Viximo

Here is this weeks recap of interesting news and insight into the Virtual Goods Market.

Investments in Virtual Goods are Booming!
As reported by Virtual Goods News, Q2 2009 marks the largest total investment in Virtual Goods businesses to date. Highlighted is the $200 million investment by Russian Firm, Digital Sky, in the Facebook Social Network — the single largest investment ever reported for a virtual goods business. Also examined is the sudden growth of investments in the mobile payment space.

Facebook Revenue Breakdown
Confused about how Facebook generates $550 million (estimated for 2009) in revenue? The Business Insider breaks down the ins and outs of the social networking giant’s revenue stream including its expected $75M from virtual gifts.

Big Business in Branded Virtual Goods
Ad Age takes a look at how brands are cashing in on the “freemium” business model now being adopted by online games and virtual worlds in the US. Far outpaced by their Asian counterparts, US gaming and virtual world companies are finally catching up (and cashing in) by moving toward this “play for free” paradigm. Along for the ride, merchandisers are more frequently inserting real world items and brands into the online universe.

Hogwarts meets Facebook
The premiere of the sixth Harry Potter movie sparks the launch of Harry Potter themed virtual goods, further demonstrating the potential for mainstream advertisers to benefit from sponsored virtual goods.

Facebook Announces Alpha Launch of Payments Platform
Facebook officially announces their alpha launch of “Facebook Credits” to enable payments on applications.

Virtual Goods for Flash Game Developers
Lost Garden takes a hard look at the revenue potential of flash games and explains why ads are orders of magnitude less successful than virtual goods (and other monetization strategies).

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