Facebook to give (out of its own imaginary coffers) $4 in Facebook Credits for $1 in-app purchase
Facebook just announced that it will give app users $4 worth of either in-app currency or Facebook Credits when users buy $1 worth of either. If a developer has not implemented their own in-app currency, then the user will get $4 worth of Facebook Credits.
Here's the really interesting part - Facebook is paying for this extra $4 out of its own pocket and developers won't get hit whatsoever. That said, Facebook isn't offering this to all users - in a blog post it says that:
In addition, please keep in mind that this current offer is only available to select users who may not have previously purchased on Facebook and requires the user to make their $1 purchase using their credit card or PayPal account. Finally, we will evolve these promotions over time to better grow our ecosystem.
So for those users that wanted Facebook to give them their slice of the IPO pie, here's your chance (well, not really at all, but you might be able to buy your first barn in Farmville if you've never played it before, and of course Facebook 'prints' Facebook Credits, so it's not like its giving away real money anyway).
For developers (Facebook mentions "games" but its not clear if only game apps can get this promo) there doesn't seem to be a downside to this promotion, as their revenue streams really can only be helped by this.
