For starters the new Amazon game download service is not in direct competition with the big daddy of PC download gaming Steam. they also do not offer any sort of download and burn console titles. What do they offer?
This is where things get a little bit interesting. Take a moment to look at their current top five list:
- Jewel Quest 2 [Game Download]
- Airport Mania: First Flight [Game Download]
- Mah Jong Quest [Game Download]
- Risk II [Game Download]
- Cradle of Rome [Game Download]
Do any of these games look familiar? They do if you browse the cheap game rack at the local discount store!
Amazon has made a decision not to enter the high stakes/high dollar market of PC gaming. Instead they have opted to enter the high profit/low cost market of casual games. These are the games that sell for under $10 and often sell surprisingly well. This market is not as lucrative as the cell phone game market but it still is profitable.
One nice feature Amazon has going for them is that every game they sell can be tried for free before purchase. There are several console games I have purchased recently that I would not have spent a dime on if I had had the chance to play them first.
If Amazon wants to make this venture truly profitable they need to add the edutainment games to their lineup. Lots of parents will think nothing of dropping $10 - $20 on an edutainment title for their kids that features their favorite characters. (We recently moved a ton of my daughter's old Blues Clues CD-ROM games on eBay.)
In all Amazon has added a high-profit low-cost offering to their marketplace. The only things missing are the edutainment games and cell phone games.