Trion Worlds jumped into the gaming industry with its online massively multiplayer role playing game Rift, which launched in March.

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Free-to-play is on the rise across the video game industry, but especially in multiplayer-based online games.

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The video game industry has been observing a shift from physical CDs to online downloads of digital games.

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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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"Our new fourth generation high-speed satellite Internet service is an industry game changer, allowing customers to do more of what they love online, from shopping and social networking to movies and music, " said Mike Cook, senior vice president, North American Division at Hughes.

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But Sony, like everyone else in the industry, is interested in extending the lifetime of a single game, and getting more players online as well.

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One of the main ways Activision and the industry have been looking to offset this decline is to extend the lifetime of a game through online multiplayer features and matches and additional content for purchase on game networks like Xbox Live and PlayStation Network.

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This is reflective of an industry-wide trend that Microsoft has had a large part in fostering with its popular Xbox Live online game network.

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