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
Feature
May 17th, 2024
New release roundup: The best new mobile games from a battle royale to a console classic remake
Feature
May 16th, 2024
Behind the scenes: How adding sandwich offers to an idle merge game boosted three metrics at once
Events
Digital Dragons | Europe | May 19th |
GamesBeat Summit 2024 | North America | May 20th |
Mobidictum Meetup Tallinn May 2024 | Europe | May 21st |
Nordic Game Spring 2024 | Nordic | May 21st |
Impact 2024 - Indie Games | May 23rd | |
Morocco Gaming Expo | Africa | May 24th |
MomoCon 2024 | North America | May 24th |
Unreal Fest Gold Coast 2024 | Australasia | May 29th |
Popular Stories
Feature
May 14th, 2024
53 top mobile games in soft launch: Squad Busters, Battle Guys: Royale, Plants vs. Zombies 3, LEGO Hill Climb Adventures, and more
Feature
May 13th, 2024
Hot Five: Dubai's new Gaming Visa, April's mobile game charts, and Xbox studio closures
Interview
May 13th, 2024