Playdom
 |
This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. (Consider using more specific cleanup instructions.) Please help improve this article if you can. The talk page may contain suggestions. (February 2011) |
 |
|
| Type | Subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2008 |
| Headquarters | Palo Alto, California, USA |
| Key people | John Pleasants Dan Yue Chris Wang Ling Xiao |
| Industry | video games, social network service |
| Employees | 470[1] |
| Website | http://playdom.com/ |
Playdom is an online social network game developer popular on Facebook, Google+ and MySpace; it is currently the largest social game developer on MySpace and number 15 by MAU on Facebook. The company was founded in the San Francisco Bay Area[2] by University of California, Berkeley graduates Ling Xiao and Chris Wang and Swarthmore College graduate Dan Yue. In 2009 the market for games played on social networking sites was valued at $300 million, consisting mostly of online sales of virtual goods.[3]
In May 2010, Playdom was recognized as one of the “2010 Hottest Silicon Valley Companies” by Lead411.[4]
It is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company as part of the Disney Interactive Media Group.
Contents |
[edit] Acquisitions
On November 12, 2009 Playdom acquired Green Patch and Trippert Labs.[5] The company's abrupt termination of all but one of the Green Patch studio's games, including the extremely popular (Lil) Green Patch, just 6 months later became a topic of intense criticism[6] and speculation,[7] which was intensified when the company was acquired by Disney the following month.
On March 31, 2010 Playdom announced acquisition of Argentina-based online game developer Three Melons. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.[8]
On May 19, 2010 they acquired Acclaim Games.[9]
On June 7, 2010 Playdom announced the acquisition of gaming developer Hive7 after a $33 million funding round. This acquisition marks the fifth acquisition of the year.[10]
On July 8, 2010, Playdom announced it acquired Metaplace, Inc.. The pricing of the deal was not disclosed.[11]
[edit] Acquired
On July 27, 2010, The Walt Disney Company acquired Playdom in a $763 million deal. Disney will initially pay $563 million for Playdom, which is the No. 3 social game company with about 42 million monthly players. The deal also includes a further $200 million in additional payments if Playdom achieves growth thresholds.[12]
[edit] Games
This is a list of Playdom's current games.[13] Playdom has a total of over 27 million players as of July, 2011.[14]
- Bola – A social football management game developed by Three Melons. In May 2010, Bola achieved 2 million active users.[15]
- Gardens of Time
- Mobsters: Myspace
- Mobsters 2: Vendetta
- Sorority Life
- Wild Ones
- City of Wonder
- WSOP
- ESPNU College Town
- NBA Dynasty
- ESPN Sports Bar & Grill
- Disney GnomeTown
- City of Might
[edit] Discontinued Games
- Social City – A casual strategy game in which the player develops a city. Social City won the 2010 Game Developers Choice Online Award for Best Social Network Game.[16] Inside Social Games rated Social City as the #2 Best Facebook Game of the first half of 2010.[17] Social City also received an honorable mention on Gamasutra's list of the Top 5 Facebook Social Games in 2010.[18] Gamezebo rated Social City at 3.5 out of 5, highlighting balanced gameplay and "adorable" graphics. However, it was criticized for its lack of complexity: "Once you’ve mastered the game’s ecosystem of manufacturing/residential/leisure, all you’ll be doing is visiting your town to keep this balance in check and grow your city. Growing your city remains exciting throughout, but by the time you hit level 15 or so you just start wishing there was something more."[19] Social City was discontinued from 20 December 2011.[20]
- (Lil) Green Patch
- Market Street
- Mobsters: Facebook
- Verdonia
- Tiki Farm
- Tiki Resort
- Mobsters: Overdrive
- Bloodlines
- Big City Life
- (Lil) Farm Life
- Fanglies
- Pet Resort
- Fish Friends
[edit] Controversies
In May 2011, Playdom has been ordered by the Federal Trade Commission to pay $3 million in fines for collecting and disclosing children's information without parental approval.[21]
Controversy surrounded the surprise cancellation of the still popular (Lil) Green Patch in April 2010, just 6 months after Playdom acquired the Green Patch team. And speculation intensified when Disney acquired Playdom the month after it was discontinued.[22] Playdom also announced they were canceling all other games from the Green Patch studio except (Lil) Farm Life.
In September 2009, competitor Zynga initiated trade secrets lawsuits against Playdom and 22 other rivals,[23] including Green Patch which Playdom acquired in November 2009. These lawsuits were finally settled in November 2010, less than 4 months after Disney's acquisition of Playdom in July 2010.[24]The correlation of timing of events in the lawsuits with the the acquisition and surprise cancellation of (Lil) Green Patch just before Playdom was acquired by Disney fueled speculations that Playdom senior management sacrificed (Lil) Green Patch and the studio's other games in a bid to settlie the legal dispute prior to the Disney acquisition. Ongoing secrecy around the lawsuits and the settlement make it difficult to find evidence supporting or rebutting these allegations.
[edit] References
- ^ "Playdom". LinkedIn. 2011-08-25. http://www.linkedin.com/companies/playdom. Retrieved 2011-09-09.
- ^ Stone, Brad (16 December 2009). "Russian Facebook investor adds stake in Zynga". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/16/technology/internet/16game.html. Retrieved 16 December 2009.
- ^ Wawro, Alex (16 December 2009). "Online sale of digital content breaks $1bn in 2009". PC World. http://www.pcworld.idg.com.au/article/330028/online_sale_digital_content_breaks_1_billion_2009.
- ^ "Lead411 launches "Hottest Silicon Valley Companies" awards". Lead411.com. 2010-05-25. http://www.lead411.com/silicon-valley-companies.html. Retrieved 2011-09-09.
- ^ "Playdom Announces Acquisitions Green Patch Trippert Labs". http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20091112006337/en/Playdom-Announces-Acquisitions-Green-Patch-Trippert-Labs. Retrieved December 2, 2011.
- ^ Playdom Community Forum
- ^ "Six Months After Acquiring It Playdom is Killing Off Lil Green Patch". http://techcrunch.com/2010/04/29/six-months-after-acquiring-it-playdom-is-killing-off-lil-green-patch/. Retrieved December 2, 2011.
- ^ "Playdom Acquires Argentine Game Developer Three Melons". 31 March 2010. http://www.dmwmedia.com/news/2010/03/31/playdom-acquires-argentine-game-developer-three-melons. Retrieved 1 April 2010.
- ^ Tom Ivan (2010-05-19). "Playdom Acquires Acclaim - Edge Magazine". Next-gen.biz. http://www.next-gen.biz/news/playdom-acquires-acclaim. Retrieved 2011-09-09.
- ^ http://www.playdom.com//marketing/PDFs/2010-06-24%20-%20TechCrunch%20Hive7%20Acquisition.pdf
- ^ Dean Takahashi, VentureBeat. "Playdom buys Metaplace, which forsook virtual worlds for social games." July 8, 2010.
- ^ http://www.playdom.com//marketing/PDFs/2010-07-27-NYTimesDisneyBuysPlaydom.pdf
- ^ "Playdom Online Games - Free Games". Playdom.com. http://www.playdom.com/games?token=242f8b95ab408804c27468b60fd2f70c. Retrieved 2011-09-09.
- ^ "Playdom Games Popularity Trends - 4/7–4 July 2011 - Playdom Gaming". Wildonesgaming.ucoz.com. 2011-07-04. http://wildonesgaming.ucoz.com/news/playdom_games_popularity_trends_4_7/2011-07-04-43. Retrieved 2011-09-09.
- ^ Mack, Christopher (2010-05-07). "Facebook Soccer Game Bola Scores, But Needs To Train More". Inside Social Games. Inside Network. http://www.insidesocialgames.com/2010/05/07/facebook-soccer-game-bola-scores-but-needs-to-train-more/. Retrieved 2011-05-10.
- ^ "Game Developers Choice Online Awards 2010 Recipients". http://gdconlineawards.com/archive/gdcoa_1st.html. Retrieved 2011-11-22.
- ^ Mack, Christopher (2010-06-30). "The Best Facebook Games of 2010". Inside Social Games. Inside Network. http://www.insidesocialgames.com/2010/06/30/best-facebook-games-of-2010-part-i/. Retrieved 2011-11-22.
- ^ Caoili, Eric (2010-12-28). "Gamasutra's Best Of 2010: Top 5 Facebook Social Games". Gamasutra. UBM TechWeb. http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/31923/Gamasutras_Best_Of_2010_Top_5_Facebook_Social_Games.php. Retrieved 2011-05-10.
- ^ Squires, Jim (2010-04-04). "Social City Review". GameZebo. http://www.gamezebo.com/games/social-city/review. Retrieved 2011-05-10.
- ^ Playdom email sent to players 22 November 2011
- ^ Don Reisinger, CNET. "FTC: Disney's Playdom violated child protection act." May 13, 2011. Retrieved May 13, 2011.
- ^ "Six Months After Acquiring It Playdom is Killing Off Lil Green Patch". http://techcrunch.com/2010/04/29/six-months-after-acquiring-it-playdom-is-killing-off-lil-green-patch/. Retrieved December 2, 2011.
- ^ "Zynga Goes To The Mattresses 22 Lawsuits Filed This Year And Counting". http://www.insidefacebook.com/2009/09/14/zynga-goes-to-the-mattresses-22-lawsuits-filed-this-year-and-counting/. Retrieved December 2, 2011.
- ^ "Zynga is Extremely Pleased With Playdom Disney Litigation Settlement". http://techcrunch.com/2010/11/23/zynga-is-extremely-pleased-with-playdomdisney-litigation-settlement/. Retrieved December 2, 2011.
[edit] External links
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
$63.1 billion 
