EA's Playfish deal a wakeup call |
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EA's Playfish deal a wakeup call
Here's the news that will have people buzzing inside the game companies this morning. Video-game giant Electronic Arts says it will spend up to $400 million to buy Playfish, a London-based company that makes games such as "Restaurant City" and "Pet Society" for Facebook.
It's a big bet by EA on games for social networks, promising to add to the sector's momentum. It's also more evidence in support of RealNetworks CEO Rob Glaser's assertion that Facebook and the iPhone represent two new platforms. Should be interesting to watch the trend play out at his company's game group, and more broadly across the Seattle region's thriving community of casual-game developers.
From the announcement, here's how EA is structuring the deal: "EA has acquired Playfish for approximately US$275 million in cash and approximately $US25 million in equity retention arrangements. In addition, the sellers are entitled to additional variable cash consideration, up to a maximum of US$100 million, contingent upon the achievement of certain performance milestones through December 31, 2011."
Silicon Alley Insider calls it a "huge validation" for companies making Facebook games.
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