Video gamer network Machinima.com raises $9 Million

June 15, 2010 — Fusion DigiNet

Machinima.com, the online entertainment network for video gamers, has raised a $9 million Series B round of financing from Redpoint Ventures, a leading, early stage venture capital firm based in Menlo Park, CA with offices in Los Angeles, CA and Shanghai. Machinima.com says it has seen a 300% audience growth in th last year and last month delivered over 127 million video views to over 27 million uniques. The new funds will be used accelerate further growth.

Geoff Yang, a partner at Redpoint Ventures, and a serial early-stage backer of successful web ventures including Ask Jeeves, Excite, Gaia Online, Homeaway, Juniper Networks, MySpace, Netflix, Scribd and Tivo will join the board of directors of Machinima.com

“We are extremely excited about this new partnership with Redpoint Ventures and Geoff Yang”, said Machinima.com CEO and Chairman Allen DeBevoise. “This capital infusion will enable us to further expand the scale, reach and engagement of our community while delivering the best global marketing platform for video games on the planet to our customers and partners.”
 
Location: Los Angeles, CA

Ref: F231109-500

Posted in Broadcasting, Content Media, Games, Internet Media, ~North America. Leave a Comment »

Bigpoint acquire games development studio Radon Labs

June 1, 2010 — Fusion DigiNet

Bigpoint GmbH, a leading developer of in browser-based video games, has acquired Game development studio Radon Labs. Radon Labs recently filed for bankruptcy due to financial concerns.

Bigpoint gains more than 35 new employees, including Radon Labs Managing Directors Bernd Beyreuther and Andre Blechschmidt, who will remain with Bigpoint and direct its newly established Berlin office.
“Under Bernd and Andre’s leadership, Radon Labs became one of Germany’s top three development studios,” said Bigpoint CEO and Founder, Heiko Hubertz. “We’re excited to add their highly qualified workforce to Bigpoint as we continue to push the limits of what’s possible in online gaming. This acquisition is also greater proof that the market continues to consolidate. As such, we plan to purchase additional studios, both in Germany and abroad, to support our long-term growth strategy.”

Location: Germany, Hamburg

Ref: F231109-472

Posted in Content Media, Games, Internet Media, ~Europe. Leave a Comment »

Cloud based video game streaming service Gaikai raises $10 million

May 25, 2010 — Fusion DigiNet

Gaikai, a cloud based video game streaming service has raised $10 million from existing investors TriplePoint Capital, Rustic Canyon Partners, Benchmark Capital and an un-named partner have invested. Nate Redmond of Rustic Canyon Partners will join the board.

Gaikai’s cloud based streaming service will allow gamers to experience the latest video games via the Internet at any time, through multiple devices and platforms. It is due to launch in North America in the near future.
“The involvement of TriplePoint Capital, Benchmark, Rustic Canyon Partners and our un-named investor allows us to gear up to our US launch, support more devices and deliver a service that will dramatically reduce the cost of acquiring new customers for video game publishers and retailers worldwide,” said David Perry, CEO of Gaikai Inc.

Location: USA, Los Angeles, CA

Ref: F231109-461

Related article – Games on demand company Gaikai raises $5M Posted on January 7, 2010

Posted in Content Media, Games, Internet Media, ~North America. Leave a Comment »

Zynga acquires Beijing-based XPD Media

May 21, 2010 — Fusion DigiNet

Zynga has acquired Beijing-based social gaming company XPD Media. It is Zynga’s first Asian acquisition.

“As the largest Internet market in the world, China is at the vanguard for virtual goods based gaming innovation,” said Robert Goldberg, VP of Corporate Development. “We expect our new office in Beijing and the incredible talent in the local market to play a strategic role in our mission to create the best social gaming experiences worldwide.”

XPD Media’s CEO, Robin Chan, will become Zynga’s GM of Asian business development. Co-Founder Andy Tian will lead the Zynga Beijing studio. The XPD team of 40 employees will be immediately integrated into Zynga’s global workforce and focus on engineering and product development.

XPD Media, backed by True Ventures and Pilot Group, launched in early 2008 focusing on social game development for Asian and international social networks.

Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Location: China, Beijing & USA, San Francisco, CA

Ref: F231109-458

Previous reports about Zynga on FusionDigiNet

Posted in Content Media, Games, Internet Media, ~Asia, ~North America. Leave a Comment »

Playdom acquires Acclaim Games

May 20, 2010 — Fusion DigiNet

Another acquisition by Playdom.

Social gaming company Playdom has acquired Acclaim Games, a developer of social networking and downloadable casual games. Acclaim was privately held and is based in Los Angeles, California. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed. 

Acclaim has built a name for itself in the casual and MMORPG gaming space by developing and publishing free-to-play titles available on the Acclaim website. With more than 15 million registered online users already playing Acclaim’s games, the company launched RockFree, a Facebook guitar game, in March 2010, which now has tens of thousands of daily active users. Acclaim is currently working its latest Facebook game due to launch this summer.

Howard Marks, CEO of Acclaim, (a former Activision 2.0 co-founder and Chairman of the Activision Studios), will run the Acclaim studio for Playdom and serve in a senior strategic role for the parent company focused on Playdom’s business development activities. Acclaim’s Chief Technology Officer, Neil Malhotra, a longtime Marks colleague, will now act as the studio’s senior technical officer.

“Bringing Howard and Neil into Playdom strengthens our leadership and bolsters our position as an innovative games developer for the future,” said John Pleasants, CEO of Playdom. “Howard and Neil have worked together building and operating games for many years, and their pipeline of new games is strong.  We are also excited about opening our first Los Angeles based social game development studio which gives us access to all of the game development talent in Southern California.  We look forward to big things from this team.”

Location: USA, Mountain View, CA & Los Angeles, CA

Ref: F231109-450

Other Playdom articles

Posted in Content Media, Games, Internet Media, ~North America. Leave a Comment »

Fidelity Growth Partners Europe invests in online games business InnoGames

May 19, 2010 — Fusion DigiNet

Fidelity Growth Partners Europe a pan-European venture and growth equity investor has used part of its new £100 million European fund to invest in InnoGames, a developer and publisher of free-to-play online games. Fidelity now own a minority stake in the company, but the size and price of the stake was not disclosed. Fidelity will provide advice and access to its partnership network to help InnoGames expand globally. InnoGames currently has almost 50 million registered players across the globe playing successful titles such as Tribal Wars, The West, and Grepolis.

InnoGames’ titles do not require any additional software; all that is needed is an internet connection and a browser. The games are free to play with the players opting to purchase
various in-game advantages and virtual goods. These types of games are growing in popularity over the world. According to DFC Intelligence, an expert video game and entertainment industry research company, this market is estimated at US$1.8 billion in 2010 with a 25% compounded annual growth rate expected over the next five years.

The three co-founders of InnoGames, Eike and Hendrik Klindworth along with Michael Zillmer, will continue to manage the company, along with the recent addition of Sven Ossenbrueggen as chief financial officer, who was formerly CEO of Gamigo. Davor Hebel of FGPE will sit on the supervisory board, providing counsel and access to substantial resources.

InnoGames was advised by the M&A advisory company Corporate Finance Partners on this investment.

Location: UK, London & Germany, Hamburg

Ref: F231109-444

Posted in Content Media, Games, Internet Media, ~Europe. Leave a Comment »

Titan Gaming raises $1 million

May 18, 2010 — Fusion DigiNet

Titan Gaming has raised $1 million in funding from prominent angel investors, including Clearstone Venture Partners principals William Quigley and Jim Armstrong, virtual goods pioneer Brock Pierce, MP3.com founder Michael Robertson, PriceGrabber co-founder and Bestcovery.com founder Kamran Pourzanjani, Vonage co-founder and www.kikin.com founder and CEO Carlos Bhola, SOA Software founder and ServiceMesh founder and CEO Eric Pulier, MyLife founder and CEO Jeffrey Tinsley, Hydra and W4 co-founder Adam “Wicks” Walker, ooma founder Andrew Frame, GigaMedia executive John Lee, PatentVest CEO Andy Mazzarella, former Korn Ferry Chairman Global Technology Markets Richard Spitz, iWin founder and TLDH.org founder and CEO Fred Kreuger, Ramprate founder and Chairman and myTASTE co-founder and CEO Tony Greenberg, New Motion founder and Revenue APEX co-founder and CEO Scott Walker, SAM Venture Partners and Tomorrow Ventures.

With this seed round of funding, the new executive team, including CEO John Maffei and COO Lisa Serwin, will finalize the technology of the Titan Platform, as well as secure mass distribution deals. The original Titan founders, Francisco Diaz-Mitoma and Mark Donovan, will lead Titan’s technical and game developer evangelism efforts. Titan’s first customers are set to go live in July of 2010. Game developers and publishers seeking to join the Titan beta should visit www.titanplatform.com.

“As the former head of one of the Internet’s largest gaming sites, I am very familiar with the challenges of effectively monetizing gamers with subscription and advertising models,” commented John Maffei, CEO, Titan Gaming. “Titan offers gaming companies and content sites a white labeled solution that helps them monetize their audiences more effectively while retaining complete control of their brand. We have been extremely pleased with the positive reaction of the gaming companies we have engaged.”

Location: USA, Los Angeles, CA

Ref: F231109-443

Posted in Content Media, Games, Internet Media, ~North America. Leave a Comment »

Booyah raises $20 million from Accel Partners

May 18, 2010 — Fusion DigiNet

Booyah has received $20 million in additional funding from venture capital firm Accel Partners.

In addition to the funding, Jim Breyer, an investor and board member in Facebook, Etsy, Walmart, Dell, and Marvel Entertainment, among others, will be joining Booyah’s Board of Directors.

According to the Booyah Blog, ” It’s to hire the top talent and best people in the industry to make the most epic gaming experiences out there.  We’re proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish with MyTown, and we plan to continue innovating and creating new forms of real-world entertainment for you.”
Location: USA, Palo Alto, CA

Ref: F231109-441

Posted in Content Media, Games, Internet Media, ~North America. Leave a Comment »

Mobile game developer ngmoco acquires Stumptown Game Machine

May 13, 2010 — Fusion DigiNet

Mobile internet game developer and publisher ngmoco, has acquired Stumptown Game Machine, makers of the pet simulation Touch Pets Dogs.

“We are delighted to welcome the Stumptown Game Machine team, led by Andrew Stern, to the ngmoco family,” said Neil Young, CEO, ngmoco. “With a proven track record of games that are equal parts charming, fun and accessible, we’re proud to have such terrific AI designers and innovative thinkers expand our growing line-up of games.”

Stumptown Game Machine developed Touch Pets Dogs exclusively for iPhone and iPod touch in collaboration with ngmoco in November 2009. Upon its release, Touch Pets Dogs topped the free app charts on the Apple App Store and was voted the #1 free iPhone and iPod touch game by IGN. To date, the app has been downloaded more than five million times.

Stumptown Game Machine will retain its own name, brand and base of operations in Portland, Oregon.

Headquartered in San Francisco, ngmoco was founded in 2008 Neil Young, Bob Stevenson, Alan Yu and Joe Keene. The company’s investors include Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Maples Investments (now FLOODGATE) and Norwest Venture Partners. ngmoco has raised over $40 million in funding.

Ref: F231109-432

Posted in Games, ~North America. Leave a Comment »

BT takes a stake in OnLive Inc., the cloud computing video gaming business

May 13, 2010 — Fusion DigiNet

UK telecoms giant BT has taken a 2.6 per cent shareholding in OnLive Inc., a Silicon Valley based, cloud computing video gaming business. The value of the stake is thought to be $500,000. The deal gives BT exclusive rights to bundle the OnLive® Game Service with broadband in the UK. The move by BT into cloud gaming is designed to enhance what the company already offers in the entertainment area with BT Vision its on-demand digital TV service.
 
Onlive will deliver the latest games from many of the world’s leading publishers direct to a customer’s TV, PC or Mac. OnLive works over a wired broadband connection and customers do not need high specification computers to use the service as the complex processing work is done at remote data centres. The service will compete directly with video game consoles.

Gavin Patterson, CEO of BT Retail, said: “Entertainment is going to be at the heart of what we offer customers in the future. The partnership with OnLive complements our existing BT Vision service. It’s great for our customers – they’ll have access to a huge catalogue of games, available instantly on their TV or PC without expensive hardware. And it’s great for BT – it will enhance our premium broadband position and we’ll be entering into a market that’s worth more than £2billion.”
    
Steve Perlman, CEO of OnLive, said: “The UK market is extremely important to OnLive and our videogame publishing partners as we expand into Europe. We view BT as the ideal UK partner. As gamers are moving increasingly to online game distribution, OnLive delivers video games as a pure form of online media, playable instantly on almost any video-capable device attached to the internet. The implications are nothing short of transformative to video games and in time, all interactive media. OnLive is delighted to be pioneering this revolutionary technology in the UK together with BT”.

Neither company has revealed a UK launch date for the service. Onlive launches in the US on June 17th.

Location: UK, London

Ref: F231109-430

Posted in Content Media, e-Commerce, Games, Internet Media, ~Europe. Leave a Comment »
« Older posts
Newer posts »