Playfish
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| Type | Subsidiary of Electronic Arts |
|---|---|
| Industry | Video games, social network service |
| Founded | 2007 |
| Headquarters | London, United Kingdom |
| Key people | Kristian Segersrale Sebastien de Halleux Sami Lababidi Shukri Shammas |
| Owner(s) | Electronic Arts |
| Parent | Electronic Arts |
| Website | playfish.com |
Playfish, currently a property of Electronic Arts, is a developer of free-to-play social network games. Playfish was founded in 2007 by Kristian Segerstråle,[1] Sebastien de Halleux,[2] Sami Lababidi[3] and Shukri Shammas.[3] In October 2008, they secured US$17 million in venture capital funding from Accel Partners and Index Ventures.[4]
Who has the Biggest Brain? was the company's first hit. It was one of the first Facebook games to attract millions of daily players, and allowed the company to raise funding necessary to produce other hits. The company makes money by selling virtual goods inside its games.[5]
On Monday, November 9, 2009, Electronic Arts announced their acquisition of Playfish for US$400 million. The acquisition was initially for $275 million cash and $25 million in equity—with a further $100 million in performance-based bonuses available if the company hits targets set by EA executives.[6][7]
Playfish games currently attract roughly 55 million users a month, with over 37 million users solely coming from Facebook members.[8]
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[edit] Playfish Cash
Players are eligible to buy "Playfish Cards" at Walmart, Walgreens, and Toys 'R' Us stores. Once redeemed on the Playfish website, players earn "Playfish Cash" (PFC) to spend on virtual goods in games.It is the cash that shared across the Playfish games, the cash available from credit card, PayPal, mobile phone and offers
On Tuesday, April 19, 2011, Playfish announced that Playfish Cash of all games (except Crazy Planets in that time) changed to individual cash and users can trade for the new cash.[9]
Playfish new currency
| Games | New currency |
|---|---|
| Pet Society | Pet Society Cash |
| Restaurant City | Cooking Cash |
| EA Sports FIFA Superstars | Superstars Cash |
| Madden NFL Superstars | Football Cash |
| Country Story | Country Cash |
[edit] Playfish's Blog
Although each individual game has its own blog, the Playfish company has an overall one, "Life at Playfish." Major updates and contests are usually posted there.
[edit] Pet Society
In Pet Society, players own virtual pets in a "neighborhood." Players can dress up their pets, decorate their homes, go fishing, cook dishes, and dig for treasures. Gaining "paw points" allows players to eventually level up to Level 100.
[edit] Restaurant City
In Restaurant City, players run a restaurant and level up a variety of dishes.
[edit] Madden Superstars
A spin off of the popular console video game, players create a team out of current NFL players and compete in 3 different types of games: league games against computer generated teams, scrimmage games against friends, and real NFL teams. All the teams are made up of real players. As players progress they collect coins to purchase upgrades to their stadiums, collect fans, hire NFL coaches, Game Changer plays, and tiered rating level card packs of NFL players to add to their rosters.
[edit] Current Games
- Pet Society (released on August 08, 2008.)
- Restaurant City (released on April 28, 2009.)[10]
- EA Sports FIFA Superstars (released on June 10, 2010.)
- Madden NFL Superstars (released on August 31, 2010.)
- Monopoly Millionaires (released on January 31, 2011.)[11]
- World Series Superstars (released on March 30, 2011.)[12]
- The Sims Social (released on August 09, 2011.)
- NHL Superstars (released on October 05, 2011.)
- RISK: Factions (released on January 11, 2012.)
[edit] Retired Games
- Who Has The Biggest Brain?[13] (released on December 18, 2007., retired on September 30, 2011.)
- Word Challenge (released on May 01, 2008., retired on September 30, 2011.)
- Bowling Buddies (released on May 08, 2008., retired on September 30, 2011.)
- Geo Challenge (released on September 22, 2008., retired on September 30, 2011.)
- Minigolf Party (released on January 27, 2009., retired on January 27, 2010.)
- Crazy Planets (released on July 01, 2009., retired on September 30, 2011.)[14]
- Country Story (released on July 29, 2009., retired on December 01, 2011.)[15]
- Quiztastic! (released on August 14, 2009., retired on March 04, 2010.)
- Poker Rivals[16] (released on December 07, 2009., retired on June 07, 2011.)
- Gangster City (released on January 26, 2010., retired on June 07, 2011.)
- Hotel City[17] (released on March 26, 2010., retired on September 30, 2011.)
- My Empire (released on June 01, 2010., retired on September 30, 2011.)
- Pirates Ahoy! (released on August 10, 2010., retired on June 07, 2011.)
[edit] References
- ^ "Business big shot: Kristian Segerstråle, computer games entrepreneur" from The Times
- ^ "Sébastien de Halleux, me encanta et 30 millions de joueurs" from Trends Tendances
- ^ a b About Playfish company & founders from Playfish
- ^ Playfish press release October 28, 2008 from Playfish
- ^ "EA's Playfish: Big Real-World Sales In Virtual Goods Game" from Forbes
- ^ "Playfish sells to Electronic Arts in deal worth up to $400m" from The Guardian
- ^ "EA to Acquire Playfish for $275 Million" from Wall Street Journal
- ^ Eric Caoili. "Playfish Social Games Reaching 55 Million Monthly Players". Gamasutra. http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/32496/Playfish_Social_Games_Reaching_55_Million_Monthly_Players.php.
- ^ [1]
- ^ Mark Bendon. "Cook up a storm with Restaurant City!". Playfish Wordpress. http://playfish.wordpress.com/2009/04/28/cook-up-a-storm-with-restaurant-city.
- ^ "Monopoly on Facebook: Playfish is giving the classic board game a social spin"
- ^ "World Series Superstars, new Playfish game!"
- ^ "Playfish taking down six old games"
- ^ Definitely closed, confirmed by Playfish head people. Closed because of small number of players on monthly basis!
- ^ "Country story is going offline after 2.5 years"
- ^ "Playfish taking down three old games"
- ^ "Fastest growing Facebook games of the week:'Hotel City's recruitment drive" from The Independent
