PCH Games

PCH Games
Type Internet games lottery website
Founded 1997 (As Candystand.com) 2016 (As PCH Games)
Founder(s) Nabisco, Inc. (As Candystand.com)
Owner Publishers Clearing House
Slogan(s) Free Online Games, Sweepstakes, and Prizes!
Alexa rank Increase 649 (As of February 2016)[1]
Registration Optional
Available in English, French
Launched March 30, 1997
Current status Defunct (As Candystand.com)

PCH Games (formerly Candystand.com) is a casual game portal owned by Publishers Clearing House and based in New York City. Launched in 1997[2] by Nabisco, Inc.,[3] it was the first major advergame portal available on the World Wide Web. The site was created for Nabisco by Skyworks Interactive. In August 2008, Candystand was acquired by Funtank from the Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company.[4] Publishers Clearing House's acquisition of the property was announced in December 2010.[5]

Candystand is regarded for having a catalog of over 100+ Flash and Shockwave games. Some of its most popular games include Candystand Billiards, Monster Trucks Unleashed, Vector Tower Defense (Vector TD), Slipstream and Fancy Pants Adventure 2.

As of February 2016, PCH has inexplicably revamped the site, removing most of the games and emphasizing the lottery aspects over the games.

Key events

March 30, 1997: Nabisco, managed through its Life Savers portfolio, launches Candystand.com.

2001: Nabisco is acquired by Kraft Foods. After Kraft's acquisition of Nabisco, the tagline "The Hottest Games Online" is introduced.

Spring 2003: Candystand.com did a voting poll on what will be the 5 new flavors for the Life Savers Five Flavor variety.

February 2007: Candystand.com became one of the first free game portals to offer an interface for the Wii at Wii.Candystand.com[6]

November 2008: Candystand.com launched its first iPhone game, Blackbeard's Assault for iPhone [7]

January 12, 2009: Candystand.com launched Slipstream 2 a sequel to one of the site's most popular games, created by Silent Bay Studios.

June 2009: Candystand rebranded their website with a new layout and the new title "The Sweetest Games Online".

July 1, 2009: Candystand.com launched Let's Dance a rhythm-dance game built in collaboration with Disney and featuring Hannah Montana.

August 2009: Candystand becomes first major game portal to integrate Facebook Connect.[8]

January 2010: several Candystand games are made available on the PSP as well as the iPhone. Ported titles include Vector TD, Virble, Electric Box and Match Maker.

March 2010: Candystand partners with The Walt Disney Company to integrate Pixie Hollow, a virtual world based on the Disney Fairies and Tinker Bell, directly on the Candystand.com website.

May 2010: In partnership with Trident gum, Candystand.com created and launched a new game titled Trident Layers Factory. This game marks the first of several new games being developed for Cadbury Adams brands in 2010.

March 2016: Candystand.com has been discontinued and has been replaced by Publishers Clearing House Games which also has games at www.pch.com/games?source=candystand

References

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Wednesday, March 23, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.