Posts Tagged ‘habbo hotel’

Habbo Hotel publisher Sulake cuts staff, tests facebook app

Monday, December 21st, 2009

Sulake, the Finland based publisher of virtual world Habbo Hotel has recently let 28 staff members go. Originally discussed back in October, the company planned to reduce staff by 20%, or around 40 jobs. Obviously, plans were altered, as the final number ended up being 12 persons short of this original projection. Sulake communication specialist Jahani Lassila commented that the current restructuring and cuts have, “dramatically improved profitability.”

However, according to articstartup.com, some Sulake staff members have chosen to leave by their own accord (perhaps the missing 12?), and that the internal atmosphere at Sulake is somewhat less than joyous.

However, on the other side of the coin, Sulake has announced that they’re actively working on adapting their popular teen title Habbo Hotel to a facebook ready application. Signaling their true commitment to the project, Sulake has also recently integrated a Facebook login options with all global Habbo Hotel sites. In doing so, Sulake has effectively removed the hurdle of joining the virtual world, as the registration process is greatly streamlined.

Habbo

The United Kingdom Facebook crowd has first dibs on the Habbo Hotel integration. Sulake is currently testing the project on Facebook UK, but not limited usage to UK users alone. To have a go at Habbo Hotel on Facebook, head on over and see how close it is to the stand alone version. Personally, if I didn’t know that this platform was on Facebook, I’d believe I was playing a ‘regular’ version of Habbo.

While Sulake has yet to release any information about when they’ll release the project to the global Facebook community, but not limited who and who can not use the app, chances are that they’re already in the middle of a soft launch.

 

Over 100,000 happy campers worldwide at CampFu

Wednesday, April 29th, 2009

NYC based Rebel Monkey has recently announced that they’ve surpassed the 100,000 registered players mark in their Casual MMO CampFu.  Launched only in February of 2009, clearly CampFu is on to something special, not only attracting, but engaging and retaining users.  Rebel Monkey reports that they have users from every continent except Antarctica, encompassing 110 countries around the globe, with users spending on average over 60 minutes on site both playing games and socializing with other users.

logoNaturally, as will most virtual worlds, CampFu offers users a wide variety of online activities and features including a virtual CampGround, chat, hundreds of virtual goods and avatar costumes, but what truly sets them apart from the crowd is their innovative real-time co-op games.  This co-op gaming experience leads to a natural formation of teams and alliances that carry over outside the games and into the social area, the CampGround.

“CampFu is a fun and fresh online hang-out that is different from anything else out on the market,” said Margaret Wallace, CEO of Rebel Monkey. “Players have really responded to the look of our avatars and that you can actually use your avatars inside of the games in real-time – unlike a lot of online multiplayer sites out there where avatars are usually relegated to the sidelines.”

Another interesting aspect of CampFu is the user demographics.  It’s very difficult to call CampFu a ‘youth’ virtual world, but it’s also not quite a ‘hardcore’ gamer virtual world.  Spanning the masses is one of the keys to CampFu’s success.  Some arrive headed straight to the games, while others simply enjoy the social networking and community aspect of CampFu.  Globally, there are an estimated 231 million casual gamers worldwide, with 180 of them estimated to partake in virtual worlds such as Club Penguin or Habbo Hotel.  Given these numbers, and CampFu’s wide reaching appeal, Rebel Monkey and CampFu stand at a very interesting crossroads that could eventually see them skyrocket to the top of the virtual world scene.

Powered by the company’s own Monkey Wrench multiplayer gaming platform, CCO Nick Fortugno states, “if you want to play as a group with your avatars inside of a real-time casual gaming environment, you are really only going to find that at CampFu.  Expect more kinds of real-time co-op games to come – exploring deeper levels of team play and collaboration.”

Rightly so, Rebel Monkey is doing a bit of celebrating this week, and sharing the love with these 100,000 registered users.  They’ll be launching new parts of the CampFu CampGround, along with a full site re-design.  If that wasn’t enough to keep current and future users coming back for more, Rebel Monkey has also slated a number of new co-op games, social networking features, and avatar and cabin customizations later this spring.

If you’ve not done so already, head on over to CampFu.com and see what’s got over 100,000 registered users entertained and coming back for more.

 

IMVU earning $1m per month with micro transactions

Tuesday, July 22nd, 2008

IMVU has been flying under the radar for the past few years, while quietly amassing a small fortune with micro transaction and embedded banner ads.

Since April 2004 IMVU has gathered 20 Million accounts with 600,000 of those functioning as active monthly users.  To compare this, Second Life managed to acquire 550,000 active monthly users over 5 years.

IMVU generates 90% of it’s revenue via micro transactions that focus on spending in game currency, and 10% from banner ads.  CEO Cary Rosenzweig commented that this averages out to around $1.66 a month per active user.  VC Jeremy Liew estimates that market hotspots Habbo Hotel and Club Penguin average around $1.33 – $1.66.

What’s for sale in IMVU?

With a demographic of 60% female/60% US based users, most of the top selling micro transaction based articles focus around avatar clothing, accessories and other character objects.  Participants make the items themselves with tools like Maya and Blender, and then make them available via the IMVU online shop.  .  IMVU then takes a small percentage cut of these sales and the rest goes to the seller.  IMVU is also a bit more relaxed about users selling items on third party sites, as it ultimately drives traffic and usage back to the MMO itself.

A block of 1000 in game credits cost the end user $1.

With user created items, IMVU is never short on a fresh supply of unique and new content.  “It’s my personal belief there’s maybe in the order of dozens who are doing this for a living,” Rosenzweig said. “Perhaps hundreds who are doing it for spending money.”

While IMVU is clocking these impressive numbers, they still remain in ‘beta’ since 2004.  Perhaps they’re just taking queues from Gmail?