IGT rolls dice on Facebook gaming, but hedges bet

Posted by on January 13, 2012

Contact: Brian Satterfield In yet another sign of the power of social networking, casino gaming systems maker IGT agreed on Thursday to purchase Facebook casino videogame startup Double Down Interactive for a potential consideration of up to $500m. The Double Down deal highlights the growing importance of social networking websites to traditional gaming companies, as [...]

EA gets serious about casual gaming

Posted by on July 14, 2011

Contact: Brian Satterfield In an expensive nod to the ever-increasing importance of online social media and mobile gaming, Electronic Arts has reached deep into its pockets to purchase Seattle-based PopCap Games for $750m. The transaction, which could end up costing EA as much as $1.3bn if the full earnout is hit, stands out as not [...]

In mobile gaming, a company is only as valuable as its users

Posted by on April 29, 2011

Contact: Ben Kolada A pair of mobile gaming acquisitions in the past half-year has proven that an ability to monetize an audience is just as important as the audience itself. In the latest deal, GREE is paying $104m in cash for OpenFeint. While that’s certainly a handsome payout for the startup’s investors, it’s a considerably [...]

EA flies into mobile

Posted by on October 25, 2010

Contact: Jarrett Streebin Electronic Arts (EA) recently shelled out a reported $20m for mobile game publisher Chillingo. The UK-based startup published the popular iPhone game Angry Birds. Although the acquisition didn’t include the game or its developers, it will help EA market and distribute its mobile games. This small deal is the latest in a hot [...]

Zynga buys beyond Facebook

Posted by on October 13, 2010

Contact: Jarrett Streebin Zynga has become a serious collector of small to medium-sized game development studios, acquiring seven companies so far this year. Beyond just buying more titles, the company has used M&A to get into other markets. For instance, Zynga has expanded internationally with XPD Media in China, Dextrose in Germany and Unoh in Japan. [...]

Bets on casual games are paying off

Posted by on November 23, 2009

Electronic Arts’ game-changing acquisition of Playfish brings validity to the young niche games vertical. Will the consolidation continue?

id Software exit signals continued consolidation in gaming

Posted by on August 3, 2009

One of the few remaining independent gaming stalwarts unpredictably gave up its freedom last month. Could this be an indicator of a similar scenario playing out for the remaining studios, which had previously been resolutely independent?

Adknowledge inks super deal for social advertising dominance

Posted by on July 22, 2009

The serial shopper has picked up incentives-based online advertising vendor Super Rewards. We take a look at what this means for the two companies and the remaining independent startups.

Gaming for consolidation

Posted by on February 20, 2009

As the videogame industry continues its downward spiral, consolidation is accelerating. We separate the acquirers from the targets and speculate about what might come next.

EA’s South Korean embrace

Posted by on December 19, 2008

This marks a change in strategy for the stumbling giant. And like the casual gaming trend we outlined last month, it signals a significant shift for the industry that will likely drive M&A well into the new year.

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