GAMES | Roman Nouzareth | Boonty | CAFE.COM

Good Interview from Jeremy Liew from Lightspeed Venture Partners

Jeremy Liew, Managing Director at Lightspeed Venture Partners, has been thinking about social games for a long time. Recently, he moderated a panel at Web 2.0 Expo San Francisco called Games 2.0 (slides here). During Web 2.0, I spoke with Jeremy about his vision for social gaming and how he characterizes the space.

Inside Social Games: Jeremy, you’ve been writing about social gaming for longer than most. What’s your vision for the growth of this space?

Jeremy Liew: I don’t have a vision really - that’s not my job. VCs are better critics than writers. I just want to do a decent job of recognizing great visions when I see them.

If you look at churn rates on social applications, most of them just do not have enough to keep users engaged. As a whole, games offer a meaningfully lower churn rate - meaningfully better retention - allowing the shape of that curve to be better.

The low cost of viral user acquisition, greater long term user retention, and interesting but not yet proven opportunity for digital goods monetization decouples you from the math that it takes to get revenues from high volume, low CPM page views, like we see in so many other applications.

Inside Social Games: So where are we in the evolution of social gaming?

Jeremy Liew: I think we’re pretty early in this. SGN and Zynga are delcaring victory, but a lot of innovation is yet to come.

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Free Yellow Cab tomorrow thanks to Mario...

To celebrate the launch of Mario Kart Wii Nintendo will send commuters racing through New York City when Mario treats unsuspecting resident to a free cab ride tomorrow.

Mario is in New York to promote Mario Kart Wii, which launches on April 27th and will be packaged with the Wii Wheel accessory. The game also introduces a host of new courses, vehicles and battle arenas, plus the ability to compete online with drivers from around the world using a Wi-Fi connection.

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Technorati Tags: Free online games, Roman Nouzareth

Sue Costello is fun...

... and she thinks me and my best buddy are hot... Nice... (I am thrilled!)

I am Carrie Bradshaw
April 3, 2008 at 9:43 am · Filed under Life In General

Oh my Gawd… What a night… what a birthday and funny as a i write this “My song is on KTU” “High energy” this guy pugsy who used to be all jacked up on perquisites used to sing this to me growing up. lol Anyway, yesterday was my birthday and i spent day feilding emails and calls from tons of people who saw me on the Barbra Walters special. Such kind words about how funny i was and how great i looked. I mean could i be more grateful for all the love???? One of the emails was from my friend who owns a restaurant in the meatpacking district, she said she was jealous that i was going to the Waverly inn for dinner and she was off to the Soho house. I told her i met an adorable advertising guy at the Soho house and dated him for a while her in NYC and in LA. I get dressed for dinner, in my Jimmy choo boots, my Prada coat and my Bottega Veneta bag and off we go. I got a resi at the Waverly Inn on account of I know the bartender. Actually i know them both, but i didn’t know that until i got there. So, we get there and have to wait a few minutes for our table so we shimmy over to the bar to say hi to the boys. They make me the fuzziest birthday drink and then these two hot french guys turn to me and ask if i would like an oyster. I have never eaten an oyster before this but i figured what the hell you only live once. I told them i tried a sardine in the south of France once and they say they are not even close. So they hand it to me and all I can think was “Sue please don’t gag on it and throw up on them!” You know how you do that you say f*ck it I’m gonna live out loud. But then you realize it’s actually too much for your own inhibitions. (actually I was telling another Friend yesterday about how i did

More: http://www.suecostello.com/blog/?p=27

Cafe.com - Community Gaming Like You’ve Never Played Before - Free site offers engaging ways to make friends and enjoy head-to-head casual games.

NY, NY, April 3, 2008 --  Cafe.com today announced the opening of its social online games site, Cafe.com, offering casual gamers a place to Play, Win, Meet, and have fun all within a friendly, safe, social environment.  The free games site features more than 50 highly addictive casual games wrapped inside a social networking experience.

Cafe.com stands apart from other online gaming efforts with its emphasis on:

• Deluxe line-up of top-produced casual games, some familiar, others never-played before
• Web 2.0 social networking features including communications, community and security controls
• MiniMe 3D avatars that can be customized to match your persona or turn you into someone completely different
• Real-time multi-player action (from 2 – 6 simultaneous players), along with single-player games
• Virtual in-game “boosts” that enhance game play and add a level of strategy and skill that is unrivaled

Cafe.com is also about friendships, old and new.  Inviting friends and family is quick and painless with an import tool that brings in address books, buddy lists and Facebook, MySpace, Bebo and Hi-5 contacts.

And, making new friends has never been easier or more fun.  Cafe.com brings members together with a range of search and discovery tools, including find friends near by, find friends who have similar games interests, and find friends who are online.  Combined, they make discovering new friends almost as much fun as teaming up with them, or competing against them. 

Pointing to the rise in social networking, Cafe.com CEO, Roman Nouzareth explains, “Cafe.com integrates the best aspects of social networking centered around great game play.  In the end, we’re only as good as our games and we see that as one of our game winning advantages.  Over our 7 years of industry experience, we have learned the right ingredients that go into making a fun casual game. Cafe.com offers something for everyone.  And, when you combine great games and a friendly, competitive and collaborative social platform, a new entertainment medium is born.”

Cafe.com is also ushering in a game changing business model -- micro-transactions.  Micro-transactions allow members to purchase game Boosts, as well as additional MiniMe outfits, accessories and even expressive movements and gestures.  Online games based on micro-transactions have become hugely popular in Asia and is beginning to catch on in Europe and in the US.  Cafe.com represents the cutting-edge for micro-transactions, where it is an integral part of the gaming experience and seamlessly integrated throughout the community. To fuel the micro-transactions are Cafe Coins, the accepted Cafe.com currency.  All new members receive 10,000 Cafe Coins.  In the near future, the site will also host online gaming tournaments and offer virtual gifts.

The company is continuously adding new titles to its growing slate of web and downloadable casual games. Cafe.com is offering game developers Open Game and Platform APIs along with developer support to spur innovation.  The community gaming service is aggressively signing up world-class developers to create new, compelling games for the platform.

Cafe.com is the brainchild of Boonty, one of the largest casual game platforms in the world.  The company’s vast experience in the production, distribution and marketing of casual games has helped them to advance the new social gaming paradigm.  Cafe.com has been under development for more than two years.  The site is targeting the primary casual gaming audience, which is 50% women, 60% over 26 years old, as well as the Gen-Y youth market with its free service.

About Cafe.com
Cafe.com is all about having fun, meeting new people and playing great casual games.  Under development for more than two years, the Free Online Game site brings a Web 2.0 community and social networking environment to casual gamers of all ages.  The site allows for unique ways to make new friends and include existing ones.  Cafe.com is the brainchild of Boonty, a leading casual games platform and largest independent online distributor.

About Boonty
Boonty is one of the largest casual games platforms in the world, operating in more than 25 countries. Since its launch in 2001, the company’s customized end-to-end solutions have been implemented by major publishers, Internet portals, ISPs, mobile phone operators, advertisers, Internet communities, and PC manufacturers globally. Boonty has offices in New York, Paris, Singapore, Tokyo, and Beijing. Boonty.net

Additional Resources:
Video on You Tube: Youtube.com/CafeGames
Pictures on Flickr: Flickr.com/cafegames
Cafe.com site: Free Online Games

PR contact:  
Richard Krueger
rkrueger@cafe.com
Cafe name: kruman
(212) 784-9273

Cafe.com Announces At-Home Cafe Service - Introducing the Cafe.com Cafe!

The perfect compliment for the perfect games!



Due to popular demand, cafe.com is expanding to include live coffee-house service -- in the convenience of your own home! Use your cafe coins to purchase fresh cofee, delicious biscotti, & decadent lattes, and we'll deliver them to your home for free!

Boost that beverage! Available power-ups include:
Whole Milk
Cream
Sugar
Whip cream
...And more!

Play games and raise your score to unlock more tasty boosts, like cinnamon, vanilla, and low-fat milk!
Complete menu to come!

Play now! Click Here: Free Online Games