Here?s a novel approach to online gaming: Instead of getting players to buy software or pay monthly subscription fees, make them pay for their ammo. That?s the idea behind Kwari, a UK-based first-person shooter coming to the PC later this year.
The publisher, Kwari Ltd., also promises to throw gambling into the online gaming mix. ?All money paid in to the game by players is won out of the game by players,? the company said in a statement.
Doesn?t the house take a cut? Assuming Kwari doesn?t use in-game advertising, we?re not sure how this boat will float. Executing one emerging business model is hard enough, but Kwari?s going to have to deliver on three new ideas: pay-for-ammo, real-time shooter gambling, and in-game advertising.
To play, gamers allegedly set up anonymous profiles linked their respective checking accounts. For reasons unbeknownst to us, the company claims anonymity is necessary once money enters the gaming equation. As a result, Kwari is said to represent ?the birth of anti-social networking? ? whatever that means.
Players are matched by skill level. They then select an agreed-upon game stake, ranging from a penny to a dollar per hit. ?Every time a player hits another, money is decremented from the target?s stake and added to the shooter?s,? explains the publisher in a press release. ?In a way, the player?s money stake mirrors their in-game health, except it?s exchanged from one player to another.?
A public beta sign-up is currently available at the game?s official Web site.
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