Unlike traditional offline games, the online world allows the industry to earn revenue even when people play the same game repeatedly.

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Founded in 2002 and celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2012, the firm conducts syndicated and custom research studies on Chinese gamers, Southeast Asian gamers, online games, offline games, consoles, handhelds, regulatory issues, piracy, development, online operators, distribution, and retail.

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Additionally, hundreds of apps in the Chrome Web Store contain offline functionality including games and the Kindle Cloud Reader.

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Also, gamers may appreciate the convenience, but losing the ability to play offline or resell games they have purchased will be far from universally popular.

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John Riccitiello, president of Electronic Arts, says that probably two or three times as many people are playing games online as offline.

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"Social games will become less about fantasy and more about tapping into real-life trends, " predicts de Halleux The EA executive talks about the possibilities of creating more of these "online-offline loops" in social games that take advantage of big events like holidays or player interests like sports.

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Ensure their games can be played offline if need be.

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An ever-changing lineup of games from the Net can be downloaded, but since they're played offline, they can pack more action.

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If you want to play one of these games on the go and find yourself without an internet connection, you have no option to play offline.

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