Will Facebook apps and 10 second phone apps kill the video game industry?

[Andy Morgan]

I don't think so. Sure, some games cost money to play, particularly console games, but you also have a level of enhanced game play, graphics, online multiplayer, and other essential dynamics that make most games worth buying.

Also, there are still a lot of free online games that have depth and real game play. For example, uTanks, a remake of an old tank game I used to play. It is free to play and still provides a full immersion into online multiplayer. There are also free to play MMORPGs out there like the Maple Story that have itemized revenue based models instead of pay to play models.

Basically, the gaming industry is already adapting to the free to play niche of gamers by making quality content for free with donation, ad, and item based revenue models that perform well even without subscriptions and up front costs. This is a healthy thing for the market in my opinion. Maybe one day we will see console game prices descend a bit when they realize they can balance costs by making advanced features optional instead of included with a higher price tag.