Amazon today (July 12) added to its selection of free-to-play and Massively Multiplayer Online games, along with a streamlined way to make in-game purchases.
This news comes just a day after the online retailer launched GameCircle, a cloud-connected mobile gaming platform for Kindle Fire tablet users.
New titles in the Digital Games Store include "Battlestar Galactica," "World of Tanks," "Pandora Saga," "Stronghold Kingdoms" and "Super Monday Night Combat." Games are playable on PC and Mac computers. Game makers can now connect their games to Amazon's buying system, which means you'll be able to snatch the latest weapon with a click and immediately see it in your game.
Gaming is nothing new for Amazon, which launched its digital games store in October 2010, but it hasn't received the attention of Apple's, Google's or Facebook's game centers. With this week's moves, it could raise its appeal.
To attract new gamers, Amazon has sprinkled perks throughout its Digital Game store to encourage people to link their Amazon accounts to a game account. Linking up can score you a Team Spirit assault rifle in "Super MNC" and an Amazon-exclusive outfit for fans of "Spark City World." In addition to exclusive-to-Amazon virtual items, the company also offers free 30-minute trials for about 1,200 casual games — for PC users only, Mac users pay to play.