Remember the days of Atari and Coleco? You’d buy a game cartridge or a hand held game like Pac Man and play it, no more complicated than that. Since those days Sony among others has taken the next step in creating a new gaming experience for the user, in return for added revenue opportunities.

The internet and onboard memory offer an opportunity to further capitalize on gaming enthusiasts’ desire to answer the question “what if”.  Through its PlayStation Store, Sony offers additional outfits for characters; additional cars for your favourite racing game; and if you don’t have the time, skill, or interest in mastering each level of a game it’s no problem because for just $5.99 you can unlock those challenges and play your way through the game.

One popular PS3 game, “Little Big Planet”, which features a character known as “Sackboy” has 106 add-ons available; only a handful of which are free.  These add-ons are mostly costumes which your Sackboy can wear and virtual stickers which you can collect. These range from $0.99 – $2.99.  The more costly add-ons such as level packs at around $5.99 add extra levels to the game.

Cross promotion of games is pervasive throughout the PlayStation online store. The day ModNation Racers was released, the store offered a $1.99 ModNation Racers costume and stickers add-on pack for Little Big Planet!

Coming from a generation where buying the game cartridge meant that you owned the whole game, I can’t help but feel that this new generation is getting ripped off.   But in a way, it’s like being able to find out what happened next after a movie ends and perhaps even write the next chapter. 

Sony’s PlayStation systems are an example of what additional revenues can be achieved when you view a product not as an end result, as the beginning of a longer term relationship with its user.