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Playfish Working On Well-Known EA Brand
by Eric Caoili [PC, Console/PC]
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February 2, 2010
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London-based social game developer Playfish (Pet Society), recently purchased by Electronic Arts for $300 million, says it's working on a well-known brand from its new parent company, though it declined to name which one.
EA and its subsidiaries have revealed a number of online projects based on its franchises in the past several months: Lord of Ultima by EA Phenomic, Dante's Inferno by Lolapps, Spore Islands by Area/Code, Dragon Age Journeys by Bioware, Gift of the Yeti by Bioware, FIFA Online by EA Sports, and Need For Speed Nitro.
Some speculate that Playfish could be working on one of EA's more casual-friendly brands that would appeal more to the social gamer demographic, such as The Sims, though it's also possible that the developer could be producing an adaptation of other IPs like Dead Space, Rock Band, MySims, Burnout, or Harry Potter.
Sharing some of his first public comments since the acquisition announcement, Playfish president and general manager Kristian Segerstrale says he believes the social gaming space will change quickly into a market where well-known brands will have an advantage, and that by joining EA, the company is now in a position to take advantage of that trend.
"Social gaming as an industry has grown pretty quickly, but it also means it has to grow up pretty quickly," says Segerstrale, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal. "I think we’re going to see it rapid-maturing over the next 12 to 24 months."
The executive believes that the social gaming space will experience further consolidation, predicting that the developers who will succeed will be those that can offer gaming experiences that span multiple platforms like Facebook, iPhone, and other mobile devices. Playfish has already started to bring its popular titles to iPhone and iPod Touch, releasing Who Has The Biggest Brain? to the App Store last year.
"As we advanced our conversations with EA, what became clear was that this would be genuine opportunity to accelerate our pace of growth and build a billion-dollar business faster," commented Segerstrale.
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