Posted on May 8, 2008 - Filed Under Industry News |
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A new social gaming website specially tailored to casual games has arrived. At first glance you’ll notice the site is very clean, clear and focuses on what’s most important: casual games.
I’m impressed on how they’ve managed to break from the blues–the standard color for most websites. Although “blue” makes us feel relaxed, calm and happy sometimes you’ve got to break from the norm and do something a bit different.
Cafe.com plans to utilize micro-transactions and rich-media advertising as its business model for revenue going forward. What you’ll see immediately is the focus on games rather than the focus on ads and “click me” text overlays. Sure, they’ve got advertising, that’s how free games are funded, but they’re not making it the number one priority which means you’ll walk in with a peaceful experience.
Casual gaming shouldn’t resemble walking into a car dealership, free casual games are not nagware and shouldn’t be in your face. This is the number one reason we have to recommend Cafe.com as a place to stop by and game. Give us quality casual games without the harassment and we’ll stay around to play.
Read on for the full press release.
NEW YORK, May 8, 2008 – Cafe.com, the social gaming site that offers casual gamers a place to Play, Win, Meet and have fun, is proving itself to be recession-proof in these challenging times with an always free-to-play strategy that continues to defy the U.S. economy. While the cost for real-world goods like gasoline, bread, pasta, milk and other essentials continues to rise, Cafe’s single- and multi-player casual games provide hours of free family-friendly entertainment.
CEO Roman Nouzareth points to the viral nature of Cafe.com’s social networking platform that has helped fuel its rapid growth since its launch last month. The site offers close to 50 quality free online games with easy ways for members to invite their friends, importing contacts from email and social networks. New members in turn invite their friends, and so on. And, according to Mr. Nouzareth, they’re not attracting the typical male-dominated action shoot-em-up youth market. “Our demographics mirror the larger casual gaming sector, with a highly educated, decidedly female skew and an average median age of 35,” explained Nouzareth.
“Our formula is quality online games + social networking + free = success,” continued Nouzareth. “It’s like opening a bagel store, serving free bagels and coffee, and encouraging the patrons to socialize with one another. A true win-win for everyone,” he added.
With its new games web site, Cafe.com hopes to make micro-transactions and rich-media advertising the standard business model for online gaming moving forward. And the company is putting its money where its mouth is, literally, by giving away 10,000 CafeCoins to each new member as our way to combat the economic blues.
In fact, Cafe.com’s internal economy, based on its CafeCoins, is thriving within the social gaming community, as members are spending their virtual coins on everything from special powers within games, called “game boosts,” to new clothing and accessories for their 3D MiniMe personas. Who says you can’t buy a personality? In Cafe.com, you can even spend your coins on emotive expressions, athletic movements and other virtual personality enhancements for your MiniMe to really stand out in a crowd.
“Micro-transactions have become mainstream in Asia, where S. Korean multi-player games like Kart Rider and Chinese gaming portal QQ have reaped tremendous returns. With CafeCoins, members can purchase special powers and other in- and around-game virtual items that make Cafe.com one of the first social gaming sites in the U.S. to adopt a micro-transactional business model, and it’s catching on in a big way with gamers of all skill levels,” Nouzareth noted.
About Cafe.com
Cafe.com combines the best elements of Web 2.0 social networking combined with the competitive aspects of top-rated single- and multi-player games. The site is more than just a game for its developer, leading casual games platform provider Boonty Inc. The company has been involved in the creation, distribution and marketing of casual online games since 2001 and is largely responsible for the success of the try-before-you-buy downloadable games business model.
About Boonty
Boonty is one of the largest casual games platforms in the world, operating in more than 25 countries. Since its launch in 2001, the company’s customized end-to-end solutions have been implemented by major publishers, Internet portals, ISPs, mobile phone operators, advertisers, Internet communities, and PC manufacturers globally. Boonty has offices in New York, Paris, Singapore, Tokyo, and Beijing.
2 Responses to “Cafe.com’s New Social Casual Gaming Website”
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[...] Cafe.com’s New Social Casual Gaming Website Cafe.com, the social gaming site that offers casual gamers a place to Play, Win, Meet and have fun, is proving itself to be recession-proof in these challenging times with an always free-to-play strategy that continues to defy the U.S. economy. While the (tags: social gaming, cafe.com) [...]
I play at cafe.com and I really enjoy their games!! I also like the colors and the clean feel of it.