Patrick Mork, chief marketing officer of GetJar. “What we’re trying to do is widen the market.”
Under the GetJar+ program, the company is giving away premium games, though they aren’t brand new titles. The games will have no ads, registrations, or any other catches. The promotion will last for two weeks. GetJar’s app store has had more than 1 billion downloads in 200 countries. It generates nearly 100 million downloads a month across 2,300 handsets. The GetJar store has 70,000 apps.
Mork said in an interview that GetJar’s scale allows it to do the free promotion, much like TV shows are free in comparison to movie theater shows. GetJar doesn’t need to rely on the revenue from the sale of its apps; rather, it generates revenue from sponsors who want their apps placed on the best spots on the site. GetJar can then use that money to buy a premium game from a publisher and distribute it to consumers for free.
The new business model is being tested. But if it works, then users could get access to many more apps for free, even if those apps are high-end games by mobile standards, Mork said. Olivier Bernard, managing director of Glu EMEA and APAC, said the deal will let Glu reach many game-hungry consumers who might not otherwise buy premium games.
The games will be in GetJar.com’s “recommended” section, available on the Android, BlackBerry and Java phone platforms. The free games include Brain Genius 2, Stranded: Mysteries of Time, Build-a-lot and Race Driver Grid. If the program works well, GetJar could give away new games every couple of weeks or so.
Mork said it was possible that GetJar could put ads in the free games and cross-promote paid apps. But that’s not part of this current experiment. One of GetJar’s primary strategies is to position its store as the place where apps can get discovered. This kind of trick for the discovery of apps is what we’ll be talking about at DiscoveryBeat 2010.
Getting content noticed is a challenge for everyone making apps. Join us at DiscoveryBeat 2010 and hear secrets from top industry executives about how to break through and profit in the new cross-platform app ecosystem. From metrics to monetization, we’ll take an in-depth look at the best discovery strategies and why they’re working. The conference takes place on October 18th at the Mission Bay Conference Center in San Francisco. Sponsors can contact us at sponsors@venturebeat.com. To buy tickets, click here.
Next Story: Azuray teams with Suntech, Renhe for “smart solar panels” Previous Story: Hara’s newest software looks to supply chains for energy savings
Your daily dose of news and tidbits from the world of money in politics:
FEC NO LONGER ENFORCING ELECTION LAW?: Following an August story on OpenSecrets Blog chronicling organizations skirting Federal Election Commission disclosure laws, the Campaign Legal Center and Democracy 21 sent a letter to the FEC begging one question: Who is enforcing FEC law if the FEC isn�t?
The letter focuses on contention over �reasonable interpretation� of what constitutes �express advocacy� in the context of a statement by the FEC that an advertisement urging the public �help� a candidate is not express advocacy, since it does not directly tell the public to �vote for� a candidate.
While the letter cites OpenSecrets.org data, the Center for Responsive Politics remains neutral on the issue.
The groups are seeking clarification and a legal explanation, given that advertisements not demonstrating express advocacy are not subject to laws requiring public disclosure of advertising funding.
Meanwhile, a new report by non-profit advocacy group Public Citizen delves deeper into campaign finance information disclosure in the wake of the January Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission Supreme Court ruling. The report contends that the identities of the people and organizations behind political advertisements are becoming less clear, particularly among �Republican-oriented� groups.
The report shows the percentage of groups reporting donors decreasing from 98 percent and 97 percent in 2004 and 2006, respectively, to 49 percent in 2008 and only 32 percent thus far in the 2010 election cycle.
�The Supreme Court has unleashed a flood of new corporate spending on election ads and the public can�t even tell who is behind a given ad,� explained David Arkush, director of Public Citizen�s Congress Watch division, in a Wall Street Journal article.
LADY GAGA AND HARRY REID TEAM UP: What do Lady Gaga and U.S. Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) have in common? Hint: not fashion sense. Still, the pair teamed up earlier this week via Twitter to voice support for the repeal of the military�s �Don�t Ask, Don�t Tell� policy for gay service members.
Reid began the correspondence with a tweet saying �@ladygaga There is a vote on #DADT next week. Anyone qualified to serve this country should be allowed to do so.� The pop star responded by writing �God Bless and Thank you @HarryReid, from all of us, like u, who believe in equality and the dream of this country. We were #BORNTHISWAY.�
While there is no record of Gaga herself making campaign contributions to Reid, the senator has done well fund-raising with her colleagues in the television, movies and music industry, who have donated $436,250 to Reid during the 2010 election cycle.
From 2009-2010, Reid is second to only U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) in campaign contributions from people and political action committees associated with this industry.
BLOOMBERG�S PERSONAL CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTION RECORD BROKEN: New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg may be notable for massive contributions to his own campaigns, but this billionaire media mogul-turned-politico�s record for the largest personal campaign contribution in U.S. history has been shattered by California gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman, a Republican.
The San Francisco Chronicle reported another $15 million donation Tuesday, bringing Whitman�s total personal contributions for the 2010 governor�s race to $119 million. A recent Rasmussen poll shows Whitman, former chief executive officer of eBay, slightly ahead of Democratic challenger Jerry Brown, the state�s former governor and current attorney general.
Bloomberg set the former record of $108 million in personal contributions in his mayoral re-election bid last year, when he spent about $185 per vote, as OpenSecrets Blog previously reported.
Have a news tip or link to pass along? We want to hear from you! E-mail us at press@crp.org.
robert shumake
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Apple TV: Good news and bad. Posted by Philip Elmer-DeWitt. October 6, 2010 10:57 AM. "The hobby is a hit!" declares one analyst, but a head-to-head review gives the nod to Roku. Photo: Michael Copeland. "Apple TV is selling out across ...
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Mobile app store operator GetJar plans to shake up the mobile game industry by giving away millions of copies of mobile games for free.
That’s going to make it tough on companies that are trying to sell high-quality mobile games, but it will also give GetJar a shot at higher revenue by encouraging players to sample free games and then buy later.
San Mateo, Calif.-based GetJar runs what it calls the world’s second largest app store, after Apple’s App Store. It sells games and other apps for its mainstay business. But in a partnership with Glu Mobile, GetJar will provide consumers with a number of Glu games for free in a two-week pilot program at GetJar.com.
“We anticipate we’ll give away a couple of million games or so,” said Patrick Mork, chief marketing officer of GetJar. “What we’re trying to do is widen the market.”
Under the GetJar+ program, the company is giving away premium games, though they aren’t brand new titles. The games will have no ads, registrations, or any other catches. The promotion will last for two weeks. GetJar’s app store has had more than 1 billion downloads in 200 countries. It generates nearly 100 million downloads a month across 2,300 handsets. The GetJar store has 70,000 apps.
Mork said in an interview that GetJar’s scale allows it to do the free promotion, much like TV shows are free in comparison to movie theater shows. GetJar doesn’t need to rely on the revenue from the sale of its apps; rather, it generates revenue from sponsors who want their apps placed on the best spots on the site. GetJar can then use that money to buy a premium game from a publisher and distribute it to consumers for free.
The new business model is being tested. But if it works, then users could get access to many more apps for free, even if those apps are high-end games by mobile standards, Mork said. Olivier Bernard, managing director of Glu EMEA and APAC, said the deal will let Glu reach many game-hungry consumers who might not otherwise buy premium games.
The games will be in GetJar.com’s “recommended” section, available on the Android, BlackBerry and Java phone platforms. The free games include Brain Genius 2, Stranded: Mysteries of Time, Build-a-lot and Race Driver Grid. If the program works well, GetJar could give away new games every couple of weeks or so.
Mork said it was possible that GetJar could put ads in the free games and cross-promote paid apps. But that’s not part of this current experiment. One of GetJar’s primary strategies is to position its store as the place where apps can get discovered. This kind of trick for the discovery of apps is what we’ll be talking about at DiscoveryBeat 2010.
Getting content noticed is a challenge for everyone making apps. Join us at DiscoveryBeat 2010 and hear secrets from top industry executives about how to break through and profit in the new cross-platform app ecosystem. From metrics to monetization, we’ll take an in-depth look at the best discovery strategies and why they’re working. The conference takes place on October 18th at the Mission Bay Conference Center in San Francisco. Sponsors can contact us at sponsors@venturebeat.com. To buy tickets, click here.
Next Story: Azuray teams with Suntech, Renhe for “smart solar panels” Previous Story: Hara’s newest software looks to supply chains for energy savings
Your daily dose of news and tidbits from the world of money in politics:
FEC NO LONGER ENFORCING ELECTION LAW?: Following an August story on OpenSecrets Blog chronicling organizations skirting Federal Election Commission disclosure laws, the Campaign Legal Center and Democracy 21 sent a letter to the FEC begging one question: Who is enforcing FEC law if the FEC isn�t?
The letter focuses on contention over �reasonable interpretation� of what constitutes �express advocacy� in the context of a statement by the FEC that an advertisement urging the public �help� a candidate is not express advocacy, since it does not directly tell the public to �vote for� a candidate.
While the letter cites OpenSecrets.org data, the Center for Responsive Politics remains neutral on the issue.
The groups are seeking clarification and a legal explanation, given that advertisements not demonstrating express advocacy are not subject to laws requiring public disclosure of advertising funding.
Meanwhile, a new report by non-profit advocacy group Public Citizen delves deeper into campaign finance information disclosure in the wake of the January Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission Supreme Court ruling. The report contends that the identities of the people and organizations behind political advertisements are becoming less clear, particularly among �Republican-oriented� groups.
The report shows the percentage of groups reporting donors decreasing from 98 percent and 97 percent in 2004 and 2006, respectively, to 49 percent in 2008 and only 32 percent thus far in the 2010 election cycle.
�The Supreme Court has unleashed a flood of new corporate spending on election ads and the public can�t even tell who is behind a given ad,� explained David Arkush, director of Public Citizen�s Congress Watch division, in a Wall Street Journal article.
LADY GAGA AND HARRY REID TEAM UP: What do Lady Gaga and U.S. Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) have in common? Hint: not fashion sense. Still, the pair teamed up earlier this week via Twitter to voice support for the repeal of the military�s �Don�t Ask, Don�t Tell� policy for gay service members.
Reid began the correspondence with a tweet saying �@ladygaga There is a vote on #DADT next week. Anyone qualified to serve this country should be allowed to do so.� The pop star responded by writing �God Bless and Thank you @HarryReid, from all of us, like u, who believe in equality and the dream of this country. We were #BORNTHISWAY.�
While there is no record of Gaga herself making campaign contributions to Reid, the senator has done well fund-raising with her colleagues in the television, movies and music industry, who have donated $436,250 to Reid during the 2010 election cycle.
From 2009-2010, Reid is second to only U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) in campaign contributions from people and political action committees associated with this industry.
BLOOMBERG�S PERSONAL CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTION RECORD BROKEN: New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg may be notable for massive contributions to his own campaigns, but this billionaire media mogul-turned-politico�s record for the largest personal campaign contribution in U.S. history has been shattered by California gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman, a Republican.
The San Francisco Chronicle reported another $15 million donation Tuesday, bringing Whitman�s total personal contributions for the 2010 governor�s race to $119 million. A recent Rasmussen poll shows Whitman, former chief executive officer of eBay, slightly ahead of Democratic challenger Jerry Brown, the state�s former governor and current attorney general.
Bloomberg set the former record of $108 million in personal contributions in his mayoral re-election bid last year, when he spent about $185 per vote, as OpenSecrets Blog previously reported.
Have a news tip or link to pass along? We want to hear from you! E-mail us at press@crp.org.
robert shumake
Knight Science Journalism Tracker » Blog Archive » Science <b>News</b>: A <b>...</b>
Science News's enterprising reporter Ron Cowen got it after he looked through the program and abstracts of the Amer. Astronomical Assoc's Division of Planetary Sciences meeting underway in Pasadena. He saw a session devoted to the birth ...
Apple TV: Good <b>news</b> and bad - Apple 2.0 - Fortune Tech
Apple TV: Good news and bad. Posted by Philip Elmer-DeWitt. October 6, 2010 10:57 AM. "The hobby is a hit!" declares one analyst, but a head-to-head review gives the nod to Roku. Photo: Michael Copeland. "Apple TV is selling out across ...
autosport.com - F1 <b>News</b>: Raikkonen rules out Renault F1 seat
Kimi Raikkonen has ruled out making a return to Formula 1 with Renault next year, despite being linked with the team for several weeks.
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