[MUD-Dev] Point of Purchase "Cards" for Online Services

[Christopher Allen]

I noticed today at CompUSA and Best Buy that both Everquest and
Earth & Beyond have in that new small shelf game form-factor (what
is is called?) a game box with only a card in it for 90 days of
service.

This raises some questions:

   - Does anyone know how well these cards sell?

   - What kind of retail discounting is offered to consumers by
   discounters for the cards? What is the wholesale discount?

   - Are they mostly sold to the people who are using the service,
   or as gifts?

   - Obviously the cards net to the publisher less then the price
   the service when sold online, as the retailers have to have their
   markup, but do Sony and Westwood Studios make any money at all on
   it? Do they consider the the product a loss leader? Or a
   marketing cost? Or a profit center?

   - Does anyone know who manufactures the boxes and prints the
   cards for them? What is the typical cost of goods of a small
   factor game box with a card with a unique number on it?

   - It seems to me that these cards are particular useful if there
   is a high percentage of casual players. Is that true?

   - Will Sims Online and Star Wars Online have cards like these
   available? Anybody else?

   - Are they using any interesting security measures? Can someone
   use a card with an anonymous identity? I'm sure that the codes
   can't be replicated, but what prevents someone from using a card,
   then fraudulently selling it to someone else?

I doubt that a company like Skotos could get CompUSA or Best Buy to
carry a box with 90 days of Skotos services, however, it is an
interesting thought if this becomes more prevalent as new games
become available. We already have requests for gift certificates and
such, and if for Chrismas '03 these types of cards became more
common and not too expensive we might consider offering them as
well.

-- Christopher Allen

------------------------------------------------------------------------
.. Christopher Allen                                 Skotos Tech Inc. ..
..                           1512 Walnut St., Berkeley, CA 94709-1513 ..
.. <http://www.skotos.net>           o510/647-2760x202  f510/647-2761 ..



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