GameHouse Inc.is an Americancasual gamedeveloper,publisher,digital video game distributor,andportal,based inSeattle,Washington,United States.It is a division ofRealNetworks.
 | |
| Company type | Division |
|---|---|
| Industry | Video games |
| Predecessor | RealArcade |
| Founded | 1998[1] |
| Founders | Ben Exworthy Garr Godfrey |
| Headquarters | , |
| Services | Online and offline video game development, publication and distribution |
| Parent | RealNetworks |
| Website | www |
GameHouse distributes casual games for PC and Mac computers, as well as for mobile devices such as phones and tablets (on bothiOS(iTunes) andAndroid(Google Playand theAmazon Appstore)).
GameHouse offers 2,300+ online and downloadable games, consisting of both in-house produced titles (such as the Delicious series) and third party games.
History
editGameHouse was founded by Ben Exworthy and Garr Godfrey[2]in 1998.[3]
The first downloadable game developed by the company wasCollapse!,a game similar toSameGame.[4]In 2003, company revenues topped $10 million ($5.5 million net).[5]In 2004, GameHouse was acquired byRealNetworksfor $14.6 million cash and about 3.3 million RNWK shares, then estimated at $21 million.[5]
After the acquisition, the GameHouse studio continued operations as a developer, while its games were distributed via RealNetworks, and the GameHouse game portal continued to operate alongside the RealArcade gaming service.
On November 3, 2009, RealArcade had announced they are merging with GameHouse to create a large distribution platform. Such plans include migrating the accounts of users from RealArcade, offering discounts and special offers to GamePass members and new social community opportunities.[6]The merger was completed on November 13. As a result, all customers visiting the RealArcade website are redirected to Gamehouse. By 2010, RealArcade Mobile was rebranded as GameHouse.[7]
Locations
editGameHouse's main offices are in Eindhoven, the Netherlands. The company also has studios in Barcelona and Alicante (Spain). GameHouse has been working on developing their own original story games such as the Delicious series and Zylom. In collaboration with Blue Giraffe, it launched Delicious: Emily's Christmas Carol in December 2016.[8]The company continues to release multiple story-driven time management games per year on mobile while maintaining Zylom and GameHouse websites on which they publish games by other developers too.
Zylom is part of the Gamehouse Studios Europe which operate the main GameHouse properties globally.[9]
RealArcade
editRealArcade(FormerlyRealOne Arcade) was a gaming service run byRealNetworksthat sold casual-style computer games to individual users.[10]Its purpose was to let users download demo versions of games, and optionally buy the full versions.[11]
Sales model
editRealArcade distributes games on a time-limited demo basis.[citation needed]Each game downloaded has a trial time of 60 minutes unless differently specified by each publisher. Once the trial time expires, users are required either to uninstall the game from their computer or to purchase the full version of the game. Users can also subscribe to a RealNetworks service called GamePass. For a monthly fee, it offers a free ownership of a single game of their choice per month at no additional fees and $5.00 off each game purchase.[12]
References
edit- ^"Company Overview of GameHouse, Inc".bloomberg.RetrievedOctober 11,2017.
- ^Loughane, E (2005).Net Success Interviews.Lulu. p. 201.ISBN978-1411626980.
- ^"GameHouse, Inc.: Private Company Information - Bloomberg".bloomberg.RetrievedOctober 11,2017.
- ^Dbritto, Simran (January 1, 2022)."Looking For Great Games? You, Will, Find Them On Gamehouse! Try Any Game Free Or Get Unlimited Access To All The Games You Love From Your Favorite Genres".IWMBuzz.RetrievedMay 3,2022.
- ^ab"RealNetworks, Inc. - Acquisition History".realnetworks.Archived fromthe originalon April 4, 2016.RetrievedAugust 29,2015.
- ^"RealArcade announces Gamehouse Merger".Archived fromthe originalon July 15, 2011.RetrievedNovember 6,2009.
- ^Jordan, Jon (March 2, 2010)."RealArcade Mobile rebranded as GameHouse on carrier decks".pocketgamer.biz.RetrievedMay 3,2022.
- ^Tyrsina, Radu (December 10, 2016)."Delicious: Emily's Christmas Carol is a fun cooking game for Windows PCs".Windows Report - Error-free Tech Life.RetrievedMay 3,2022.
- ^"Privacy Policy".
- ^Mossberg, Walter (September 11, 2003)."Gore-Free PC Games Can Help While Away Those Senior Moments".The Wall Street Journal.Archived from the original on January 30, 2024.RetrievedJanuary 30,2024.
{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^Ryan, Michael E. (January 8, 2001)."PC Magazine Reviews: RealArcade".RetrievedDecember 14,2008.
- ^"GamePass by RealArcade".Archived fromthe originalon October 10, 2008.RetrievedDecember 14,2008.
