Playfish

Playfish Ltd

Type	Subsidiary of Electronic Arts
Industry	Video games, social network service
Founded	2007
Headquarters	London, United Kingdom
Key people	Kristian Segerstrale Sebastien de Halleux Sami Lababidi Shukri Shammas
Owner(s)	Electronic Arts
Parent	Electronic Arts
Website	playfish.com

Playfish, currently a property of Electronic Arts, was a developer of free-to-play social network games. Playfish was founded in 2007 by Kristian Segerstråle,^[1] Sebastien de Halleux,^[2] Sami Lababidi and Shukri Shammas.^[3] It has now closed. Playfish in the past attracted up to 55 million users a month, with over 37 million users coming from Facebook members.^[4] In October 2008, they secured US$17 million in venture capital funding from Accel Partners and Index Ventures.^[5]

Who has the Biggest Brain? was the company's first hit. It was one of the first Facebook games to attract millions of daily players, and allowed the company to raise funding necessary to produce other hits. The company makes money by selling virtual goods inside its games.^[6]

On Monday, November 9, 2009, Electronic Arts announced their acquisition of Playfish for US$400 million. The acquisition was initially for $275 million cash and $25 million in equity—with a further $100 million in performance-based bonuses available if the company hits targets set by EA executives.^[7][8] As of February 2013, all four of the original founders have left the company, with Lababidi and Shammas setting up educational developer Mindshapes,^[9][10] and Segerstråle returning to the world of startups.^[11]

On June 14, 2013 - all of the Playfish-developed games has been retired while Madden NFL 13 Social was retired on September 2, 2013 and can no longer can be played on Facebook, while actually the last 3 games to be retired (Pet Society, The Sims Social, and SimCity Social) had their retirement executed on June 17.

List of Games

Notable games

Restaurant City

In Restaurant City, players own a restaurant in a set environment. The goal in Restaurant City is to be an exceedingly popular restaurant and increase in restaurant level and dish quality. A restaurant needs at least two employees to function; a chef and a waiter. Through popularity, a restaurant can attract more customers. As a restaurant attracts more customers, it needs more employees. A restaurant gains the ability to hire more employees as it rises in level. The restaurant also grows in size as it gains levels, and can serve drinks and grow certain ingredients in a garden. Restaurant City was retired on 29 June 2012.

Pet Society

In Pet Society, players own virtual pets in a "neighborhood." Players can dress up their pets, decorate their homes, go fishing, cook dishes, and dig for treasures. Gaining "paw points" allows players to eventually level up to Level 100. You can also send gifts and do some crafting challenge to make an item. There is a new bonus feature as well. It was announced on April 15, 2013 that the game would be retired on 14 June 2013, however it was retired on 17 June 2013 instead.

Madden NFL Superstars

Madden NFL Superstars is a spin off of the popular console video game. Players create a team out of current real-life NFL players and compete in 3 different types of games: league games against computer generated teams, scrimmage games against friends, and scrimmage games against real NFL teams. As players progress they collect coins to purchase upgrades to their stadiums, collect fans, hire NFL coaches, and purchase tiered rating level card packs of NFL players to add to their rosters. It was retired on 14 May 2013, while replaced with Madden NFL '13 Social, which retired on September 2, 2013.

The Sims Social

The Sims Social is a Facebook addition to the Sims franchise. This game was taking place in a fictional town called Littlehaven. In The Sims Social, players create their own 'Sim', or character, which they can customise. They can then interact with the Sims of their friends, decorate their home, advance their Sim in their dream job and develop romantic relationships. The game often taking some inspirations based on famous public figures such as Lady Gaga and Elvis Presley. Unlike other The Sims games, only one NPC was introduced and can interact with player's "sim", whom is Bella Goth.

On February 9, 2012, The Sims Social won the Social Networking Game of the Year award at the 15th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards and February 15, 2012, the game was nominated for best online browser game by the British Academy Video Game Awards - a subsidiary of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. It was announced on April 15, 2013 that the game would be retired on 14 June 2013, however it was retired on 17 June 2013 instead.

SimCity Social

SimCity Social is a city building game which allow you to build city and it was partnered with Maxis. This is the Facebook game version of the SimCity franchise. It was announced on April 15, 2013 that the game would be retired on 14 June 2013, however it was retired on 17 June 2013 instead.

Playfish Cash

Players were eligible to buy "Playfish Cards" at Walmart, Walgreens, and Toys 'R' Us stores. Once redeemed on the Playfish website, players earn "Playfish Cash" (PFC) to spend on virtual goods in games.

Prior April 19, 2011, all active Playfish games used a uniform premium currency called "Playfish Cash", and among players it is often called PFC. Playfish Cash can be used for all Playfish games in one. Nowadays, the premium currency has changed into individual cash types for each game.^[16]

Marketing

In August 2011, Playfish was confirmed as the official shirt sponsor of the newly formed, supporter owned English football club AFC Rushden & Diamonds.^[17]

Notes

References

External links

• Official Playfish website
• Playfish forum