Facebook announced via the company’s developer blog that Facebook Credits are no longer the network’s de facto payments platform. Developers generally use a unique currency for each game anyway. Facebook acknowledged this practice and eliminated the need for Credits, which was conceived as a universal currency that would enable a smooth user experience.
From All Things Digital:
“We’re proud of the long-term partnership we have with Facebook and today’s announcement doesn’t change the economic relationship between the two companies,” a Zynga spokesperson told me. “We believe Facebook’s new payment product to support pricing in local currency will streamline payment methods on their Platform and ultimately offer more flexible pricing options.”
Developers still can require users to convert local currency to a unique in-game currency, but removing the intermiediate conversion to Credits will make it easier for users to conceptualize how much their in-game purchase is costing them in real-world currency. This transparency may disrupt some digital-game transactions, but the ability to store value in local currency is a critical first step toward facilitating the exchange of hard goods on the network.
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