Completing the trifecta of digital media distribution, Amazon.com will begin offering video games for download.
The service, currently in beta, includes more than 600 downloadable titles for $9.99 or less, and all of them will have a 30-minute "try before you buy" option. As a promotion, Amazon is offering three games for free: Build-a-lot, Jewel Quest II and The Scruffs.
As those titles suggest, Amazon's game selection is aimed at a casual market, meaning the fare tends more towards Bejeweled and Solitaire than Half-Life and Fallout 3.
Greg Hart, Vice President of Video Games and Software for Amazon.com, told Kotaku that the casual genre is "a natural fit with our demographic. We have 88 million active customers who can appreciate the convenience of the true amazon shopping experience combined with the casual games experience."
Amazon differentiates itself from existing casual game portals like Big Fish Games and PlayFirst by doing away with members-only discounts. While Amazon's games cost $6.99 to $9.99 up front, the other two heavyweights only offer these prices with frequent buyer programs that cost $10 per year or more. However, Big Fish and PlayFirst both offer 60-minute trial periods for their games.
Regardless of these differences, it's really Amazon's presence that makes it a major player. As Hart said, there are already 88 million people actively surfing the site. With so many potential buyers and no overhead for housing physical copies of games, Amazon is bound to give the other casual portals a run for their money.
