The casual games space keeps getting more interesting. Digital media company RealNetworks said today that revenue from its games division rose 33 percent in the first quarter, to $31.8 million; the company also announced it will spin off its games properties, which primarily consists of cellphone titles and its RealArcade casual game site, into a separate company (see CEO Rob Glaser’s appearance on the GigaOM Show last summer). “[T]he spin off will create a pure-play casual games business with increased transparency,” CFO Michael Eggers told MarketWatch, “[and that will] result in lower complexity in understanding and tracking RealNetworks’ performance.”
If the Alexa rankings are any indication, the new company will have a long way to go before they catch up with the likes of Electronic Arts’ (ERTS) Pogo.com. The real question, however, is how does this relate to RealNetworks’ stated intent to buy Scrabulous?
I hope they go ahead with the IPO. It would be a very interesting company to keep track of. And of course, a public company would give us all some valuable information about the casual and mobile games market.