gamerDNA.com | The Blog

We made a very exciting announcement today. 360voice.com will become a big part of our strategy going forward–and the best part is that we get to work with some terrific people. Steve and Trapper have built some great technology, a great site, and have some ideas you’ll see taking flight within the network within the near future.  Here’s the actual release, hot off the wire:

—

GamerDNA Acquires 360voice.com

Expands management team and adds Xbox to growing videogaming platform

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.–April 28, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE)–GamerDNA announced that it completed the acquisition of It Can Talk Inc., owner of the popular Xbox community website 360voice.com. The Xbox 360 is a popular videogame console with an installed base of over 18 million units, and the 360voice.com website is a community that serves this audience. 360voice.com had the unique advantage of being an early member of the Microsoft XCDP (Xbox Community Developers Program), which enabled it to create software that “autoblogs” about an Xbox owner’s gameplay, and allows players to challenge each other in competitions for real prizes.

“We’re building out a platform for the videogame market, unified by the idea of a consistent gamer identity that you can carry with you across an open network of gaming communities,” said Jon Radoff, CEO of GamerDNA.

The founders of It Can Talk Inc. will relocate to Cambridge, Massachusetts, where they’ll continue as part of the GamerDNA team. Trapper Markelz, CEO of It Can Talk, will become the VP of Products for GamerDNA.

“With GamerDNA, we’re creating the platform for a gamer’s identity,” said Trapper Markelz. “Using technology we created at 360voice.com, we’ll be feeding your achievements and experiences into a gaming history you can express throughout the Web.”

It Can Talk is the second acquisition made by GamerDNA. In November 2006, the company acquired Uberguilds, a network of popular MMORPG community websites.

“Video-gaming communities need new ways of exciting gamers—things that actually enhance the entertainment value of games,” explained Michael Dowling, CEO of Interpret LLC, a California media and market research firm. “360voice has crafted a unique set of experiences for Xbox owners. Bringing similar experiences to other gamers will extend the reach of GamerDNA to millions of potential customers.”

About GamerDNA Inc.

GamerDNA is building a community for the millions of people around the world who are passionate about the immersive, engaging experiences that can be found through games. Based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, GamerDNA is funded by Flybridge Capital Partners and led by a team of online media and computer games veterans from Eprise, New York Times Digital and Electronic Arts Mythic. More information is available at: http://www.gamerdna.com.

Today we announced that we closed on some funding to allow us to expand upon everything we’ve built with GuildCafe.com. We’re excited about the possibilities before us–we’ll be building a platform for bringing together gaming communities and games across all types of genres and platforms; a place where the memories and stories of your gameplay will be preserved forever.

Here are a couple news organizations that carried the news:

• GigaOM
• Interview in Xconomy

I’ve included a copy of our official press release below.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

GamerDNA Launches New Brand with $3 Million in Series A Financing

Bringing the world together through games

CAMBRIDGE, MA, April 18, 2008 — GamerDNA Inc. announced that it completed a $3 million Series A financing led by Flybridge Capital Partners. The company, previously known as GuildCafe Entertainment Inc., will use the funds to expand product development, open new offices in Cambridge’s Central Square, and launch GamerDNA.com — a community that allows videogame players to join forces with friends, share their stories and discover what’s happening in the games they love.

According to DFC Intelligence, the size of the global videogame market is expected to reach $47B by 2009. The scale and diversity of the gaming market demands a platform and genre-neutral community that encompasses all types of games and gamers. The expanded community will draw upon many of the best features of the company’s MMORPG (massively multiplayer online roleplaying game) oriented website, GuildCafe.com.

“GuildCafe.com taught us a lot about the MMORPG market, and now we’ll use that knowledge to expand beyond it,” said Jon Radoff, GamerDNA’s CEO. “Our team consists of devoted gamers. The most exciting aspect of this expansion is that we’re building the gaming community we’ve always wanted to join.”

GuildCafe.com (a website devoted to organizing groups within MMORPGs like World of Warcraft and Guild Wars, as well as clan-based multiplayer games such as Halo and Call of Duty) will continue as a separate site, and be improved with new features the company is developing under the GamerDNA brand. GamerDNA.com is currently in closed-beta, but available to previously registered members of GuildCafe.com.

“Great companies are built by people who really understand their customers,” said Jon Karlen, general partner of Flybridge Capital Partners and a member of GamerDNA’s Board of Directors. “We’re excited about building a place for gamers, led by a team of seasoned entrepreneurs who are also avid gamers themselves.” The company had previously received $600,000 of seed funding from Flybridge Capital Partners in July 2007.

About GamerDNA Inc.

GamerDNA is building a community for the millions of people around the world who are passionate about the immersive, engaging experiences that can be found through games. Based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, GamerDNA is funded by Flybridge Capital Partners and led by a team of online media and computer games veterans from Eprise, New York Times Digital and Electronic Arts Mythic. More information is available at: http://www.gamerdna.com/

About Flybridge Capital Partners

Flybridge Capital Partners is an early-stage venture capital firm whose mission is to assist entrepreneurs in growing innovative, global companies. With $560 million under management, the firm is focused on investing in consumer, healthcare and information technology markets and is led by a team with domain expertise and more than half a century of combined experience in venture capital. For more information, visit www.flybridge.com.

I took a break from GuildCafe for a couple hours on Thursday morning–I was invited to give a lecture at WPI on entrepreneurship. For my talk, I decided to put together a list of ten things to speak about. You can watch me on video or view the PowerPoint deck containing my list of ten things to think about when starting a company.

The most “controversial” point I listed was “Avoid the unhappy and unlucky,” based in part on one of the more enlightened elements of the recent book The 48 Laws of Power, by Robert Greene. I think it’s true that good companies are built by passionate optimists who love what they’re doing. Such people are naturally happy, and the “luck” they’ve experienced is just a manifestation of their hard work.

I think WPI is doing a great job of educating students on some of the more exciting areas of computer science, and their Interactive Media and Game Design department is producing some great students. If at least one person walked away from my talk feeling inspired to get involved with a startup, then I feel like it was worth it.

Scott Kirsner is a technology journalist for the Boston Globe, the New York Times and Wired–and lately he’s been doing a lot of reporting on the newer startups around Boston. He just included GuildCafe on his “Cool Half-Hundred” list. I know a bunch of the other companies on the list, and its exciting to be in such great company. You can view the whole list at: http://www.innoeco.com/2008/04/innovation-economys-cool-half-hundred.html

GuildCafe was chosen today for the AlwaysOn Northeast 100, which is a list of a hundred technology companies in the northeast United States that are up to cool things. It’s an honor to be included! Here’s what the editor of the AlwaysOn Network had to say about it:

“For the first annual elite Northeast 100 list we surveyed more than 500 venture investors, investment bankers, and technology insiders, who nominated hundreds of companies to determine the Northeast 100 winners,” said Tony Perkins, Founder and Editor, AlwaysOn Network. “Each of the Northeast 100 winners had to demonstrate leadership among their peers in the following areas: innovation, market opportunity, commercialization, media buzz, and stakeholder value creation. We congratulate them all on this great honor!”