MAKING LIFE MORE FUN Getting Games Online

(NAPSI)-Finding family fun without losing control of your budget may be more like child's play when you discover an innovative way to play video games. The Trend Video games have never been more popular. According to NPD Group market research, more than 126 million gaming consoles were sold in 2008. With video games from the top six consoles costing an average of $60 each, parents may wonder if the price is out of balance with their budgets, especially when all too often the game gets played for a few weeks before being relegated to the shelf where it just gathers dust. A Solution As a result, more and more kids and their parents are moving their game play from the living room to the PC, where what most consider consumer-friendly pricing and an almost endless variety of games make the Web a goldmine of affordable fun. Several online game sites are taking steps to address the issue of cost as well as the desire for variety. One such game site offers kids and parents the ability to rent any of the nearly 1,000 new online and downloadable games in its catalog using a virtual currency called WildCoins. These can be purchased as a $5 gift card at Rite Aid or directly from the Web site. They're like virtual quarters in an online arcade. You can use them to try out any game. If you like it, you can either continue to "rent" the game or purchase it for a few dollars, less the amount of money already spent on renting it. This kind of pricing and gameplay flexibility is giving the online gaming sites a leg up on their living room−console competition from XBOX, Wii and PlayStation. According to comScore, a Web traffic measurement firm, online gaming has increased 27 percent since 2008, and minutes played have increased by nearly 50 percent in that same period. In fact, online games are growing 10 times faster than the total Internet population. More Information You can learn more at the site www.wildgames.com.

Online game-rental services can provide more fun for less money. Word Count: 348 Copy/Paste HTML Article