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Playphone
Company typePrivate
IndustryMobile phones
Social gaming
FoundedFebruary 6, 2003 (2003-02-06)
FounderRon Czerny
Headquarters
San Jose, California
,
United States
Area served
Global
Key people
Ron Czerny (CEO)
Number of employees
3
ParentGungHo Online Entertainment
WebsitePlayphone.com

Playphone is a mobile gaming platform founded in 2003[1] (merged and re-incorporated in 2006)[2][3] headquartered in San Jose, California that provides direct-to-consumer mobile content distribution.[4] It is funded by Menlo Ventures, Cardinal Venture Capital, and Coral Capital Management,[5] and is a subsidiary of GungHo Online Entertainment.[6]

History

Playphone was founded on February 6, 2003 by Ron Cznerny in Campbell, California, later moving to San Jose.[7][8] The company initially sold pre-paid phone cards offering two mobile games, two polyphonic ringtones, and two wallpaper options. Early partners included Digital Bridges, offering access to game titles including Lara Croft Tomb Raider, and Disney's The Lion King.[9]

In September 2006, Playphone raised $9.1 million dollars in Series B funding from Menlo Ventures and Cardinal Venture Capital.[5] That same month, Playphone partnered with RealNetworks to launch a subscription-based service providing more games, ringtones, and wallpapers for mobile phones.[10]

In May 2007, Playphone secured Series C funding of $18.75 million dollars from Scale Venture Capital, which was used to facilitate expansion into Latin America.[11][12]

In May 2008, Playphone acquired Pitch Entertainment Group, a London-based mobile content distributor founded by David Warburton.[13] The acquisition of Pitch enabled Playphone to expand into 20 countries across Africa, Asia and Europe.[14] In June, Playphone partnered with Cellufun[15] to provide mobile content to its users. Later that year, the company partnered with UK-based Top Up TV to showcase its mobile content in a Playphone-branded TV channel[16] and signed new distribution agreements with Virgin Mobile USA[17] and Cincinnati Bell.[18]

In 2009, Playphone expanded a previous partnership with media optimization developer Vantrix. As part of the expansion, Playphone integrated the Vantrix Storefront Optimizer into their operations to sell content in the Asian mobile market.[19]

In October 2010, Playphone announced the launch of a new mobile social gaming platform for smartphones and tablets called Playphone Social.[20] The first game with support for the platform was launched in June 2011- an Android port of their popular iOS game, Playphone Poker.[21]

In August 2011, Playphone declared a partnership with Perfect World, a Chinese-based mobile gaming company, to distribute the developer's games on Playphone Social.[22] That December, Playphone commercially launched their new gaming network,[23] the Playphone Social Gaming Network. To compete with other publishers such as OpenFeint and Ngmoco, Playphone’s new platform featured cross-platform multiplayer in addition to its social elements.[24]

In March 2012 Playphone acquired SocialHour, a mobile social marketing firm, to strengthen their mobile marketing and distribution expertise in support of the growth and development of the Playphone Social Gaming Network.[25]

Playphone’s first carrier app store – Games Portal on Verizon – launched in 2013, coming preloaded on multiple Android devices.[26]

In 2015, Playphone launched its store on the now-defunct CyanogenMod mobile operating system.[27] Later that year, Japanese publisher GungHo Online Entertainment acquired 70% of Playphone’s shares, making it a subsidiary of the company. The acquisition was undertaken in order to expand the reach of both companies into mobile markets in southern Asia.[6][28] By late 2018 GungHo had removed any mention of Playphone at its old url, playphone.com.[29]

References

  1. ^ "ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION OF Playphone, Inc". Secretary of State of the State of California. February 6, 2003. Archived from the original on April 19, 2023. Retrieved April 19, 2023.
  2. ^ "CERTIFICATE OF MERGER OF PLAYPHONE, INC. WITH AND INTO PLAYPHONE MERGER SUB, INC". Secretary of State of the State of California. November 1, 2006. Archived from the original on April 19, 2023. Retrieved 19 April 2023.
  3. ^ "STATEMENT AND DESIGNATION BY FOREIGN CORPORATION". Secretary of State of the State of California. November 16, 2006. Archived from the original on April 19, 2023. Retrieved April 19, 2023.
  4. ^ Marek, Sue (July 15, 2003). "Renegade firms fish for more revenue: as entertainment content grows in popularity, a few firms are flexing their own muscles and circumventing the carriers to get their products into the hands of consumers". Wireless Week. Archived from the original on June 11, 2014. Retrieved July 31, 2012.
  5. ^ a b "PlayPhone Secures $9.1 Million in Series B Financing". Wireless News. September 1, 2006. Archived from the original on April 14, 2016. Retrieved July 31, 2012.
  6. ^ a b "PlayPhone, Inc.の株式の取得（子会社化）に関するお知らせ" (PDF) (in Japanese). GungHo Online Entertainment, Inc. October 29, 2014. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 19, 2023. Retrieved April 19, 2023.
  7. ^ "STATEMENT OF INFORMATION". Secretary of State of the State of California. January 24, 2005. Archived from the original on April 19, 2023. Retrieved April 19, 2023.
  8. ^ "STATEMENT OF INFORMATION". Secretary of State of the State of California. March 22, 2006. Archived from the original on April 19, 2023. Retrieved April 19, 2023.
  9. ^ Marek, Sue (September 1, 2004). "Selling content through kiosks & cards: the wireless phone may be the primary purveyor of mobile games and ringtones, but some retailers are exploring alternative ways for consumers to buy content". Wireless Week. Archived from the original on June 11, 2014. Retrieved July 31, 2012.
  10. ^ "RealNetworks Launches RealArcade Mobile Content Site with PlayPhone". real.com. RealNetworks. September 13, 2006. Archived from the original on September 2, 2007. Retrieved September 9, 2012.
  11. ^ "PlayPhone Secures $18.75 Million in Series C Funding". Wireless News. May 11, 2007. Archived from the original on March 8, 2016. Retrieved July 31, 2012.
  12. ^ "PlayPhone Expands Mobile Media Brands and Content to South America". Wireless News. May 29, 2007. Archived from the original on March 9, 2016. Retrieved July 31, 2012.
  13. ^ Duryee, Tricia (May 11, 2008). "Playphone will merge with Pitch Entertainment to get global reach". MocoNews.net. Archived from the original on September 25, 2012. Retrieved July 31, 2012.
  14. ^ "PlayPhone Goes Global". Wireless News. May 11, 2008. Archived from the original on April 9, 2016. Retrieved July 31, 2012.
  15. ^ "PlayPhone and Cellufun Sign Pact". Wireless News. June 18, 2008. Archived from the original on January 25, 2013. Retrieved July 31, 2012.
  16. ^ Kemp, Ed (September 2, 2008). "Top Up TV signs PlayPhone deal". www.campaignlive.co.uk. Haymarket Media Group Ltd. Archived from the original on April 13, 2023. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
  17. ^ "PlayPhone Partners With Virgin Mobile USA". Wireless News. July 8, 2008. Archived from the original on April 9, 2016. Retrieved July 31, 2012.
  18. ^ "PlayPhone and Cincinnati Bell Wireless Ink Content Deal". Entertainment Close-up. Close-Up Media, Inc. November 25, 2008. Archived from the original on March 8, 2016. Retrieved July 31, 2012.
  19. ^ "PlayPhone Joins with Vantrix to Leverage Storefront Optimizer to Support Expansion into Asia". Entertainment Close-up. October 12, 2009. Archived from the original on November 16, 2018. Retrieved July 31, 2012.
  20. ^ "PlayPhone launches mobile social gaming platform". Telecomworldwire. October 14, 2010. Archived from the original on November 18, 2018. Retrieved July 31, 2012.
  21. ^ "PlayPhone[R] Launches Hugely Successful iPhone Poker Game on Android Market". Telecommunications Weekly. NewsRX. June 1, 2011. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved April 18, 2023.
  22. ^ "PlayPhone enters into strategic agreement with online game developer and operator Perfect World". Telecomworldwire. Normans Media Ltd. August 26, 2011. Archived from the original on April 6, 2016. Retrieved April 18, 2023.
  23. ^ Takahashi, Dean (December 13, 2011). "Exclusive: PlayPhone launches its smartphone social gaming network". GamesBeat. VentureBeat. Archived from the original on December 6, 2022. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  24. ^ Takahashi, Dean (March 19, 2012). "PlayPhone enables instant multiplayer across Android and iOS devices (Exclusive)". GamesBeat. VentureBeat. Archived from the original on April 14, 2023. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  25. ^ Takahashi, Dean (March 16, 2012). "PlayPhone buys mobile marketing firm SocialHour for $51.5M (exclusive)". VentureBeat. Archived from the original on November 27, 2022. Retrieved April 18, 2023.
  26. ^ Mlot, Stephanie (March 26, 2013). "Verizon Pre-Loading Games Portal App on Android Devices". PCMAG. Ziff Davis, LLC. Archived from the original on September 23, 2021. Retrieved April 20, 2023.
  27. ^ "Playphone Announces Distribution Partnership With Cyanogen". Financial Express. The Indian Express. June 13, 2015. Archived from the original on April 20, 2023. Retrieved April 20, 2023.
  28. ^ Takahashi, Dean (January 21, 2015). "PlayPhone uses deal with GungHo to expand its mobile game network to Asia". GamesBeat. VentureBeat. Archived from the original on April 20, 2023. Retrieved April 20, 2013.
  29. ^ "Building the next generation of mobile gaming". GungHo. Archived from the original on 29 December 2018. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
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