TITLE
How do you monetize Minesweeper?
AUTHOR
Kyle Orland
PUBLICATION
GamesIndustry.biz
YEAR
2023
ARTICLE TYPE
Book Excerpt
FROM THE ARTICLE
For most of its existence, Minesweeper had only existed as a free add-on for the Windows OS. Originally, the pre-installed freebie served as a marketing tool, helping to teach players how to use a mouse and differentiating Windows from competing operating systems.By 2011, though, no one was taking Minesweeper into account when deciding which computer OS would best fit their needs. Minesweeper had become a vestigial appendix in Windows’s increasingly bloated body, contributing next to nothing to Microsoft’s bottom line.
The Windows 8 version of Minesweeper changes this in some serious ways. While you can still download and play the game for free, you now have to endure a number of ads to do so. The first one appears right on the main menu screen, a small square banner of the type you might see on the side of a web site. Similar banners appear next to each individual puzzle and even on the results screens after you finish a challenge.
COMPANIES MENTIONED
Microsoft
GAMES MENTIONED
Minesweeper
EXCERPTED FROM
Boss Fight Books – Minesweeper
SEE ALSO
How Bill Gates’ Minesweeper addiction helped lead to the Xbox – Ars Technica (2023)
The Fierce Microsoft Battle That Led To One Of The Biggest Video Games Of All Time – Kotaku (2023)
Minesweeper, Solitaire, and a ’90s Moral Panic – Reason (2023)