Disney Acquires Social Gaming Company Playdom for up to $763.2 Million
It’s official, I am now the newest “cast member” of the Walt Disney Company. I have been fortunate over the last several years to be doing exactly what I love— building games. When I joined Playdom earlier this year I was excited about the future of social games. Working with a start up like Playdom offered me the opportunity to help build a top entertainment company. Today we have not only validated our success but are proud members of the largest entertainment company in the world. This is only the beginning.
Official Press Release
THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY TO ACQUIRE LEADING SOCIAL GAME DEVELOPER PLAYDOM
Advancing on its goal of bringing consumers its well-known stories, characters and brands in ever more engaging ways, The Walt Disney Company has agreed to acquire Playdom Inc., one of the leading companies in the fast-growing business of online social gaming.
Playdom shareholders will receive total consideration of $563.2 million, subject to certain conditions, and a performance-linked earn-out of up to $200 million.
In just two and a half years of operation, Playdom has established itself as a pacesetter in building popular games for social networks enjoyed by consumers around the globe. Through well-known titles like Social City, Sorority Life, Market Street and Bola, Playdom engages an estimated 42 million active players each month.
By acquiring Playdom, Disney will strengthen its already-robust digital gaming portfolio, acquire a first-rate management team and provide consumers new ways to interact with the company on popular social networks like Facebook and MySpace.
Press Articles & Links
New York Times: Disney Purchases Playdom, a Social Game Start-Up
AllFacebook.com: Disney Buys Playdom For Up To $763.2 Million
Mashable: Disney Acquires Social Gaming Company Playdom for up to $763.2 Million
Inside Social Games: Disney Announces Playdom Acquisition for $563.2M, Plus Up to $200M Earn-Out
TechCrunch: Playdom Acquired By Disney For Up To $763.2 Million
Read MoreMarket Street - Playdom’s Newest Game
As the Front End Engineering Lead for this project, I am excited to introduce you to Playdom’s newest game - Market Street. Myself and the team are very proud of this title.
Have you always wanted to create your own store with nothing but prom dresses and power tools? How about a store with gangster décor? Not a problem! In Market Street there are dozens of items to stock your store with. Whether your taste is clothing, electronics, hardware and more you are sure to find something that fits your desires!
In Market Street, it is up to you to decorate your store the way you want with hundreds items available to choose from. When in need of break from your own store, travel to your neighbor’s stores to check out how they have decorated it. You may even like their style so much that you decide to hire them to work in your store!
So what are you waiting for! Set for forth to build the world’s best retail store because in Market Street, your store is waiting to be decorated! http://apps.facebook.com/marketstreet.
Game Reviews
Building a Better Business With Playdom’s Market Street on Facebook
Easter Eggs
Since I was lead developer on this title, I’d like to share a few cool Easter eggs that exist in the game:
1. Team Credits: Zoom out and Pan up to the “Market Street” street sign. When you mouse over it you’ll see a happy face. Click on it.
2. Avatar Farts: Make sure you are focused on the store floor and not in full screen mode. Hit CTRL+F on the keyboard.
Read MoreJoining Playdom - Where players rule
I am excited to announce today that I have officially joined the social gaming team at Playdom. This company has an unbelievably bright future and I make this move with deep conviction and enthusiasm.
The last few months have been filled with an unusual amount of opportunities resulting from the launch of Storybook Anytime’s social game Reef Life. Since very early in the projects life I have been both humbled and inspired by the support of my friends and colleagues. It is that inspiration and support that has ultimately led to this opportunity — for that I am eternally grateful.
Playdom boasts the #1 game on MySpace—Mobsters—and three of the top four applications. Fueled by explosive growth on Facebook and an expanding pipeline of new games and features, Playdom may be the fastest growing social gaming company on the planet! It is an honor to be part of Playdom and exciting to know that I will be helping to move social gaming forward on a much larger scale than ever before.
Read MoreReef Life - Raising the Bar for Social Games
The Launch.
On September 8, 2009, Storybook Anytime, officially announced the beta release of “Reef Life“. A family friendly social game on the Facebook platform. This marks the long anticipated follow up to the “original” Facebook aquarium game, Sam’s Fish Bowl. Over six months of around the clock work by the Storybook Anytime team has produced an immersive underwater world that has combined elements of virtual world exploration and social gaming to truly raise the bar for social games today.
What is really special is the uniqueness of the game. Coming from the origins of Sam’s Fish Bowl, we could have easily taken the approach of creating a game of “fish management” in an aquarium like setting. Sam’s Fish Bowl was very much a simplified version of that concept. We wanted to create an original, immersive and deep game that allow users to invest their personalities into game play in a very real way. In “Reef Life” you and your friends are the fish.
The Story.
You were once a small fish living the good life inside a fish bowl. While on a Caribbean cruise with your human family, your bowl accidentally fell overboard. As you drifted through the vast depths of the ocean, you came to rest on a large coral reef. You soon discover that this reef is actually an amazing underwater world filled with all kinds of interesting characters and unique marine life. You are immediately taken under the fin by “Reef Whale”, Ronald Trout. Mr. Trout is going to teach you how to start living the “Reef Life” and in the process, how to become a whale yourself.
Life on the reef is a fragile balancing act, but there is plenty of opportunity for you and your friends. You can find starfish and recycle bottles to earn coins- the main currency of the reef. If you are really entrepreneurial, you can rent neighborhoods with businesses to give yourself even more earning potential.
The Results… So Far.
As a social game, “Reef Life” is not meant to have a traditional beginning, middle or end. It is in a constant state of improvement and development. Major feature builds are being launched weekly and will likely slow to bi-weekly after the first of the year. It is expected to remain in beta until at least that time as only a fraction of the game play and features have been revealed. Already, the game is experiencing stellar viral growth and receiving a few positive kudos from industry insiders in early reviews. It is a project that myself and the entire Storybook Anytime team could not be more excited about. We look forward to growing the game for the users.
Find out more about “Reef Life” at http://www.becomeawhale.com.
Read MoreAdobe Developer Profile: Mike Johnston
I am very honored to be the featured developer profile in this month’s edition of Adobe Edge— the online magazine for Adobe developers. The article, “Behind the scenes of Sam’s Interactive Reader” chronicles the creation of Storybook Anytime and the production of our flagship Adobe AIR product, Sam’s Interactive Reader. Be sure to take a few minutes and check it out.
The AIR Marketplace and AIR product team have been a fantastic champion of Storybook Anytime. I’d also like to take this opportunity to thank them for their continued support.
Read MoreStorybook Anytime presented at the Adobe MAX Conference in Milan
The Adobe Air team presented Storybook Anytime during the Adobe MAX conference in Milan, Italy this past December. Robert Christensen presented a session titled “Monetizing Applications with Adobe AIR” in which he examined case studies that describe how developers are attempting to monetize and market AIR applications. The featured case study was Storybook Anytime and its products Sam’s Interactive Reader and Sam’s Fish Bowl (both developed by yours truly). It included a glimpse into the online social marketing techniques used via Facebook (and now Twitter) to generate interest in the company.
You can view the full presentation here at the Adobe Air blog. Thanks Adobe. You guys rock!
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