If Finland-based Rovio Entertainment Oy receives the $1.2 billion valuation it’s rumored to be clamoring for, we can expect to see a movie, clothes, and stuffed animals all inspired by some furious fowls. The company makes “Angry Birds,” the popular game for mobile devices. READ MORE
On the eve of Zynga’s planned $1 billion initial public offering, the company’s general manager Jeremy Verba has officially left the company to become CEO of dating site eHarmony. According to his LinkedIn profile, Verba worked at Zynga for 19 months. READ MORE
Electronic Arts, the video game company that developed “The Sims,” plans to release a version of its game for Facebook. The original game, which has players direct the virtual life and activities of a “sim,” sold 140 million copies. READ MORE
The June rumor that console gaming giant Electronic Arts (EA) was looking to buy casual gaming pioneer PopCap Games has come true: on Tuesday it was announced that EA has agreed to purchase PopCap, the creator of such games as Plants vs. Zombies and Bejewelled, for at least $750 million in cash and stock. READ MORE
Another note from the “Rumor Has It” files says PopCap Games, makers of popular titles such as Bejeweled and Zuma, is in late-stage acquisition talks with Electronic Arts. Though not officially confirmed by either company, reports from two sources are that EA is willing to pony up $1 billion for entry into the lucrative mobile gaming space, says Jason Kincaid at TechCrunch. READ MORE
It’s a micromanager’s dream come true: This month, Electronic Arts will release a business-centric add-on for Sims 2, the popular PC game that lets players control the lives of imaginary people. “For a long time, players have told us they want to see what Sims do when they go to work,” says Tim LeTourneau, the game’s senior producer. EA chose to interpret work as starting a company because that fit in nicely with the game’s overall gestalt of letting players create and manage complex little universes. Some of the developers had prior experience running small software studios; others read management books like In Search of Excellence to familiarize themselves with the subject. With Open for Business, which will retail for $35, gamers can direct Sims characters to move into commercial retail space or launch a business from their living rooms. Options include a nightclub, restaurant, bakery, car dealership, hair salon, and art gallery, though crafty players will soon realize that they can slap a price tag on nearly any object that appears onscreen. A financial dashboard calculates revenue, expenses, and profitability in real time–something any entrepreneur would love. In addition to designing a store, stocking inventory, and setting prices, players must manage employees, including assigning tasks and setting wages. They can also opt to micromanage, dictating break time and even a dress code. The possibilities don’t end there. If they create a large base of happy, loyal customers, Sim-run companies are eligible for business awards and can garner positive articles in the local newspaper. Over time, the business owners can negotiate better terms with vendors. They are also free to strike up interoffice romances and to bequeath ownership to their heirs. The game “is about telling a story,” says LeTourneau. “You could have a store that’s been in business for several generations.” Of course, there are some differences between Sim businesses and real ones: There are no taxes–income, corporate, or sales–to pay in the Sims’ world. Profit is measured not in dollars but in an imaginary currency (the simolean). And players who excel are rewarded with a mystical power: the ability to read their customers’ minds.
The advent of handheld gaming devices like Sony’s PlayStation Portable and gamephones from Nokia and Vodafone is good news for so-called “garage game” developers. Giants like Electronic Arts will continue to focus on titles such as Madden 2004 that feature pixel-rich imagery and cost millions to launch. But many portable devices will have limited power and slower Web connections. As a result, the games played on them “need to be streamlined to play smoothly,” says Tim Walsh, of game giant THQ’s wireless division. Since simpler games are easier for indie developers to produce, the opportunity for them could be huge. Games now generate more revenue than movie ticket sales, and Forrester Research reports that North Americans play games on wireless devices almost as often as they send text messages. And there’s a precedent for a garage game going mainstream: Tetris was developed by one lone programmer back in 1985.
