HOLIDAY HINTS

Online PC Games: This Season's Popular Gift

(NAPSI)-Instead of allowing the economy to be the Grinch that stole this year's holiday budget, many parents are turning to online PC games.

Such games can be a great way to cut down on holiday spending without eliminating entertainment from the gifts found under your tree.

As popular as WALL-E or High School Musical products may be, most kids are flocking to video games, and not just the typical Nintendo Wii or Xbox 360 console games.

With boxed console sales down more than 60 percent from last season, parents are having a hard time justifying $50 to $70 for a single game title, especially when they see their kids spending more time playing online games on their PC than on their expensive game console.

More and more, parents are discovering that the PC they already own and the Internet they are already connected to offer a much greater breadth of game content and greater entertainment value, for far less money or even for free.

WildTangent, as one example, allows gamers to access nearly 1,000 games from the most popular game developers in the world at a price everyone can afford: free.

Whether the preference is puzzle, word or first-person shooters, WildTangent offers consumers unlimited free play in exchange for watching a 15-second video advertisement while the game is loading.

Or, consumers can purchase WildCoins, arcadelike virtual quarters, which can be used to either purchase a game--usually $15 to $20--or to play the game without advertisements.

WildCoin game cards can be purchased online or at many grocery and electronics stores around the country.

Online PC games are a great way to cut down on holiday spending and make those on your list happy.