Playdom

Walt Disney Co. made a bold bet on social networks as an emerging entertainment platform Tuesday by agreeing to acquire gaming company Playdom Inc. for $563.2 million. Playdom is among the largest makers of online social games, which allow players to organize mock mafia hits, coordinate sorority soirees or play other games on networks such as Facebook and MySpace. The deal positions Disney to capitalize on a segment of the video game industry that's rapidly expanding. "There's a huge growth opportunity happening in the marketplace that we weren't really playing in in any significant way," said Steve Wadsworth, president of the Disney Interactive Media Group.

Warner Bros. and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer have invested in social games producer Kabam, marking the first move by Hollywood studios in the space since Walt Disney Co. acquired Playdom for $563 million two years ago. Unlike competitors such as Zynga that target casual players, Kabam goes after more hard-core players with games on Facebook, smartphones and tablets. First known for original games such as "Kingdoms of Camelot" and "Dragons of Atlantis," Kabam has in the last year started working on licensed titles based on movies.

Two years after Walt Disney Co. merged its video game and Internet units to better coordinate the operations, the entertainment company said Sunday that it would divide the responsibilities for its Interactive Media Group under two newly appointed co-presidents. John Pleasants, a veteran new media executive who joined the company with Disney's acquisition this summer of Playdom, will oversee the games business, including online, console, social and mobile play. He will also continue to operate Playdom, the publisher of games for social networks such as Facebook and MySpace.

After its $1.5-billion take at the global box office, Walt Disney Co. is hoping to make its super-hero property "Avengers" its next major multi-media franchise alongside "Cars," 'Toy Story' and its princesses. The Burbank media giant's chief financial officer Jay Rasulo made the declaration Thursday at Goldman Sachs' Communacopia conference for its analysts and clients. An "Avengers" merchandise push will start this holiday season and continue next summer, Rasulo said, noting it would outshadow any merchandise initiatives tied to other Marvel brands, including "Thor" and "Captain America.

Walt Disney Co. is looking to become Hollywood's biggest player in the fastest-growing segment of the video game business. The Burbank media giant is in talks to acquire Playdom Inc., one of the largest makers of online "social" games, in which people play games together on social networks such as Facebook, according to people familiar with the situation. The main sticking point is price: Negotiators for Disney and privately-owned Playdom, the people said, have discussed amounts ranging from $400 million to $750 million.

Walt Disney Co. wagered that its acquisition last summer of game developer Playdom Inc. would help bring Mickey, Snow White and other familiar characters to a new generation of fans who play games on social networks. The bet has yet to pay off. Disney's $563-million investment was a key component in a broad restructuring of its interactive group intended to put the perennially money-losing division on the road to profitability. It signaled a strategic shift away from traditional console video games, to focus on emerging opportunities online and on mobile devices.

Aiming to strengthen its offerings in online gaming, Walt Disney Co. has acquired Togetherville, a social network for elementary school-age children. Togetherville seeks to mimic the experiences of social networks such as Facebook, but in a way that's protective of children younger than 10 and allows for parental supervision. The site lets children connect with their real-world friends in its virtual neighborhood. "Togetherville is very focused on trying to really reflect what the adult community has been doing on the Web and build a real online experience that adults enjoy for kids, but do it in a safe, COPPA-compliant way," said founder and Chief Executive Mandeep S. Dhillon, referring to the safeguards established by the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act. Dhillon said the acquisition, the terms of which were not disclosed, was completed Feb. 18. The Togetherville transaction is the latest digital acquisition by Disney, which in July bought social gaming company Playdom for $563 million and mobile application developer Tapulous.

Warner Bros. and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer have invested in social games producer Kabam, marking the first move by Hollywood studios in the space since Walt Disney Co. acquired Playdom for $563 million two years ago. Unlike competitors such as Zynga that target casual players, Kabam goes after more hard-core players with games on Facebook, smartphones and tablets. First known for original games such as "Kingdoms of Camelot" and "Dragons of Atlantis," Kabam has in the last year started working on licensed titles based on movies.

After its $1.5-billion take at the global box office, Walt Disney Co. is hoping to make its super-hero property "Avengers" its next major multi-media franchise alongside "Cars," 'Toy Story' and its princesses. The Burbank media giant's chief financial officer Jay Rasulo made the declaration Thursday at Goldman Sachs' Communacopia conference for its analysts and clients. An "Avengers" merchandise push will start this holiday season and continue next summer, Rasulo said, noting it would outshadow any merchandise initiatives tied to other Marvel brands, including "Thor" and "Captain America.

Japanese mobile Internet company DeNA Co., intent on establishing a broad mobile games business in the U.S., has bought iPhone game developer Ngmoco Inc. for $300 million in cash, plus an additional $100 million if the company meets undisclosed financial targets before the end of 2011. Ngmoco, founded two years ago by former Electronic Arts Inc. executive Neil Young, develops mobile games, mostly for Apple Inc.'s iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. Its titles include We Rule, GodFinger and Flick Fishing.

Walt Disney Co. wagered that its acquisition last summer of game developer Playdom Inc. would help bring Mickey, Snow White and other familiar characters to a new generation of fans who play games on social networks. The bet has yet to pay off. Disney's $563-million investment was a key component in a broad restructuring of its interactive group intended to put the perennially money-losing division on the road to profitability. It signaled a strategic shift away from traditional console video games, to focus on emerging opportunities online and on mobile devices.

Walt Disney Co. has agreed to pay $3 million to settle charges that online virtual worlds once operated by its Playdom games division violated federal rules designed to protect the safety and privacy of children younger than 13 on the Internet. The Federal Trade Commission charged that several sites, including one online virtual world targeting children called Pony Stars, illegally collected and disclosed personal information from thousands of children, in violation of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act. Some 821,000 children registered with Pony Stars from 2006 to 2010, according to the FTC. An additional 403,000 children provided their information to some of the 19 other virtual worlds operated by Playdom, including 2 Moons, 9 Dragons and My Diva Doll.

Aiming to strengthen its offerings in online gaming, Walt Disney Co. has acquired Togetherville, a social network for elementary school-age children. Togetherville seeks to mimic the experiences of social networks such as Facebook, but in a way that's protective of children younger than 10 and allows for parental supervision. The site lets children connect with their real-world friends in its virtual neighborhood. "Togetherville is very focused on trying to really reflect what the adult community has been doing on the Web and build a real online experience that adults enjoy for kids, but do it in a safe, COPPA-compliant way," said founder and Chief Executive Mandeep S. Dhillon, referring to the safeguards established by the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act. Dhillon said the acquisition, the terms of which were not disclosed, was completed Feb. 18. The Togetherville transaction is the latest digital acquisition by Disney, which in July bought social gaming company Playdom for $563 million and mobile application developer Tapulous.

Japanese mobile Internet company DeNA Co., intent on establishing a broad mobile games business in the U.S., has bought iPhone game developer Ngmoco Inc. for $300 million in cash, plus an additional $100 million if the company meets undisclosed financial targets before the end of 2011. Ngmoco, founded two years ago by former Electronic Arts Inc. executive Neil Young, develops mobile games, mostly for Apple Inc.'s iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. Its titles include We Rule, GodFinger and Flick Fishing.

Two years after Walt Disney Co. merged its video game and Internet units to better coordinate the operations, the entertainment company said Sunday that it would divide the responsibilities for its Interactive Media Group under two newly appointed co-presidents. John Pleasants, a veteran new media executive who joined the company with Disney's acquisition this summer of Playdom, will oversee the games business, including online, console, social and mobile play. He will also continue to operate Playdom, the publisher of games for social networks such as Facebook and MySpace.

The Walt Disney Co. executive who oversaw a vast expansion of the studio's online and gaming ventures, but struggled to achieve profitability, is leaving the company. Steve Wadsworth, president of Disney Interactive Media Group, sent an e-mail to his staff late Thursday, saying he had decided to leave after 11 years. He gained broad oversight of the media giant's sprawling digital operations in a 2008 reorganization, which combined the games group with the company's online operations.

In the new West Los Angeles corporate offices of Atari Inc., the desks are mostly empty and the walls are mostly bare, but there's a red neon logo in the lobby that almost anyone would recognize. It's the perfect home for the once-leading video game company, which carries a name known around the world. The company is trying to rebuild itself after years of chaos, false starts and financial losses. Most people remember Atari for helping to create the video game business in the 1970s with titles such as Pong and Asteroids, as well as the first popular game consoles that let people play at home.

The Walt Disney Co. executive who oversaw a vast expansion of the studio's online and gaming ventures, but struggled to achieve profitability, is leaving the company. Steve Wadsworth, president of Disney Interactive Media Group, sent an e-mail to his staff late Thursday, saying he had decided to leave after 11 years. He gained broad oversight of the media giant's sprawling digital operations in a 2008 reorganization, which combined the games group with the company's online operations.

Walt Disney Co. made a bold bet on social networks as an emerging entertainment platform Tuesday by agreeing to acquire gaming company Playdom Inc. for $563.2 million. Playdom is among the largest makers of online social games, which allow players to organize mock mafia hits, coordinate sorority soirees or play other games on networks such as Facebook and MySpace. The deal positions Disney to capitalize on a segment of the video game industry that's rapidly expanding. "There's a huge growth opportunity happening in the marketplace that we weren't really playing in in any significant way," said Steve Wadsworth, president of the Disney Interactive Media Group.

Walt Disney Co. is looking to become Hollywood's biggest player in the fastest-growing segment of the video game business. The Burbank media giant is in talks to acquire Playdom Inc., one of the largest makers of online "social" games, in which people play games together on social networks such as Facebook, according to people familiar with the situation. The main sticking point is price: Negotiators for Disney and privately-owned Playdom, the people said, have discussed amounts ranging from $400 million to $750 million.