how is the gaming industry finding new ways of making money out of the audience?

• Online gaming such as "Second Life", as well as free interfaces such as the PS3's "Home" facility, has opened up a whole new world in which money can be made by practically anyone. In "Home", spaces are available for advertising for up-coming new releases of games and movies, through which the institution can make money beause this advertising space will be popular as it will reach its target audience of gamers straight away. A similar advertising service is available in "Second Life", but here there is also another way of making money. People have now begun to actually live their real life jobs through "Second Life". By purchasing houses and shops etc. in game, users are now selling and exchanging property and items for real money, and a comfortable living can be made out of it.
• Institutions are now selling us "home entertainment systems", not just games consoles, so more people will want to buy one. They are effectively aiming to create a machine which will be able to cater for all of the audience's technological needs, and have a number of customers who are currently loyal to their products so they know that they will be able to sell them when they finally develop the technology. They can then seriously jack up the prices of the games on the market because they know that they will sell to the millions of people who have bought this box which can do everything.
• Add-ons for games are becoming more and more popular, especially with the release of the new PS3, which has a Playstation Store in the main menu in which the user can purchase extra levels and chapters for games, extra characters, locations and weapons etc. For the core gamer who has bought the PS3 in the first place, this is the kind of service which they want, and they will buy into it as it will enable them to get the full experience out of the technology.