Earlier this year, Amazon announced a new virtual currency system for its Kindle Fire dubbed Amazon Coins that could be used to purchase new apps and games from Amaon's Appstore.
The system is now live, and kicked off with a massive Coins distribution that credited 500 free Coins - equal to $5 - to each Kindle Fire owner's account.
Amazon estimates that this giveaway totals "tens of millions of dollars" of currency waiting to be spent on apps, but this is only the first step for the freshly minted Coins program.
Flinging coppers
Amazon's Vice President of Apps and Games Mike George notes that "We will continue to add more ways to earn and spend Coins on a wider range of content and activities."
Once the initial free coins are spent, consumers can purchase coins with bulk discounts of up to 10 percent available - thus encouraging consumer spending through savings.
Amazon Coins are not a credit card replacement, however, so developer revenue will remain at a fixed 70 percent share.
Monetise Me
For those developers currently on the Amazon Appstore, there are no Coins-specific changes necessary to reap the benefits of the new currency system.
Those looking to expand into the Amazon marketplace should submit their apps as quickly as possible through the Amazon Mobile App Distribution Portal - although it's unclear if Amazon will add the Coins-compatibility component itself.
[source: Amazon]
News
US Correspondent
Representing the former colonies, Matt keeps the Pocket Gamer news feed updated when sleepy Europeans are sleeping. As a frustrated journalist, diehard gamer and recovering MMO addict, this is pretty much his dream job.
Top Stories
News
39 minutes ago
Star Wars: Hunters ranked No. 1 for App Store game downloads in the US, UK and Canada on launch day
News
2 hours, 24 minutes ago
Why Dlala Studios pitches its next game at least 18 months before finishing development
Feature
3 hours, 54 minutes ago
Hot Five: Squad Busters’ supercharged launch, Pokémon’s record revenue, and Star Wars: Hunters finally hits the target
News
Jun 7th, 2024
Week in Views - The hunt for the new Star Wars game, Xbox goes handheld, and cats versus monsters…
Events
Tribeca Games Festival 2024 | North America | Jun 5th |
Steam Next Fest: June 2024 Edition | Jun 10th | |
WN Conference Istanbul 2024 | Jun 11th | |
GamesForum Hamburg 2024 | Europe | Jun 11th |
ESI London 2024 | Europe | Jun 13th |
Game Con Canada (GCC) 2024 | North America | Jun 14th |
Indie Dev Play 2024 | Europe | Jun 14th |
DevGAMM Vilnius 2024 | Europe | Jun 14th |