Video game maker Electronic Arts Inc. is indeed serious in their move to online gaming. Just last week, the company released a version of their game “Spore” on Facebook. Now, it announced the acquiring of Playfish Inc. for $275 million – in cash.
That’s not all too. According to EA, besides the $275mil upfront cash, it will also pay an additioncal cash sum up to $100 million contingent on Playfish hitting certain financial targets up to December 2011 AND additional $25 million in equity-based retention agreements with employees.
Playfish Inc., creator of social networking games like “Pet Society” and “Who Has the Biggest Brain”, distributes its games for free. They earn by selling virtual items for the games instead. For instance, in Pet Society, as much as 21 million monthly players on Facebook, MySpace, the iPhone and other platforms purchase stuff for their virtual pets.
Source: http://tech.yahoo.com/news/ap/20091109/ap_on_hi_te/us_electronic_arts_playfish
