Two VCs invest in Kreeda

IDG Ventures and SoftBank China & India Holdings have invested in Kreeda Games, a company focused on massively multiplayer online games (MMOGs). The investment is learnt to be less than $10 million. The VCs bring international experience to Kreeda — IDG’s portfolio includes VinaGames, a gaming company in Vietnam, while SoftBank has invested in the South Korea-based Gravity.

Planned revenue streams are monthly membership subscriptions, hourly charges, in-game advertising and in-game item sales. The revenue model would depend on each game. Their first game, Dance Mela, is free to sign up and play.

The VCs and Kreeda’s CEO quote the success stories from China and Vietnam to underline their belief in the Indian market. The Chinese market for MMOGs grew from $1 million in the first year to $80 million by the end of the second year. Within six years, he says, the Chinese market touched $1 billion. IDG has experience in Vietnam where a million subscribers were introduced to MMOGs within a year.

(Source: ET)

ESPN acquires Cricinfo

In a major sports media merger, leading broadcaster ESPN has acquired pioneering cricket website 'Cricinfo'.

"Growing our business in the on-line world is vital for us to serve sports fans. Cricinfo is a tremendous property with a great fan base and it will be a strong addition to ESPN," Russell Wolff, managing director of ESPN International, said in a statement on 'Cricinfo' on Monday."

Cricinfo has developed into a significant cricket brand in its own right, combining huge global popularity with strong commercial success. ESPN is a major sports broadcaster and international rights holder and will provide the perfect environment for Cricinfo to further realise its enormous potential," Mark Getty, director of the Wisden Group which owns the website, said.

Cricinfo had its inception in 1993 as an on-line community of cricket fans supplying cricket-related information on a voluntary basis.

(Source: Economic Times)