Spent the better part of the last two days at Casual Connect - a conference dedicated to the casual gaming space.
Lots of people in attendance and overall a lot of energy in the space. I was happy to see that mobile games is getting a lot of attention and the Movaya team had a number of great meetings with current and future partners.
Unfortunately, I wasn't able to attend many of the sessions, or the parties. One session that I had hoped to drop in on was a special Q & A with RealNetworks CEO, Rob Glaser.
As readers of this blog may know, I spent 10 years at Real and they are now a partner of Movaya's. Real is a big player in casual gaming (RealArcade, Gamehouse, Mr. Goodliving) and is in the process of spinning out their games group into a separate entity.
John Cook of the Seattle PI does a brief write-up on the session with Rob that you can read here. Glad to see that Rob is bullish on mobile games:
"...Meanwhile, mobile games have been relatively slow to take hold, primarily due to the merchandising challenges. But Glaser thinks that may change with the introduction of the iPhone, for which his company recently created a new "South Park" game. Even though the iPhone accounts for just one percent of all handsets, he hopes that it will help spark "indirect energy" for mobile games on other devices..."
Showing posts with label Rob Glaser. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rob Glaser. Show all posts
Friday, July 25, 2008
Thursday, May 08, 2008
RealNetworks to Spin Off Games Business
RealNetworks announced today during their quarterly report that it plans to spin of its games business into a separate company, with the possibility of an initial public offering.
RealNetworks is a leader in the casual games industry worldwide, with a vertically integrated development, publishing, licensing, distribution and retail business. Their games business started on the PC but over the years has expanded into mobile as well, where they are now a top 10 mobile game publisher in the US.
In the first quarter of 2008, RealNetworks' (NASDAQ:RNWK) games business revenue rose 33% from the first quarter of 2007 to $31.8 million. For 2007, games revenue was $108.5 million, up 26% over 2006.
"RealNetworks was a pioneer and has been a leader in the casual games industry since we introduced RealArcade in 2001," said RealNetworks Chief Executive Rob Glaser in a news release. "We believe that spinning off our casual games business will give it the best opportunity to continue to flourish and lead."
The company anticipates that spinning off its casual games business will result in two more flexible and focused companies. In addition, the separation will provide the games business an "industry-specific currency" for future acquisitions and enhance its ability to attract and retain the best talent in the industry.
RealNetworks is a leader in the casual games industry worldwide, with a vertically integrated development, publishing, licensing, distribution and retail business. Their games business started on the PC but over the years has expanded into mobile as well, where they are now a top 10 mobile game publisher in the US.
In the first quarter of 2008, RealNetworks' (NASDAQ:RNWK) games business revenue rose 33% from the first quarter of 2007 to $31.8 million. For 2007, games revenue was $108.5 million, up 26% over 2006.
"RealNetworks was a pioneer and has been a leader in the casual games industry since we introduced RealArcade in 2001," said RealNetworks Chief Executive Rob Glaser in a news release. "We believe that spinning off our casual games business will give it the best opportunity to continue to flourish and lead."
The company anticipates that spinning off its casual games business will result in two more flexible and focused companies. In addition, the separation will provide the games business an "industry-specific currency" for future acquisitions and enhance its ability to attract and retain the best talent in the industry.
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