A variety of speakers participated in a panel at the first 2007 Virtual Goods Summit on June 22nd to share their stories of success driven by virtual goods.
Min Kim, Director of BD at Nexon (Maple Story, Kart Riders), ought to know. Nexon is the largest privately-owned online game company in South Korea, and 85% of its 2005 revenues-- about $240 million-- were from item sales. 3PointD reports that Kim said at the summit that Maple Story has now reached about 3.5 million users in the US, and that the company would begin selling pre-paid cards at Target "soon" with which users can purchase virtual items. Nexon's most recent project, Audition, already claims 100,000 registered users, more than half of which are female.
Why are Maple Story's virtual goods so compelling? "They get at showmanship and self-expression, they enhance the gaming experience, and they’re meaningful," explained Kim. "For someone playing Maple Story more than 40 hours a month, it’s very meaningful for them to change their haircut or get a different pair of sunglasses."
Kim also said Nexon will soon announce the US version of its Kart Rider, a 3D casual racing game which has been in closed beta up until now. It boasts 50 million Korean subscribers, and has sold 20 million virtual cars at $10 apiece. Owing to the high advertising rates in the US, Kim suggested that Kart Rider might adjust its business model slightly for the US version to include more ad sales.
Kyra Reppen, SVP of Neopets, also spoke at the success stories panel, reports 3PointD. Her company, acquired by MTV in 2005, is up to 2 million registered users, and is adding virtual goods to its traditional "Neopoints" economy. According to Reppen, users complete over 750,000 daily transactions of virtual goods at 22 million user-created shops.
With MTV's marketing team providing a 20% lift in traffic since the acquisition, Reppen said Neopets is now looking to diversify its business model from pure ads and sponsorship revenue to boutique merchandising, possible licensing, toys and books.
