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virtual goods 
116 posts and columns on virtual goods
Zynga’s Patent Portfolio Swells as It Doubles Down on Casino Gaming
Among the acquisitions this year, 33 patents from Walker Digital related to real-money gaming and gambling technologies.
Free Mobile Games Earn Most of the $10 Billion Spent on Apps in 2012
But the more important thing for developers to know is what kind of games are the most successful at monetizing free-to-play.
On the Facebook Menu at Zuckerberg’s Recent Dinner With Game Developers: Sushi and a Sliding Pay Scale
At a recent dinner, Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg brought together all the top bosses in social gaming to talk shop.
King.com, the Second-Largest Social Games Maker, Jumps Into Advertising
First Zynga, and now King.com, are starting to believe that advertising could be a lucrative way to monetize social games.
Zynga’s Next Gamble: An Ad Platform
What could a Zynga-built advertising platform look like?
News Byte
Former Zynga Executive Jeff Karp Lands at GSN Digital
After stepping down as Zynga’s chief marketing officer 10 days ago, Jeff Karp is joining GSN as EVP of Mobile & Social Games. When he starts on Monday, Karp will be in charge of GSN Digital’s virtual currency business across its mobile, social and online gaming platforms. Karp was one of a handful of recent executives who left Zynga after a restructuring. Prior to Zynga, Karp was EVP of Electronic Arts’ Play label, where he oversaw The Sims, SimCity and Harry Potter.News Byte
American Express Poaches Boku CTO Erich Ringewald
A second executive from Boku, a mobile payments company in San Francisco, has signed on with American Express. Erich Ringewald, who was Boku’s co-founder and CTO, will join the company as VP of Software Product Management for Amex’s U.S. Consumer Services business. In May, American Express hired David Yoo, an SVP at Boku, to be SVP of its Commerce Innovation team.Amazon Expanding In-App Purchases to Include the Sale and Delivery of Physical Goods
The ability to sell physical goods inside applications is the best demonstration so far of Amazon’s tablet and commerce businesses coming together.
News Byte
Facebook Makes Subscription Payments Available to All Developers
Facebook is opening up subscription services to all applications on the social network starting today. Now, if developers want to, they can provide premium versions of a game, or access to virtual goods, to consumers who are willing to pay a monthly fee. Kixeye, Disney’s Playdom and Zynga have been testing the idea in games since Facebook originally made the announcement in June.Amazon’s New Game Studio Targets Facebook First, but Mobile Is Next
Amazon isn’t satisfied with just being a content aggregator when it comes to games. It’s making them, too.