Online role-playing gaming firm OGPlanet has just launched, and has received an undisclosed amount of funding from some industry veterans. The idea is to bring some popular Asian games to U.S, offer it for free, and then ask users to pay for the virtual items (game pieces, clothing and accessories)...the first such is Albatross18, which it says has already attracted hundreds of thousands of registered users in the States. Existing games in Asia show an average of $10-$20 per player each month. In the U.S., Albatross18 is generating higher revenues of more than $25 per month per player, the company said.
Investors in OGPlanet include: Richard Wolpert, former President of Disney Online and advisor to RealNetworks and Accel Partners; Mark Surfas, formerly founder and CEO of GameSpy; Peter Levin, CEO of BellRock Media; and Andrew Wright, former VP of RealArcade and currently CEO of SmileBox. RealNetworks is also an investor in this new venture.