EA acquires social network game dev Playfish for $300 million
by Griffin McElroy 
{ Nov 9th 2009 at 11:30AM }
Not only is that sum of money much higher than the $250 million total teased by the aforementioned analysts in October, it's ... well, it just seems like a lot of money to spend on a studio which actually developed a game called Bowling Buddies. However, considering Playfish's ten titles register 60 million active users and one billion play sessions every month, we suppose EA's making a sound investment. The times, dear friends -- they are a-changin'.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Captain Planet [Planeteer | Power of Captain Planet] @ Nov 9th 2009 11:34AM
Anyone wanna take bets on when the social networking bubble will burst? My guess, April 2011.
CarpeD1em500 @ Nov 9th 2009 11:44AM
The game bubble, or the actual social networking bubble?
Facebook is about to make life really hard for those game developers...so the game bubble might shrink in the next 2 years.
You're crazy if you think the social networking bubble as a whole is doing anything but rapidly expanding in the future.
It's a connected world now, and thats not changing...ever.
Hooch is Craaazey @ Nov 9th 2009 12:34PM
The Social Networking bubble will continue growing until, eventually, it bursts when we all find out how to communicate telepathically.
sirpilf @ Nov 9th 2009 12:41PM
i already got off all social networking sites. seems like all they are used for these days is for the FBI or police to spy on to bust people now.
and no, putting privacy settings on your accounts do jack shit. facebook gives up private information now "in the same of homeland security." the CIA/NSA are spending millions now to spy on social networking sites.
8bitgeorge @ Nov 9th 2009 1:13PM
Are you planning a terrorist attack throught facebook messages, or what? Chill dude.
DCD @ Nov 9th 2009 11:37AM
They want it done before 2012 because there will only be about a year left to live anyway.
Sagan @ Nov 16th 2009 11:02AM
How can EA afford this when they haven't made a profit in years?
Shadow Hog @ Nov 9th 2009 11:48AM
Cute furry things. I expect they're not going to be in any games, though?
Xenuxenu @ Nov 9th 2009 11:48AM
EA got a bargain, Playfish is actually a profitable company and is estimated to actually earn $75 mill this year. They're annoyingly popular in Facebook (got them all blocked) which is a great avenue for advertising their other games.
Martin @ Nov 9th 2009 12:01PM
You said pretty much what I wanted to, so ^^^ this ^^^
Orion @ Nov 9th 2009 11:49AM
That is the scariest picture I've seen all day. I mean ... depicting EA as a cute harmless bear? That should be illegal.
rooshma @ Nov 9th 2009 12:01PM
I think that's pedobear, which seems a much more legitimate comparison.
Christian @ Nov 9th 2009 1:08PM
I actually play most of Playfish games! Would be interesting to see if EA will change them...
8bitgeorge @ Nov 9th 2009 1:14PM
Yeah, Playfish is a hell of a game company and it's a good decision EA brought them onboard. Good luck.
Evan @ Nov 9th 2009 1:20PM
- More active users than World of Warcraft.
- More game sessions per month than Xbox Live.
It really goes to show the size and importance of casual gaming.
Soiden @ Nov 10th 2009 4:37PM
I don't want EA's nose in my Pet Society.