Games and Entertainment
Winner: Kongregate
Kongregate is trying to become the YouTube of indie online gaming. And if you look at their site metrics, they appear to be moving strongly in the right direction. Their users are loyal, spend inordinate amounts of time on-site, and the user base is growing.
Part of that loyalty also comes from the game developers whose games appear on Kongregate.com. The company shares advertising and microtransaction revenue with game developers. Combined with the community features to help improve games, developers are incentivized to create great games that make it to the Kongregate homepage - guaranteeing millions of plays (and increased revenues).
It's a smart model for building an indie game business, smart enough to gain multiple rounds of venture funding totaling over $8 million.
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