Live Gamer

Live Gamer
Private
Industry E-commerce, Payments, Advertising
Founded 2007
Headquarters New York, USA
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Andrew Schneider (President)
Mitch Davis (CEO)
Products Elements
Pay+
Engage
gamerDNA
Website www.livegamer.com

Live Gamer is an e-commerce and monetization SaaS company headquartered in New York.[1] It facilitates transactions in digital goods for online gaming, digital entertainment and technology providers globally.[2] In the second quarter of 2015 the company sold its microtransactions engine and rebranded itself as Emergent Payments emphasizing its shift from gaming e-commerce to the broader market for digital payments around the world. It also sold its microtransactions business to focus fully on online payments.[3]

History

Live Gamer was founded by Mitch Davis and Andrew Schneider in 2007.[4][5] Schneider currently serves as the company's president[2] while Davis is CEO. The company provides monetization services to businesses in the interactive entertainment industry via its Elements platform. Till now emergent payments has raised over Live Gamer also handles advertising through its GamerDNA network.[4]

As of June 2013, Live Gamer has raised more than $35 million in venture capital funding.[6][7]

This company has been rebranded to Emergent Payments as of June 2015.[3]

Acquisitions

Live Gamer ventured into e-commerce in 2009 when it acquired Korean micro-transaction company, N-Cash. The N-Cash was employed by 100 games in 23 different countries.[1] N-Cash was later rebranded to Live Gamer Asia. That same year Live Gamer also acquired Twofish, another micro-transaction platform.[5] Both acquisitions resulted in considerable expansion of Live Gamer's commerce solutions.[8]

Live Gamer subsequently acquired BrandPort and gamerDNA in 2011,[9] acquisitions which also led to the formation of Live Gamer Media.[10] BrandPort was later rebranded as Ad Elements, an advertising unit through which Live Gamer permits gamers to earn virtual currency.[10] GamerDNA is a social media gaming platform. In 2011 comScore rated gamerDNA as the fifth largest gamer ad network in the United States and Europe.[2][9][10]

Partnerships and customers

Live Gamer clients include Sony Online Entertainment,[6][10] Facebook, EMI, Condé Nast Publications,[4] Take-Two Interactive and Electronic Arts, among others.[10]

In 2011 Facebook announced its partnership with Live Gamer which would give developers in 13 additional countries access to additional payment methods and making Facebook Credits available to developers in virtually every country.[11][12]

Initially used exclusively within the gaming industry, the Elements platform is now also used in the digital entertainment industry and by other enterprises. In total, the platform is used by approximately 145 gaming titles with access in over 23 countries.[2]

References

  1. 1 2 Takahashi, Dean (28 July 2009). "Live Gamer acquires N-Cash to deliver "one-stop shop for virtual goods"". Retrieved 11 August 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Pullen, John Patrick (5 August 2010). "How Mafia Wars can fix the media". CNN Money. Retrieved 26 July 2013.
  3. 1 2 Unknown, Unknown (2 June 2015). "Live Gamer Re-Launches as Emergent Payments". Yahoo Finance. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  4. 1 2 3 Elliot, Stuart (6 March 2012). "Taking a Page From the Web, Magazine Pitches a Social Game". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 July 2013.
  5. 1 2 Rao, Leena (24 August 2009). "Virtual Gaming Marketplace Live Gamer Acquires Twofish To Boost Micropayments Platform". Retrieved 11 August 2013.
  6. 1 2 Kafka, Peter (21 February 2008). "Live Gamer-Sony Deal: $10 Million?". Retrieved 26 July 2013.
  7. "Live Gamer Lands $2,789,672 New Funding". Retrieved 1 August 2013.
  8. Alexander, Leigh (24 August 2009). "Interview: Live Gamer Beefs Virtual Economies Offering With Twofish Acquisition". Retrieved 11 August 2011.
  9. 1 2 Takahashi, Dean (July 19, 2011). "Live Gamer acquires Brandport and GamerDNA as it moves into games ads". Retrieved 28 July 2013.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 Ha, Anthony (19 July 2011). "Live Gamer Gets Into The Ad Business Virtual goods startup buys into the market with new acquisitions". Retrieved 27 July 2013.
  11. Duryee, Tricia (15 June 2011). "Updated: Facebook Credits Goes Global With Additional Support in 13 Countries". Retrieved 26 July 2013.
  12. Cheng, Loren (15 June 2011). "Facebook Credits: New Payment Methods and Workflows Extend Global Reach". Retrieved 26 July 2013.

External links

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