Remember that mystery buyer that was rumored to pick up PopCap for an insane $1 billion? How about the scuttlebutt that a mystery shopper was eying up Ohai? As it turns out, they're both EA, the veteran games publisher that has tailed Zynga on Facebook with games like Madden NFL Superstars and Pet Society for some time. According to VentureBeat, unnamed sources have revealed that the company has purchased Ohai for an undisclosed amount, though the website guesses that it wasn't much.
While an opt to buy a company like PopCap with hit properties like Bejeweled and Plants vs Zombies (even if for $1 billion) is fairly obvious, a move to purchase a company like Ohai is a bit more ... puzzling. (Though, the company did just release a new game, Unicorn Parade.) Especially considering the fact that EA owns companies in the social games industry like Playfish and Chillingo, publisher of Angry Birds in the U.S.
However, some considerable talent has passed through Ohai, like former CEO Susan Wu, a professional gamer turned former venture capitalist. But with most of that talent long gone after a few lukewarm releases, why else would EA want Ohai? Our best guess is for good talent at a cheap price, but we know just about as much as you do.
Regardless of whether either rumor turns out to be true, know this: EA is on the hunt, and if it isn't PopCap or Ohai it'll be someone else. With lots of cash and lots of reason to close that gap between its now third-place 31 million players, EA looks like it's ready for another shopping spree.
Hiển thị các bài đăng có nhãn ea. Hiển thị tất cả bài đăng
Hiển thị các bài đăng có nhãn ea. Hiển thị tất cả bài đăng
Thứ Ba, 10 tháng 1, 2012
Yup, it's true - Electronic Arts lassos Bejeweled maker PopCap for $650 million
Turns out (one of) the rumors from the past few weeks are true -- Bejeweled-creator PopCap has been purchased by Electronic Arts for upwards of a billion dollars, an unnamed source confirms for Games.com this afternoon. The official news should be breaking shortly... stay tuned...
And the news is out. Electronic Arts has purchased PopCap for $650 million, adding its slate of critically acclaimed, best-selling games like Bejeweled, Plants vs. Zombies, Zuma, Bookworm (and other) to EA's already vast library of games.
"We picked EA because they have recast their culture around making great digital games," said PopCap CEO David Roberts says in a statement. "By working with EA, we'll scale our games and services to deliver more social, mobile, casual fun to an even bigger, global audience."
"EA and PopCap are a compelling combination," EA CEO John Riccitiello says. "PopCap's great studio talent and powerful IP add to EA's momentum and accelerate our drive towards a $1 billion digital business. EA's global studio and publishing network will help PopCap rapidly expand their business to more digital devices, more countries, and more channels."
EA will pay $650 million in cash and $100 million in shares of EA common stock will be issued to select PopCap stockholders. PopCap sellers will also be eligible for additional cash, based on PopCap's performance through December 2013.
This is an unexpected development, especially after PopCap had been very forthcoming about its plans to go public earlier this year. It will also be interesting to see how EA will help PopCap reach a new audience and how PopCap, in turn, will enhance EA's casual games business.
And the news is out. Electronic Arts has purchased PopCap for $650 million, adding its slate of critically acclaimed, best-selling games like Bejeweled, Plants vs. Zombies, Zuma, Bookworm (and other) to EA's already vast library of games.
"We picked EA because they have recast their culture around making great digital games," said PopCap CEO David Roberts says in a statement. "By working with EA, we'll scale our games and services to deliver more social, mobile, casual fun to an even bigger, global audience."
"EA and PopCap are a compelling combination," EA CEO John Riccitiello says. "PopCap's great studio talent and powerful IP add to EA's momentum and accelerate our drive towards a $1 billion digital business. EA's global studio and publishing network will help PopCap rapidly expand their business to more digital devices, more countries, and more channels."
EA will pay $650 million in cash and $100 million in shares of EA common stock will be issued to select PopCap stockholders. PopCap sellers will also be eligible for additional cash, based on PopCap's performance through December 2013.
This is an unexpected development, especially after PopCap had been very forthcoming about its plans to go public earlier this year. It will also be interesting to see how EA will help PopCap reach a new audience and how PopCap, in turn, will enhance EA's casual games business.
Thứ Sáu, 30 tháng 12, 2011
One in nine Facebook users play music games; Guitar Hero finds a new home?
Has Guitar Hero found a new home on Facebook? According to data presented by MXP4, a social game developer based in Paris, it very well could be in the future. Of course, keep in mind that the survey was conducted by folks who have a vested interest in music games on Facebook. MXP4 found that one in nine Facebook users play music games, but more importantly that one in three Facebookers play social games. This is the exact demographic that MPX4 hit with its Pump It series in 2010, and has enjoyed mild success.
Here's what else MXP4 found in its survey:
96 percent would like more opportunities to compete against their friends when playing Facebook games;
49 percent said the they would play games on Facebook for the chance to win exclusive tickets, merchandise or opportunities to meet their favorite artists;
12 percent would pay extra to have access to their favorite artist's latest tarcks on interactive music games.
While it's important to know that most people would want a multiplayer experience on Facebook, it's far more vital to see the possibilities for future Facebook music games.
If this many Facebook users played music games, that's more than enough of a following for companies like Activision and EA to go after. Just think of it, one last triumphant push from the music games genre to reassert is relevance. It's almost cinematic, really. If you think about it, games from these companies would last about as long as their ancestors. And that amounts to about enough money to fly to Mars and back, so, sweet deal.
Here's what else MXP4 found in its survey:
96 percent would like more opportunities to compete against their friends when playing Facebook games;
49 percent said the they would play games on Facebook for the chance to win exclusive tickets, merchandise or opportunities to meet their favorite artists;
12 percent would pay extra to have access to their favorite artist's latest tarcks on interactive music games.
While it's important to know that most people would want a multiplayer experience on Facebook, it's far more vital to see the possibilities for future Facebook music games.
If this many Facebook users played music games, that's more than enough of a following for companies like Activision and EA to go after. Just think of it, one last triumphant push from the music games genre to reassert is relevance. It's almost cinematic, really. If you think about it, games from these companies would last about as long as their ancestors. And that amounts to about enough money to fly to Mars and back, so, sweet deal.
Thứ Ba, 20 tháng 12, 2011
The Sims Social beats FarmVille, attracts second most daily players
Boy, people sure do love to play god. According to Appdata, The Sims Social has surpassed Zynga's iconic FarmVille with the second most daily players of any Facebook game. Since its launch just a month ago today, EA and Playfish's ambitious social rendition of The Sims has amassed over 9.3 million daily players--that's over 1 million more than FarmVille's 8.1 million.
The Sims Social still has a way to go to the number one spot, which is, of course, held by Zynga's most popular game CityVille at just under 14 million daily players. Regardless, it's unprecedented for a game to grow this quickly in daily players, at least for a game that wasn't built by Zynga. Not to mention this is despite the hiccups the game faced along the way including days worth of downtime.
So, that's the power of The Sims, huh? Well, not so fast. While The Sims Social has certainly showed its might when it comes to gripping players (and keeping them there ... so far), the game is still in fourth place in terms of monthly players at just over 34.3 million. This number could grow in time naturally as daily players spread the word and through advertising, but it's nevertheless telling of the limits a Facebook game faces when it doesn't have a massive existing player base, like Zynga's games.
In other words, EA and Playfish have quite a lot of work ahead of them, if they want The Sims Social to be on top in all regards. But judging from the game's performance thus far despite its early setbacks--and in the face of the most popular Facebook games to date--perhaps Simlish could become the dominant language in Facebook gaming.
Have you been one of the over 9 million locked into The Sims Social? What do you think of the game so far
The Sims Social still has a way to go to the number one spot, which is, of course, held by Zynga's most popular game CityVille at just under 14 million daily players. Regardless, it's unprecedented for a game to grow this quickly in daily players, at least for a game that wasn't built by Zynga. Not to mention this is despite the hiccups the game faced along the way including days worth of downtime.
So, that's the power of The Sims, huh? Well, not so fast. While The Sims Social has certainly showed its might when it comes to gripping players (and keeping them there ... so far), the game is still in fourth place in terms of monthly players at just over 34.3 million. This number could grow in time naturally as daily players spread the word and through advertising, but it's nevertheless telling of the limits a Facebook game faces when it doesn't have a massive existing player base, like Zynga's games.
In other words, EA and Playfish have quite a lot of work ahead of them, if they want The Sims Social to be on top in all regards. But judging from the game's performance thus far despite its early setbacks--and in the face of the most popular Facebook games to date--perhaps Simlish could become the dominant language in Facebook gaming.
Have you been one of the over 9 million locked into The Sims Social? What do you think of the game so far
Thứ Năm, 15 tháng 12, 2011
PopCap feels the power of 'free,' more freemium games incoming
Perhaps "PopCap feels the power of Facebook" is more like it. During an interview with PocketGamer.biz, PopCap senior director of mobile product and business strategy Giordano Contestabile revealed that the Bejeweled Blitz creator has plenty more plans for freemium mobile games. That's especially since its recent Plants vs Zombies freemium-inspired update.
"While we typically don't disclose much about our future plans, I can say that you're in for a lot of surprises for us in the coming months, and that in-app transactions and the freemium model are going to feature prominently," Contestabile told PocketGamer.biz. The PopCap exec believes that the play first, (maybe) pay later model of mobile games will likely take over.
"I think that, one year from now, 95 percent or more of iOS game downloads might come from freemium games, and 80 percent or more of the revenue could be associated with them," Contestabile told the website. "The freemium model is extremely powerful because it allows developers to reach the biggest possible audience, and it allows players to choose if and how to pay for content, after having tried it out."
While Contestabile did say that there's still a place for premium game experiences, or pay-to-play games, that approach is losing its luster for most games. It wouldn't be terribly inaccurate to call this "The Facebook Effect." The fact that companies like Zynga and EA (which now owns PopCap) have made serious dough with free-to-play Facebook games has certainly had a visible impact on mobile gaming, which has a distribution model fairly similar to social networks. Almost Free is here to stay, and it looks like PopCap wants to lead the charge.
Are you excited to hear that more free-to-play games are coming from PopCap? Which property do you hope gets the free treatment next, or are you hoping for more original games?
"While we typically don't disclose much about our future plans, I can say that you're in for a lot of surprises for us in the coming months, and that in-app transactions and the freemium model are going to feature prominently," Contestabile told PocketGamer.biz. The PopCap exec believes that the play first, (maybe) pay later model of mobile games will likely take over.
"I think that, one year from now, 95 percent or more of iOS game downloads might come from freemium games, and 80 percent or more of the revenue could be associated with them," Contestabile told the website. "The freemium model is extremely powerful because it allows developers to reach the biggest possible audience, and it allows players to choose if and how to pay for content, after having tried it out."
While Contestabile did say that there's still a place for premium game experiences, or pay-to-play games, that approach is losing its luster for most games. It wouldn't be terribly inaccurate to call this "The Facebook Effect." The fact that companies like Zynga and EA (which now owns PopCap) have made serious dough with free-to-play Facebook games has certainly had a visible impact on mobile gaming, which has a distribution model fairly similar to social networks. Almost Free is here to stay, and it looks like PopCap wants to lead the charge.
Are you excited to hear that more free-to-play games are coming from PopCap? Which property do you hope gets the free treatment next, or are you hoping for more original games?
The Sims Social maker EA wants you ... to make it lots of ad money
And unfortunately, it doesn't sound like you'll have much of a choice. EA, co-creator of Playfish's The Sims Social on Facebook (and arch nemesis to Zynga at this point), has announced EA Legend.
This is the company's new platform to provide marketers and advertisers with "campaign and audience insights across mobile, social, online and console games reaching over 300 million people worldwide," a release reads.
In other words, you're more valuable to EA than you might already know. The publisher wants to use the information you provide them inadvertently through gameplay to rope in ad and marketing deals not just through its Facebook games but all of its games. More specifically, EA said it can provide advertisers with (prepare for buzzword overload):
Key cross-platform campaign performance indicators such as impressions, clicks, unduplicated reach, demographic profiles, social media buzz, and ROI metrics.
Segmented audience insights based on demographic, psychographic, and social data.
Ability to drill down into the factors that impact campaign effectiveness including audience engagement, audience segmentation and type of creative all measured over time.
EA Legend
What's that again--psychographic data? This may all sound like something out of "1984," but it's nothing new. If you think other game creators don't do this type of stuff, then here's your wake-up call. We won't know exactly what information about us EA will provide to advertisers through Legend until it makes advertisers see green at this year's Advertising Week event in New York City on Oct. 4. And if EA keeps using words like psychographic, we may never know.
[Via All Facebook]
What do you think about this new EA Legend program? Do you think it's something worth worrying about, or is this just business as usual?
This is the company's new platform to provide marketers and advertisers with "campaign and audience insights across mobile, social, online and console games reaching over 300 million people worldwide," a release reads.
In other words, you're more valuable to EA than you might already know. The publisher wants to use the information you provide them inadvertently through gameplay to rope in ad and marketing deals not just through its Facebook games but all of its games. More specifically, EA said it can provide advertisers with (prepare for buzzword overload):
Key cross-platform campaign performance indicators such as impressions, clicks, unduplicated reach, demographic profiles, social media buzz, and ROI metrics.
Segmented audience insights based on demographic, psychographic, and social data.
Ability to drill down into the factors that impact campaign effectiveness including audience engagement, audience segmentation and type of creative all measured over time.
EA Legend
What's that again--psychographic data? This may all sound like something out of "1984," but it's nothing new. If you think other game creators don't do this type of stuff, then here's your wake-up call. We won't know exactly what information about us EA will provide to advertisers through Legend until it makes advertisers see green at this year's Advertising Week event in New York City on Oct. 4. And if EA keeps using words like psychographic, we may never know.
[Via All Facebook]
What do you think about this new EA Legend program? Do you think it's something worth worrying about, or is this just business as usual?
Thứ Ba, 20 tháng 9, 2011
Top 25 Facebook Games - September 2011: Rise of The Sims Social
Will Zynga finally be dethroned? August saw one of the biggest upsets in Facebook gaming history, as EA and Playfish released The Sims Social. Short after its shoddy release in the middle of the month, the game has skyrocketed to third place this month with over 7.5 million daily players and fifth place on the monthly player charts with over 24 million players. While CityVille, Empires & Allies, Zynga Poker and FarmVille are on top of the charts yet again, all four games have suffered declines.
If this doesn't stir the pot a bit in the Facebook gaming world, nothing will. But The Sims Social isn't the only new game to upset the charts and displace a few hit games. Zynga's The Pioneer Trail expansion hit the monthly chart just under The Sims Social in sixth place at a healthy 19.7 million players. Words with Friends, the Facebook version of the popular mobile game, released in August to over 11.5 million monthly players, while Ubisoft set The Smurfs and Co. loose to over 8.6 million rabid fans and hit 16th place.
The casualties for this month include August's last five spot holders: Treasure Isle, Zombie Lane, Happy Aquarium, Mall World and Crime City. These games weren't just displaced because of the influx of new games hitting top spots, but all five were already on a decline. This allowed new additions like the Bubble and Ninja Sagas in the 21 and 22 spots at 6.6 million and 6.2 million monthly players, respectively.
Top 25 Facebook Games September
But look more closely at this month's chart, and you'll notice that each and every one of these brand new games to upset the charts is backed by a massive, recognizable brand. Perhaps this is what it takes to disrupt the status quo in Facebook games. And with ambitious branded games like Dexter Slice of Life on the way, our guess is that you'll be seeing a lot more from where The Sims Social and The Smurfs and Co. came from.
[Source and Image Credit: Inside Social Games]
What do you think of the charts this month? Do you think these branded games will continue to upset the Facebook games world? Sound off in the comments. 1 Comment
If this doesn't stir the pot a bit in the Facebook gaming world, nothing will. But The Sims Social isn't the only new game to upset the charts and displace a few hit games. Zynga's The Pioneer Trail expansion hit the monthly chart just under The Sims Social in sixth place at a healthy 19.7 million players. Words with Friends, the Facebook version of the popular mobile game, released in August to over 11.5 million monthly players, while Ubisoft set The Smurfs and Co. loose to over 8.6 million rabid fans and hit 16th place.
The casualties for this month include August's last five spot holders: Treasure Isle, Zombie Lane, Happy Aquarium, Mall World and Crime City. These games weren't just displaced because of the influx of new games hitting top spots, but all five were already on a decline. This allowed new additions like the Bubble and Ninja Sagas in the 21 and 22 spots at 6.6 million and 6.2 million monthly players, respectively.
Top 25 Facebook Games September
But look more closely at this month's chart, and you'll notice that each and every one of these brand new games to upset the charts is backed by a massive, recognizable brand. Perhaps this is what it takes to disrupt the status quo in Facebook games. And with ambitious branded games like Dexter Slice of Life on the way, our guess is that you'll be seeing a lot more from where The Sims Social and The Smurfs and Co. came from.
[Source and Image Credit: Inside Social Games]
What do you think of the charts this month? Do you think these branded games will continue to upset the Facebook games world? Sound off in the comments. 1 Comment
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