Virtual Goods Wrap-Up For The Week Of August 14, 2010

Welcome to the Virtual Goods News Wrap-Up for the week of August 14, 2010. The Wrap-Up is where VGN spotlights stories that we didn't get to cover individually, but still make for interesting reading about the virtual goods industry.

• A Reason To Enjoy Friday The 13th – F2P!: The troubled MMO Alganon is going entirely free-to-play in the future. Users who purchased the client software in the past will get bonus features automatically that free players have to purchase through microtransactions. For the first week of Alganon as a freemium game, free users will be able to purchase all service add-ons for $19.95. 
• Sony Online Entertainment Brings Domo To Free Realms: Sony Online has closed a deal with Virtual Greats and Big Tent Entertainment to introduce a branded virtual pet and a line of other virtual goods based on Japanese television station NHK's mascot Domo-kun. The character has also appeared in shorts on Nickelodeon and in advertisements for Target and 7-Eleven.
• Study: 2010 MMO Market To Reach $8 Billion: The worldwide market for MMOs will grow to $8 billion this year, owing in large part to the rapid growth of Asian MMOs that use the freemium virtual goods business model.
• Zynga Hires Former Facebook, MySpace Exec Owen Van Natta: After stepping down from MySpace, Owen Van Natta became an advisor to Zynga. Now, Van Natta is joining Zynga as Executive Vice President of Business, reporting directly to Mark Pincus. 

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