Google is looking to get into the gaming world in a major way. Becoming the latest big budget firm to heavily endorse Facebook-related products, Google has invested between $100 and $200 million in social-games maker Zynga (Mafia Wars, Farmville). Adding that to the estimated $300 million the developer has already received this year in additional […]
Hiroshi Yamauchi, former President of Nintendo (during its transition from toy-makers to game-makers,) was known for his brutal work ethic and rare eccentric gaff, but due to a recent investment, his image may have softened a bit. Yamauchi donated the full amount needed (7.5 billion yen/$83 million) to build a new cancer research hospital in […]
The Media Development Authority (MDA) of Singapore’s federal government recently announced a financial incentive boost on internal film and video game development, hoping to “[place] an emphasis on projects that are internationally-marketable and scale across media platforms.” Games in particular received 20 million Singapore dollars, roughly equivalent to $14.6 million in investment. The earmarked funds […]
Despite the explosions of browser-based, iPhone, and other social/casual gaming fronts bringing in a literal flood of cash into the video game economy, financial agency VentureBeat has released a report showing overall investment in the industry was down in 2009. Zynga’s recent investment of $180 million tipped their scale to a slightly higher mark, but […]