Comments on: Club Penguin to sell to Sony?

By: Wolfe

Wolfe — Fri, 18 May 2007 13:55:19 +0000

Mmm, I guess its Sony and SOE but still. They must expect to become a heavy trendsetter in youth culture to gain from such a massive expense.

By: Wolfe

Wolfe — Fri, 18 May 2007 08:30:16 +0000

Isnt this a bit like trying to improve the size of the worlds biggest anthill by digging it up and plating it in more fertile soil?

A fun experiment with low probability of success. Its almost as if SOE is a genre the way Danc writes. You expect them to do things, you expect their users to be a certain type of player. When expectations dont match you end up in that inbetween zone where no one is happy.

By: Cyanbane

Cyanbane — Thu, 17 May 2007 05:15:51 +0000

@Nabeel:

Is this going to Sony Online (MMOs) or Sony Computer (PS3) or Sony Pictures (Happy Feet)? The future for Club Penguin is very different depending.

I have a feeling that will be all in the same soon. Sony is like the deathstar, they need to coordinate all their lasers into one to target xbl. I assume someone had that thought a few years ago and it/has been in the making for quite a while.

By: Nabeel Hyatt

Nabeel Hyatt — Thu, 17 May 2007 03:48:18 +0000

Some quick thoughts:
- They were built on a server that costs less than $5,000. It’s not about technology, it’s about community
- Their growth rate outstrips their closest competitor, Habbo, and I think this is partly because they have much more overt game mechanics
- Is this going to Sony Online (MMOs) or Sony Computer (PS3) or Sony Pictures (Happy Feet)? The future for Club Penguin is very different depending.
- This isn’t an overnight success story… oh, this is really turning into it’s own post. Off to the blog (I’ll through a trackback Raph)

By: brinking - nabeel hyatt

brinking - nabeel hyatt — Thu, 17 May 2007 03:47:00 +0000

Club Penguin’s $450m “overnight success”…

Club Penguin is rumored to be in talks with Sony for an acquisition in the range of $450m, paidContent says it’s more than a rumor. These guys pulled in $60m in revenue last year, are still growing fast, and have been chased by just about every tier o…

By: Darniaq

Darniaq — Thu, 17 May 2007 01:50:21 +0000

I love the speed of the ‘net on this one. My own take (edited cross-post from F13):

- It could be a way for any Sony group to get into the more social worldy type MMOs.
- Could be a way for Club Penguin to grow to heights as yet unheard. A few guys in a vertical company versus BIG HUGE COMPANY and all the dollars/perks that go with it. CP was only going to get so big on its own, cute and interesting and garage-y-ness aside.
- That it could end up in other Sony groups beyond SOE is interesting. Could be like the Viacom/Maplestory vs MTV/Virtual Laguna Beach thing. SOE focuses on traditional sub-based time-sinky games while another Sony group extends into new business models and audiences.
- There’s such a low overhead for a game like this, the PS3 could easily handle it. While cooking and cleaning.

By: Tajah

Tajah — Thu, 17 May 2007 01:39:02 +0000

I’m really curious as to what Sony’s game plan is. One almost gets the impression they’re gearing up The Station to compete with XBox Live kind of market.

By: Sean Bulger

Sean Bulger — Thu, 17 May 2007 00:45:19 +0000

You know, after the SOE purchase of Sigil the very recently, I can’t help but find this amusing, regardless of the actual implications.

But, onto the more serious side of the topic, that is rather interesting. I really can’t see Sony holding onto that charitable-side, as you commented on, but, hopefully that could be preserved somehow. If nothing else, at least part of that half billion might find itself sent to various charities.

By: Techmeme

Techmeme — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

+ Discussion: Futuristic Play, Hitchhiker’s Guide to 650, BeyondVC and Raph’s Website