September 26, 2007

RealNetworks to develop socnet around games?

Mike Butcher

10 comments »

Casual gamers - moms, dads and senior citizens - are the mainstream of the gaming world. So it’s interesting that RealNetworks could be looking to foster community around its RealArcade property, following reports today that it is acquiring NYC-based online casual gaming site Gametrust for somewhere in the region of $50 million. The company, which has already raised nearly $20 million in three rounds, powers some big gaming portals including MiniClip.com and Shockwave.com with its Game Frame platform. The five year-old GameTrust counts TWJ Capital, NJTC Venture Fund, Patriot Capital, CSK Ventures, Topspin Partners, Silicon Alley Venture Partners, Draper Associates and Elon Musk among its investors.

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TechBeta » Blog Archive » RealNetworks to develop socnet around games?

September 26th, 2007 at 8:24 am

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Gaut

September 26th, 2007 at 2:25 am

Game is never die…
hutang

September 26th, 2007 at 2:26 am

You was die, if not playing games.
Zuko

September 26th, 2007 at 2:40 am

Clever idea, but it’s not loading for me? Maybe it’s the techcrunch effect.
Jason

September 26th, 2007 at 5:56 am

GameTrust’s CEO Adeo Rossi is the biggest arrogant freakin prick on the earth. The thing that gets me is that he really hasn’t done anything to be worthy of being a prick.
Richard Miller

September 26th, 2007 at 7:09 am

Why were they waiting so long? It’s about time for such a thing to be launched! Game On!
sojo

September 26th, 2007 at 7:36 am

Real is still in business? Their player always sucked! I guess the only thing they can do to “stay alive” is buying this arcade thing. Whatever. They still suck!
Juhani

September 26th, 2007 at 8:12 am

Of course they are. Social network will be part of ALL internet and mobile services, soon even manufacturers and retailers will jump on board.

Those who won’t build one, can’t survive the competition’s cost savings in marketing. Hopefully OpenID or something else will get us through the jungle of hundreds of social networking sites.

Social networking is not a service anymore, it’s a feature… (Facebook might be an exception)
Ira

September 26th, 2007 at 11:06 am

More money for casual games… gets bigger every day.
Plantman

September 26th, 2007 at 6:42 pm

This report is wrong. The deal size is far less than $50mm. Insiders say that Gametrust has been losing money every day since its conception. Most of the investors havent even made their money back. My guess, $9mm for whole thing. Worst part is the technology isnt worth a damn, so what did Real Networks pay for? Maybe just the distribution deals that Gametrust had. Big Wup.