A Most Casual Addiction

Some in the industry are taking the advertiser relationship a step further. "People love to download the games for free, but when they're asked to pay $20 [after their trial period ends], a lot of times there is only a 1 percent conversion rate," says Jonathan Murray, chief executive of Lift Media, an ad network. To get gamers to pay up, Murray's company has had sites like wildgames.com issue free virtual game tokens when the customer signs up with a Lift Media advertiser. "A lot of users feel that these games should be for free," Murray says. "So we're saying, sign up with one of our advertisers that you're interested in, and it will be. We're giving value back to the customer, and it works."

So far, O'Brien has neither purchased a casual game nor signed up for special offers to prolong access to her beloved Diner Dash. But she doesn't rule it out. "I'm getting better and I don't want to lose these skills," she says. She's not entirely joking. After all, if time is money, she's already invested a small fortune.

© 2008