Social Gamer Kabam Raises $30 Million For Acquistions, Studio Expansion
Kabam, a developer of massive multiplayer games like Kingdoms of Camelot, has raised a $30 million third round of funding to support its acq… Read more »
Game Over For Kongregate On Android? Not So Fast
Perhaps because Android was built on open-source code, and is free to license, people often assume that it is the more “open” of the smartph… Read more »
The Morning Lowdown 01-20-11
photo: Corbis / Patricia Curi
» Although European streaming music service Spotify is still not ready to enter the U.S. market — it continues to make its state… Read more »
Mobile Content Bits: Starbucks; Nintendo 3DS; Clearwire/Sony Ericsson;
– Starbucks: Did the mobile money industry just get a caffeine jolt? The coffee chain Starbucks (NSDQ: SBUX) is today debuting a feature in… Read more »
RockYou Buys Social Game Developer Playdemic
Even more M&A activity in the soaring social games sector … RockYou, the heavily-backed social networking app maker, is buying Playdemic,… Read more »
Game Plans Social, Online Evolution As Kinect, Move Make For Poor Christmas
photo: Game Group
UK video game retailer Game Group says it must front up in social, mobile and online gaming, after it made 2.1 percent less money this Chris… Read more »
Mobile VC Investment Was A Massive $6.1B In 2010. Google, Intel Led The Way
photo: mobiletor
Boutique investment house Rutberg & Company have released their numbers on VC and M&A activity in the mobile sector, and the figures confirm… Read more »
Social Gaming Ads To Soar — But Virtual Goods Still Lead Revenue
With the still rising popularity of social media games like Zynga’s Farmville and Mafia Wars, advertising is naturally beginning to follow.… Read more »
Tapjoy Raises $21 Million As It Bounces Back
photo: Corbis
It looks like Offerpal — now known as Tapjoy — has fully recovered from the PR scandal that culminated in the resignation of its CEO last… Read more »
Gaming Startup OMGPOP Raises $10 Million
OMGPOP, which began as a multiplayer game developer on the web but has since expanded into mobile and Facebook, has raised $10.1 million in… Read more »
CES: Sony Ericsson, Silent On PlayStation Phone, Launches Curvy Xperia Arc
Sony (NYSE: SNE) CEO Howard Stringer’s CES address yesterday was long on 3D being the future for the company, but short on one area that mob… Read more »
Zynga Buys Social Browser Developer Flock
Zynga has purchased browser developer Flock in its latest move to beef up its workforce. Six-year-old Flock is behind a so-called “social we… Read more »
Firemint Acquires Fellow Aussie Mobile Games Maker Infinite Interactive
A little more consolidation in the mobile games space: Melbourne, Australia-based games developer Firemint, maker of the popular iPhone game… Read more »
Happy News Year: Mobile Stories You May Have Missed
photo: Flickr / from a second story.
In the last 10 days, Skype went down and up again and launched video calling on iPhones; Clearwire lost its chairman; Paul Allen got legal o… Read more »
Sean Ryan Leaves News Corp. To Take A Gaming Job At Facebook
Sean Ryan, who joined News Corp. only six months ago, is leaving to take a gaming job at Facebook. Ryan will be be head of games partnership… Read more »
Can ESPN Bring Some Respect To Interactive Television?
The secret to Wayne Gretzky’s greatness on the ice was that he didn’t skate to where the puck was, but where he anticipated it might go next… Read more »
Viacom Unloads Harmonix To Columbus Nova
Viacom (NYSE: VIA) has found a buyer for Harmonix Music Systems, maker of its struggling video-game franchise Rock Band: investment manageme… Read more »
Mobile Bytes: Verizon’s LTE Device; PlayStation Phone; Moto, Palm Tablets
photo: Tricia Duryee
– Verizon’s LTE devices: As the carrier laid out plans for its nationwide LTE footprint earlier this month, it said it would give more deta… Read more »
Interview: RealNetworks’ Kimball: Is There A Comeback On The Way?
Since taking over as RealNetworks’ CEO in January, Bob Kimball has presided over an aggressive restructuring. He has led two rounds of layof… Read more »
Mobile Gaming/SocNet Site Qeep Raises Millions In Second Round
Java content is alive and well in the mobile world. Blue Lion Mobile, which makes the youth-oriented, social networking and mobile gaming si… Read more »
Major League Gaming Raises $10 Million
photo: RebeccaPollard
Professional video game league Major League Gaming has raised $10 million in its latest round of funding. The company, which has dominated t… Read more »
OpenFeint Tries A Groupon Line To Sell, And Discover, Mobile Games
The business of app discovery is still a wide-open game, with dozens of companies coming at it from different directions: among them, Stumbl… Read more »
How Twitter’s Funding Stacks Up Against The Biggest Deals Of 2010
photo: Corbis
Here’s a sign of how the market for companies seeking funding has loosened up over the last year. When Twitter last raised a round of ventur… Read more »
PS3 Adds ITV, C4 To On-Demand Line-Up
ITV (LSE: ITV) and Channel 4 shows such as Coronation Street and The Inbetweeners will soon be available to watch via Sony’s PlayStation 3 g… Read more »
GameStop Turns To IGN For Content As Part Of Digital Strategy
photo: Flickr/Adam
Video game retailer GameStop is partnering with News Corp.’s IGN in its latest attempt to expand its website beyond e-commerce. Under a two-… Read more »
Zynga’s David Ko On Mobile M&A, Future Platforms, And Google
photo: Yahoo
Zynga, the darling of online social games with 45 million daily active users, has been a relatively late entrant in the mobile space, with i… Read more »
Industry Moves: Verizon; Apple; TeePee; Flash Networks
– Verizon: Anthony Melone has been promoted to the role of CTO for Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ). He had been the CTO of mobile divisio… Read more »
Publishers Clearing House Purchases Gaming Site Candystand
Candystand, the popular online games site, is changing hands again. Direct marketer Publishers Clearing House is buying Candystand-parent Fu… Read more »
Digital Doctor Who May Be Big This Christmas For BBCWW
The cheesy Brit drama is already a TV hit with kids and sci-fi geeks around the world. Now Doctor Who looks set to boost BBC Worldwide’s dig… Read more »
Zynga Doubles Down On Mobile With Newtoy Buy
photo: Flickr / ClintJCL
Zynga is doubling down on mobile games, buying mobile game developer Newtoy, which is best known for the hit iOS game Words With Friends. Du… Read more »
Gaming: In-App Purchases To Overtake Download Revenues On Sales Of $11bn
photo: Rovio
It’s no secret that gaming is one of the most popular, and money-spinning, forms of mobile content in the market, whether they are casual ga… Read more »
Social Game Developer Vostu Raises $30 Million
photo: Flickr / Charlie Phillips
In the latest sign of the huge interest in social games among investors, Vostu, a Brazilian social game developer which is known for its pop… Read more »
Media Corp Puts Gambling.com On Sale To Fund Acquisitions
photo: Flickr / Ross Elliot
Media Corp, a publicly-traded internet content vehicle and advertising network operator, has put its Gambling.com domain on the market, sayi… Read more »
Windows Phone 7: Games Are The Most Popular Paid Apps, Prices Are Cheap
Early days for Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 Marketplace app store indicates that games are by far the most popular category among paid apps,… Read more »
Some Publishers Seeking 1-Up From Casual Games
Newspapers and video games may seem like oil and water – but the search for adjacent revenue streams, and the growing band of “casual” gamer… Read more »
Nokia’s Navteq Banks On 3D, Buys PixelActive: What’s Next?
Nokia’s Symbian OS may not yet be supported by Layar, the augmented reality platform that announced $14 million in funding this week, but No… Read more »
What Tony Did Next: Player X Founder Launches TeePee Games, £500k Seed Fund
When Tony Pearce sold Player X to mobile content developer Zed for some £10 million ($16 million) at the height of a mini-bubble in May 200… Read more »
Mobile Bits: Netflix/Android; Acer/Ferrari; Amex Games
– Netflix/Android: The online-video provider says that it will start to offer its streaming service on a select number of Android devices e… Read more »
Toy Story Drives Disney’s Interactive Revs Up; Segment’s Losses Narrow
photo: Disney
A mix of cheaper video games and higher subscription dollars at its kid-focused virtual world Club Penguin helped drive the Walt Disney (NYS… Read more »
Viacom’s Dauman: Harmonix Sale Is About Focus; Digital Dollars, Not Dimes
photo: Corbis / Kimberly White
Viacom (NYSE: VIA) is currently in talks with several buyers for game developer Harmonix, said Philippe Dauman, Viacom’s president and CEO,… Read more »
