ArcadeWeb First Anniversary: Free, Compete-for-Cash Gaming Model Shows Great Traction and 'Stickiness'

IRVINE, Calif., May 10, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Gaming site ArcadeWeb celebrates its first birthday this month, and new data reveals that its unique premise is proving an online gaming hit. The site combines hundreds of free casual games with a social tournament community, where members can compete for daily cash prizes.  And new ArcadeWeb surveys, conducted among 3,000 of its "traditional casual" and casual tournament gamers,(1) reveal both groups are spending a considerable amount of time each week at the young site.

(Photo:  http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120510/LA04785)

ArcadeWeb Growth: Designed as a free alternative to big casual gaming sites that require buying virtual currency to win virtual rewards, ArcadeWeb has averaged 3.4 million monthly unique visitors since its launch in May 2011. Roughly 600,000 gamers have now officially registered to compete in the daily cash tournaments - with roughly 25,000 new tournament members being added each month. ArcadeWeb now offers 55 tournament games, and launches a new one each week.

High Odds of Winning: The site, where up to 128 winners share a daily cash pool of $1,650, has now awarded over $300,000 to its tournament community. And unlike most tournament sites that focus on hardcore games, casual gamers at all skill levels can win at ArcadeWeb - which is why 43% of the site's tournament players surveyed report they have already won cash on ArcadeWeb.

Time-Spent Gaming: ArcadeWeb's new user surveys reveal that both its "traditional" casual and competitive tournament gamers are not only playing frequently, they're playing for impressive amounts of time. 56% of traditional casual gamers surveyed report gaming at the site at least once a day, with 29% playing several times a day. And their ArcadeWeb sessions are intensive: half of the site's gamers (49%) report that a typical session is at least one hour, with 23% reporting it's over 2 hours.  

The site's tournament members also report even more time-spent-gaming at ArcadeWeb each week, a clear indication of how "sticky" and engaging the social, competing-for-cash premise is. Over two-thirds of tournament players surveyed play at least 3 hours a week at ArcadeWeb, compared with 48% of the traditional casual gamers. And roughly one in four tournament gamers spend a staggering 10 hours+ each week competing at the site.

More than two-thirds of tournament gamers play 3 hrs+ while less than half of traditional casual gamers do. 

"As we mark our first year,we're thrilled that millions of gamers are embracing our simple, but very attractive model: not just free, high-quality casual gaming, but 'more-than-free' – offering people a great chance of winning real money, all while they're having fun," said Adriano Parotta, VP, Social Games, ArcadeWeb.com.

About ArcadeWeb:
Launched in mid-2011, ArcadeWeb has rapidly become one of the largest, most highly-trafficked gaming sites on the Web, and is one of the only sites to offer hundreds of free casual games, and a chance for gamers to compete in daily tournaments to win real cash prizes. The site awards up to $50,000 every month in cash prizes to its users. McAfee-, VeriSign- and TRUSTe-certified, ArcadeWeb guarantees complete gamer privacy protection.  

Media Contacts: 
Melanie Webber, mWEBB Communications, (424) 603-4340, [email protected]  
Angela Jacobson, mWEBB Communications, (714) 454-8776, [email protected]

(1) Conducted at ArcadeWeb.com, March 2012. The site features "pure" casual gaming and tournament gaming communities, and 1,435 tournament members and 1,486 traditional casual gamers were surveyed.

SOURCE ArcadeWeb