Disney/Playdom shuts down all Acclaim games

Back when Playdom first acquired Acclaim Games back in May, we were surprised that the company published MMO and casual games, instead of games like Mortal Kombat. We were almost equally surprised recently to find that the company will be shutting down all of its games, leaving 15 million registered users out in the cold.

A short note on the Acclaim Games web site notes that "all Acclaim games will no longer be in service effective August 26, 2010," though as Gamasutra notes, games like RockFREE and the company's still-in-development MMO Kogamu seem to still be available. The company will be offering reimbursements for unused "Acclaim coins" virtual currency and for purchases made in the game 9Dragons over the past month.

So why purchase a company if you're just going to shut down its games a few months later? Well part of the decision might have to do with Playdom's own acquisition by Disney last month. Perhaps Playdom's new owners saw less potential in the company's games than the original purchasers did. Or perhaps both companies simply agreed that the real value in Acclaim was in its employees and its potential for future hits, not its current game catalog. In either case, It will be interesting to see what comes next for this piece of a growing social game conglomerate.

Social City: Spin to win big in the Skyscraper 2 Raffle

For those risk takers that don't mind spending a bit of real-world currency in their Facebook games, Playdom has launched a new raffle in Social City that will have you looking towards the sky.

The Skyscraper Raffle 2 offers users a chance at winning one of 17 different, mostly extremely tall buildings for use in their towns. Each spin of the raffle costs a whopping 25 City Bucks, and you're not guaranteed to receive a different item on subsequent spins, so collectors need to be aware of the money-sinking potential that this raffle actually has.

That being said, some of the items available to win are the TransAmerica Building, the Kuala Lumpur Towers, the CN Tower, and of course, many more.

If we know Playdom as well as we think we do, this raffle won't be around forever, so if you're willing to take a risk at receiving one of these buildings, it would be best to do it quickly, while it's still around.

Former Playdom exec joins OpenFeint to help in Japanese Invasion

And another falls. Yet another executive from one of social gaming's biggest companies, Playdom, has left for a competitor. This time it's Ethan Fassett, an executive producer for Playdom who is now headed to OpenFeint, a mobile games network that enjoys 90 million players, as SVP of Product, VentureBeat reports.

The Burlingham, Calif.-based mobile games platform hired Fassett to help its clients create free-to-play games using the OpenFeint network--purchased by Japanese network Gree earlier this year--on both Android and iOS devices. He'll do this by leading development on new social networking features and distribution channels to support the freebie games, according to VentureBeat.

"We're very excited to bring on Ethan, whose expertise in free-to-play games and social communities will drive product strategy and shape the evolution of the network," OpenFeint CEO Jason Citron said. "Ethan truly understands social games, the social networks they need to be successful, and the tools game developers need to properly engage and monetize their players."

Executives from major gaming companies like Playdom and EA have been leaving for potentially more lucrative ventures in the social and mobile gaming arenas. And as these two companies appear to be in a lull (though, Playdom did just launch a new ESPN-branded game), publishers from the Far East encroach on the globe, throwing around millions. DeNA and its Mobage network are competing with both Zynga and Gree for dominance in the mobile games market, and the latter just got another shot in the arm.

[Image Credit: VentureBeat]

How do you think OpenFeint and Gree play in the growing war for the mobile games market? Will Playdom and EA be able to compete as Zynga and its opponents in Japan grow exponentially?

Disney's cleaning house, Playdom's ESPNU College Town is next

Did you get the email too? Social City--um, never mind--Gardens of Time maker Playdom has announced in a mass email sent to players that ESPNU College Town will be closed for good this Dec. 20. According to the message (the game features a truncated version), Playdom feels that the game has run its course." And players already appear quite upset in the forums.

No information has been given on whether players will be able to transfer their existing premium in-game currency to another Playdom game nor whether players will be reimbursed for their money spent. And that fact seems to have players more upset than anything.

"What a waste for everyone who ever did anything with this game," player Dean, Johnstown State writes. "I'm ashamed I ever signed up. Get an email saying I was one of the game's best, well, I hate myself for the money I spent playing this POS game and what it became and, now, how it's going out."

ESPNU College Town was one of the first major branding attempts in Facebook games, which enjoyed considerable success in 2010. And, at least as far as we know, ESPNU was the first social game to receive TV advertisement. As of this writing, the game welcomes just 150,000 monthly players and 20,000 daily players, according to AppData.
ESPNU College Town Closing Notice
This is the second game this week alone to get the axe, following Social City. A lack of players is certainly the primary reason, but you can imagine that Disney is looking to make room for its upcoming Facebook games to be developed by Playdom. It looks like the company's new social games head is already hard at work.

Were you a long time ESPNU College Town fan? How do you think Playdom should handle the shutting down of these games, and do you plan on picking up any other Playdom games?