![]() | |
Company type | Private |
---|---|
Industry | Video games |
Founded | 2004 |
Founders |
|
Headquarters | , |
Key people |
|
Products | Casual game |
Owner | Electronic Arts |
Parent | Glu Mobile |
Website | PlayFirst.com |
PlayFirst, Inc. is a Delaware based American publisher of casual games founded in 2004 by industry veterans. PlayFirst produced the Diner Dash series, which won the 2008 Annual Casual Game Awards. [2] and has seen over 550 million downloads. [3] [4] The popularity of Diner Dash series prompted spin-off series like Wedding Dash and Cooking Dash. The company’s game portfolio also includes the retro-style strategy-based Chocolatier series, [2] and the adventure/hidden object-mixing Dream Chronicles series. [2]
From 2005 to mid-2011, PlayFirst have released 72 casual games for PC and Mac, counting extra 7 Collector's Editions and Strategy Guides, thus they have 79 games in total in their game categories.
PlayFirst’s biggest commercial success was its first game, Diner Dash , which was released for the first time on PC/Mac platforms in late 2004. Diner Dash was initially developed by Gamelab, a New York-based casual game developer, under a multi-title publishing agreement with PlayFirst. The success of Diner Dash with game critics and gamers prompted PlayFirst to release four sequels in the following years: Restaurant Rescue (2006), Flo on the Go (2006), Hometown Hero (2007), and the fifth BOOM! in 2010.
PlayFirst has also published Diner Dash across multiple platforms, including PC, Mac, iPhone, iPad, Facebook and consoles DS, Xbox, and Wii. PlayFirst games are available on more than 500 sites in 20 languages.[ citation needed ]
Spin-off series and games Wedding Dash (2007), Cooking Dash (2008), and Hotel Dash (2009) were released. However, they mostly earned lukewarm receptions from game critics and gamers.[ citation needed ]
Other non-Dash PlayFirst games includes the three-part, retro-style strategy-based Chocolatier series, [2] which was released during 2007 and 2009 in collaboration with Big Splash Games. The five-part, adventure/hidden object-mixing Dream Chronicles series was another highlight in PlayFirst's portfolio. [2] Dream Chronicles was released during 2007 and 2011 in collaboration with KatGames.
In October 2010, PlayFirst announced a focus on the mobile and social market after raising $9.2 million from investors, and cancelled releasing further casual games in the near future. PlayFirst's forays into the social gaming market have proven unsuccessful, as low user counts forced the company to cancel all of its Facebook games, Diner Dash and Chocolatier, not long after launching them. [5]
As of late 2010, the company employed more than 100 workers, but laid off an unspecified number of its employees in early December 2011 due to "restructuring". Other social games veterans who joined the company in late 2010 from Playdom and Zynga have also left; however, PlayFirst claims the layoffs will not change its emphasis on the mobile market. [5]
On October 8, 2012, PlayFirst emailed its subscribers informing them that the company will cease the production of PC and Mac games and move to a new website since November 12, 2012. The email read, "We have established a firm position as one of the leading producers for iOS mobile applications and are currently working on implementing our games into the Android marketplace," and that current games in its catalogue will still be available for purchase on the third party websites like Big Fish Games and GameHouse.
On September 3, 2014, PlayFirst was acquired by Glu Mobile. The official statement from Glu Mobile CEO, Niccolo de Masi, read "We are pleased to officially add PlayFirst to the Glu family and look forward to delivering new DASH products to a worldwide audience," [6]
Playground SDK is PlayFirst's game engine. It is discontinued.
Glu Mobile LLC is an American developer and publisher of mobile games. It was founded as Sorrent in 2001 and acquired Macrospace in 2004. Both companies collectively rebranded as Glu Mobile in 2005. In April 2021, the company was acquired by Electronic Arts.
A casual game is a video game targeted at a mass market audience, as opposed to a hardcore game, which is targeted at hobbyist gamers. Casual games may exhibit any type of gameplay and genre. They generally involve simpler rules, shorter sessions, and require less learned skill. They do not expect familiarity with a standard set of mechanics, controls, and tropes.
Diner Dash is a strategy and time management video game initially developed by Gamelab and published by PlayFirst. It is now owned and published by Glu Mobile. It was one of the top-selling downloadable games of all time, available in multiple platforms such as PC, Mac, consoles, and mobile.
Aliasworlds Entertainment is a casual game developer based in Minsk, Belarus. The company was founded in 2001 and released its first game, Gold Sprinter, in 2002.
Gamezebo is a website which reports on and reviews video games. Founded in 2005 by Joel Brodie, it was billed as the first website to solely cover casual games and expanded its scope to social games in 2009. After being acquired by the causal game company iWin in 2016, Gamezebo was redesigned and expanded its coverage to PC games. Gamezebo is based in Walnut Creek, California.
Mystery Case Files is a video game series originally developed by the internal studios of Big Fish Games. Some installments were developed by Eipix Entertainment between 2015 and 2019 and Elephant Games who developed sequels from 2013 to 2014. The newest installments were developed by GrandMA Studios. The Mystery Case Files series is known for its hidden object puzzles where, in order to progress through a game, the player plays the role of a Master Detective and must find a certain number of items hidden somewhere on a painted scene.
Chocolatier is a casual strategy video game with action game elements, developed by American studio Big Splash Games and published by PlayFirst. The game was released for download on May 1, 2007, and was followed by a CD-ROM release on September 27, 2007. Players assume the role of a young chocolatier, who must navigate 14 cities around the globe while buying ingredients, manufacturing chocolate confections, and selling them to chocolate shops. Two modes of play are available: in story mode the player must rebuild an almost-bankrupt chocolate empire and acquire 64 chocolate recipes from around the world; in free mode players start out with scant resources and must become successful chocolatiers.
indiePub Entertainment, Inc. was a publisher of video games based in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States.
Dream Chronicles is a 2007 adventure, hidden object, and puzzle casual game developed by KatGames and published by PlayFirst. It is the first installment in the series.
Alawar Entertainment is an international developer and publisher of video games for PC, mobile platforms, games consoles and other devices. Founded in Novosibirsk, Russia, it is based in Lewes, Delaware, United States. Its main areas of activity are mid-core games for experienced players, as well as casual downloadable and F2P games for PC, MacOS, IOS, Android, PlayStation (console), Xbox, social networks, and other platforms.
Boomzap Entertainment is a casual games developer registered in Singapore with a virtual office environment. It was formed in 2005 and has released 50 games to date that are ported on various platforms. Boomzap has developed for Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, Nintendo DS, Wii, iOS, and Android. Its games are available on games portals such as Big Fish Games, Yahoo!, WildTangent, GameHouse, Google Play, Amazon, iTunes, Steam and others.
Dream Chronicles 2: The Eternal Maze is a 2008 adventure, hidden object, and puzzle casual game developed by KatGames and originally published by PlayFirst. It is the first sequel to 2007's award-winning game Dream Chronicles, also the second installment in the Dream Chronicles series, plus the middle part of the first trilogy called Faye's Journey.
Dream Chronicles: The Chosen Child is a 2009 adventure and puzzle casual game developed by KatGames and originally published by PlayFirst. It is the third installment in the Dream Chronicles series, the second sequel to 2007's award-winning game Dream Chronicles and also the last part of the first trilogy called Faye's Journey.
Dream Chronicles: The Book of Air is a 2010 adventure and puzzle casual game developed by KatGames, originally published by PlayFirst. It is the fourth installment in the Dream Chronicles series, the third sequel to 2007's award-winning game Dream Chronicles, and the opening part of the second unfinished trilogy titled Lyra's Destiny.
Dream Chronicles, first released in 2007, is a series of adventure, hidden object and puzzle casual games. It was created by Miguel Angel Tartaj for KatGames and published by PlayFirst. It's also the name of the first game in the series.
Dream Chronicles: The Book of Water is a 2011 adventure and puzzle casual game developed by KatGames and originally published by PlayFirst. It is the fifth installment in the Dream Chronicles series, the fourth sequel to 2007's Zeebys-winning game Dream Chronicles, and the middle part of the second unfinished trilogy titled Lyra's Destiny.
Melsoft Games is a Lithuanian video game developer focusing on casual mobile games. The company was founded in Belarus in 2008, and later opened offices in Cyprus and Lithuania. It was acquired by Israeli mobile video game developer Moon Active in December 2020.
Awakening is a casual hidden object puzzle adventure game series developed by Boomzap Entertainment and published by Big Fish Games. In order to progress through each game, the player must solve puzzles and find hidden objects. It is available on PC, Mac, iPhone and iPad platforms. The games are released in several languages with both Standard Editions and Collector's Editions, the latter including additional features.
Plarium Global Ltd. is a video game developer, publisher and subsidiary of the Australian gambling machine manufacturer Aristocrat Leisure. It is known for creating mobile, desktop and browser games in various genres including MMO, RPG, action, strategy, and casual.
Animal Jam Classic, formerly known as Animal Jam, is a massively multiplayer online game that is developed by WildWorks and recommended for kids up to the age of 12. It was launched in 2010, in collaboration with the National Geographic Society. As of late 2020, there were 3.3 million monthly active users and a lifetime total of 130 million registered players in 200 countries across both Animal Jam Classic and Animal Jam.
{{cite web}}
: |author=
has generic name (help)