最近，休闲游戏发行商PlayFirst集资920万美元用于开发手机和社交游戏市场。同时，该公司的首席市场部专员Eric Hartness提职为社交游戏的副总裁兼总经理。

在这笔920万美元的资金中，其中520万美元来自于现有投资商Mayfield Fund, Trinity Partners, DCM和Rustic Canyon Ventures的投资；而另外的400万美元则是Comerica Bank的贷款支持。

PlayFirst表示，在过去几年对手机和社交游戏的拓展过程中，旗下的Facebook游戏月活跃用户多达80万人。而Playfish品牌的游戏在全世界各种平台上的总计玩家人数也高达4000万人。

Diner Dash

其中，PlayFirst“Dash”系列的三款游戏《Diner Dash》, 《Cooking Dash》和《Wedding Dash》都名列APP Store的增长前100名游戏中。2010年，这三款iOS游戏的玩家合计达1亿，而“Diner Dash”全系列游戏的下载数也超过5亿次。

对此，该公司的总裁兼首席执行官Mari Baker表示，“PlayFirst公司的财政状况允许我们全力专注于开发手机和社交游戏的机会，我们也能够适应市场的快速变化，及时地调整发展策略。”

同时，Mari Baker补充道，PlayFirst将运用这笔资金继续优化PlayFirst品牌，将玩家喜欢的Diner Dash等游戏推广到社交网站和手机等平台。

Hartness的升职将帮助PlayFirst公司的社交游戏开发计划。他的职责包括预测总体发展战略，执行发展计划和负责管理PlayFirst公司在社交游戏领域的发展。在加入PlayFirst以前，他曾任PlaySpan的首席营销专员和EA公司Redwood Shores游戏工作室的销售副总裁。

另外，PlayFirst也新添了几位员工，他们分别是：前Loomia/Nokia设计师Matt Levy；Playdom资深产品经理Lars Berg；Playdom/zynga资深产品经理Roxanne Gilbert；Playdom/zynga资深游戏设计师Ray Holmes和Zynga首席工程师Vamsi Prakhya 。

以上人员在PlayFirst的职位都没有发生太大变化。（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译）

Casual games publisher PlayFirst has secured $9.2 million to fund its push into mobile and social games, and has promoted chief marketing officer Eric Hartness to Social Games vice president and general manager.

$5.2 million of the company’s new cash comes from existing investors, such as Mayfield Fund, Trinity Partners, DCM, and Rustic Canyon Ventures, while the remaining $4 million represents debt financing made available by Comerica Bank.

PlayFirst notes that during its expansion into the mobile and social spaces in the past year, its Facebook game Chocolatier: Sweet Society gained more than 800,000 monthly active users — the brand has a total audience of more than 40 million players around the world and across multiple platforms.

Its “Dash” franchise has secured three spots in the App Store’s top 100 grossing games list with Diner Dash, Cooking Dash, and Wedding Dash. Those three iOS games have received over 100 million play sessions in 2010, while the entire Diner Dash series has seen over 500 million downloads.

“This financing enables us to keep our focus on the opportunities in the mobile and social gaming sectors and provides the flexibility to quickly respond to changes and opportunities as the market continues to shift rapidly,” says PlayFirst president and CEO Mari Baker.

Baker adds, “With this capital, we will continue to aggressively optimize the PlayFirst brands that consumers love, like Diner Dash, to social and mobile platforms and look for growth through partnerships and potential acquisitions.”

Hartness’ promotion will aid the firm’s social gaming plans, as his responsibilities include overseeing the overall strategy, execution, and results for PlayFirst’s efforts in that field. Before joining the company, he was chief marketing officer at PlaySpan and marketing VP at Electronic Arts’ Redwood Shores studio.

With this appointment, the publisher also added several members to its staff: former Loomia/Nokia architect Matt Levy, Playdom senior product manager Lars Berg, Playdom/Zynga senior product manager Roxanne Gilbert, Playdom/Zynga senior game designer Ray Holmes, and Zynga lead engineer Vamsi Prakhya — all will assume similar roles at Playfirst.（Source：Gamasutra）