Bejeweled Maker Hits Jackpot: EA Acquires PopCap for Up to $1.2 Billion. Casual games can be serious business these days, and the rumored billion-dollar acquisition of PopCap by Electronic Arts is yet another sign of the times. EA announced Tuesday that it will buy PopCap for $650 million plus stock and earn-outs, which altogether could add up to as much as $1.2 billion. The deal is expected to close in August. In a statement from EA, the company's CEO John Riccitiello said PopCap's talent and stable of games, which includes hits such as Plants vs. Zombies and the perennial favorite, Bejeweled, accelerate the company's 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," Riccitiello said. Last year, EA bought Angry Birds publisher Chilingo for $20 million. Earlier this year, the gaming giant acquired iOS game maker Firemint, too.
(69) What if you earned badges at work instead of job titles. Inside Social Games - Tracking Innovation at the Convergence of Games and Social Platforms. 56 Million Americans Are Playing Social Games [STATS] It's no secret that social games are one of the hottest (and potentially most lucrative) aspects of social networks today. But it's a mistake to think that casual, social network-based games are just for web geeks.
A new study from market research firm NPD Group shows that one out of every five Americans over the age of six has played an online social game at least once. Altogether, that's nearly 60 million Americans, adults and kids alike. For a relatively new entrant to the gaming market, social gaming has made a huge debut. These figures are good news for social networks, which have traditionally relied on advertising dollars to flesh out post-VC budgets. Social games can help create a new revenue stream, one that solely relies on end users opening their wallets to third-party applications. NPD's study shows that 10% of respondents had spent money playing social games and 11% said they planned to do so in the future. Why Games Are the Killer App for Social Networks. Ravi Mehta is vice president of product for Viximo, where he drives the product strategy for Viximo’s social game distribution platform and helps social networks monetize via social games and virtual goods.
For more information on virtual goods, visit his blog, Virtual Goods Insider, and follow him on Twitter. In 2009, an estimated $2.2 billion in virtual goods were sold to consumers globally, and that number is expected to rocket to over $6 billion by 2013. Although virtual worlds and MMOs have historically driven the growth in virtual goods, today the fastest growing segment is social games. Social games not only represent a lucrative new revenue channel for social media sites but they also signal a fundamental change in the structure of the social media industry. Social networks can no longer afford to rely solely on advertising revenue—they must master the intricacies of directly monetizing their users via virtual currency, virtual goods, and social games. The Birth of Social Gaming. 6 Reasons Why Social Games Are the Next Advertising Frontier. Ad spending on social gaming increased 60% since 2009, according to eMarketer.
No doubt advertisers have noticed that 56 million Americans are playing social games and that the branded virtual goods market is booming . But more than just social gaming’s growing popularity has gotten attention from advertisers. Social games also represent an environment that is largely conducive to advertising. “Media buyers and advertisers are recognizing that this is what they want,” explained Robert Tomkinson, Playfish’s senior director of global marketing. “What they want is massive reach, they want targeting, they want performance.
And you can have all of these by forming branding opportunities in the right way.” Tomkinson and other leaders in the social gaming industry recently spoke at the Social Gaming Summit about the huge opportunity that social games represent for brands. 1. Another common strategy for brands in social games is an “offer wall” inside of many games. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.