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Flash Browser Games - Fad or Future?

KezraPlanes

Just some dood
As we've all seen in the past few months/year flash casual games have been on the rise, mostly thanks to Facebook and their main game creators Zynga.

Flash games have been around for years though, but never have they become relevant to this scale before FarmVille and other games like it.

So far, most of these games are casual simulation/strategy games and some are fun for a while, some are good for killing time, others are utter crap and just an attempt to cash in on this market. At this point even EA is trying to get a piece of the market with their FIFA Facebook game.

So the question here is: Are these games here to stay? Or are they just a fad that will go away like others that have come and gone?

Vote and leave your opinion :p (votes are public, I don't think we have anything to hide)
 

EvilSeph

Administrator
I thought it was all about HTML5 now ;)?
 
I say fad.

TBH I don't see how any of these games can grasp someone attention for more than an hour at best, even if you are terribly bored. Even the whole micro-transactions and allow us to use you to advertise to your friends part is annoying as well.

I use social networking for social networking. I have better avenues for spending my time on gaming.
 

Hellcat

Contributor
The industry sees flash / online games as a huge potential and a future market (there has been a keynote about that on GDC-Europe).

I personally can only see them for some casual time-killing, not more.

Though, a well crafted and fun flashgame can be a huge success and a good short-term money maker.
 

Adiuvo

Active Member
I say future, since they allow the developer to tap into a huge market of people who only want to play casual ten-minutes-at-a-time games. Farmville is indicative of this. These people are not going to buy a console/gaming PC, but they will play games for free via their browser.
 

x3sphere

Administrator
Staff member
Enforcer Team
Game Info Editor
Neither fad or future, it's just another niche. The addictive nature of these games lures kids in, so I think they'll remain popular in the 12-16 age bracket. Of course, only a select few will reach the status of Farmville or similar.
 

rileysnotz

Member
I'd agree with x3sphere. Its just sort of a boredom killer for me when I'm at work. Good for a 10 minute breather and nothing else.
 

LocutusEstBorg

Active Member
I wouldn't say Flash, but any small graphical game has potential. I recently started playing Space Cadet Pinball and it's fucking awesome. Only after you read the walkthroughs will you know how complex the game logic really is and how to play and hit targets effectively. Now I appreciate the Pinball Wizard scene from Tommy much more.
 

Riorio99

New Member
It's not going to take over a huge chunk of the gaming market, but it's not going to go away either. People will continue to use them as time wasters.
 

MenaceInc

Staff Member
I say fad for the fact that it is difficult to make money from flash games when there are a million that do similiar things. Farmville is an exception to the rule when it comes to making money with flash.
 

Hellcat

Contributor
I say fad for the fact that it is difficult to make money from flash games when there are a million that do similiar things. Farmville is an exception to the rule when it comes to making money with flash.
Only if you think about huge, 6-digit ammounts when saying "making money".

I had some talks recently with ppl that did quite a lot smaller flash games in the (recent) past, and for a 2 - 3 week of work project they easiely snagged around $2500 for it.... sounds like "making money" to me....
 

LocutusEstBorg

Active Member
Only if you think about huge, 6-digit ammounts when saying "making money".

I had some talks recently with ppl that did quite a lot smaller flash games in the (recent) past, and for a 2 - 3 week of work project they easiely snagged around $2500 for it.... sounds like "making money" to me....

Indian companies make small games like for Gameloft. Earning $2500 for a couple weeks work is a shitload of cash. More than what many people make in a year.
 

MenaceInc

Staff Member
Only if you think about huge, 6-digit ammounts when saying "making money".

I had some talks recently with ppl that did quite a lot smaller flash games in the (recent) past, and for a 2 - 3 week of work project they easiely snagged around $2500 for it.... sounds like "making money" to me....

I'd love to know how they make it. When I hear flash games, I always think of newgrounds which would be impossible to make money from.
 

Mr. Beefy

Suck It Trebek
How does monetizing flash games work anyhow? It seems like it's just like flash video, click to play, watch 30s-1m ad and have at it. What kind of money can you make per impression?
 

x3sphere

Administrator
Staff member
Enforcer Team
Game Info Editor
How does monetizing flash games work anyhow? It seems like it's just like flash video, click to play, watch 30s-1m ad and have at it. What kind of money can you make per impression?

It's not so much ads - but virtual currency that can be used to buy in-game items and such. That's where the money is made. You'd be surprised at the amount of people who will pay $2 for a item unlock, even when it can be obtained by just playing the game itself. This tactic goes beyond flash games as well. I've seen EA and Namco sell unlock codes as DLC in the past.
 

Hellcat

Contributor
Yop, exactely what x3 said.

And one more I was told of: They made some potential flash games and sold them to social-networking and similar sites, so they could add them to their site to attract more users (or make existing ones stay).
 
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