PlayFirst Raises $5 Million in Series B Financing: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance
PlayFirst Raises $5 Million in Series B Financing - Yahoo! Finance
SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- PlayFirst, Inc., the leading full-service publisher of popular games, today announced that it has raised $5 million in its Series B financing round led by Rustic Canyon Partners. Existing investors, including Mayfield Venture Partners and Trinity Ventures, also joined the round. Nate Redmond from Rustic Canyon will join PlayFirst's board of directors.
'The casual games market is experiencing rapid growth and digital distribution has fundamentally changed the business model for content creators,' said Redmond. 'PlayFirst stood out as a company that is playing a leading role in this emerging category, combining deep industry expertise with technological innovation and an unwavering focus on great gameplay. With a number of new, innovative content models in development, PlayFirst is in position to continue to shape the direction of this dynamic space.'
The proceeds from the financing will increase PlayFirst's ability to respond to overwhelming demand for high quality, mass market games. According to a comprehensive report by market research firm, DFC Intelligence, North American casual gamers spent $241 million on downloadable games in 2005 and are expected to spend as much as $1.7 billion by 2009. PlayFirst plans to use the funding to expand its portfolio of award-winning games, roll out new technologies and increase its global reach and distribution.
'The opportunity for PlayFirst as a full-service publisher is tremendous,' said John Welch, president and CEO, PlayFirst. 'We provide independent game developers with funding, market intelligence, technology, and access to a large market of consumers across multiple platforms. For portals and other retail outlets, we deliver a pipeline of crowd-pleasing, mass market games with dependable quality. We play a critical role in the marketplace and are pleased to be recognized for our accomplishments by this top tier group of investors.'"
SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- PlayFirst, Inc., the leading full-service publisher of popular games, today announced that it has raised $5 million in its Series B financing round led by Rustic Canyon Partners. Existing investors, including Mayfield Venture Partners and Trinity Ventures, also joined the round. Nate Redmond from Rustic Canyon will join PlayFirst's board of directors.
'The casual games market is experiencing rapid growth and digital distribution has fundamentally changed the business model for content creators,' said Redmond. 'PlayFirst stood out as a company that is playing a leading role in this emerging category, combining deep industry expertise with technological innovation and an unwavering focus on great gameplay. With a number of new, innovative content models in development, PlayFirst is in position to continue to shape the direction of this dynamic space.'
The proceeds from the financing will increase PlayFirst's ability to respond to overwhelming demand for high quality, mass market games. According to a comprehensive report by market research firm, DFC Intelligence, North American casual gamers spent $241 million on downloadable games in 2005 and are expected to spend as much as $1.7 billion by 2009. PlayFirst plans to use the funding to expand its portfolio of award-winning games, roll out new technologies and increase its global reach and distribution.
'The opportunity for PlayFirst as a full-service publisher is tremendous,' said John Welch, president and CEO, PlayFirst. 'We provide independent game developers with funding, market intelligence, technology, and access to a large market of consumers across multiple platforms. For portals and other retail outlets, we deliver a pipeline of crowd-pleasing, mass market games with dependable quality. We play a critical role in the marketplace and are pleased to be recognized for our accomplishments by this top tier group of investors.'"
