GigaMedia Limited

GigaMedia Limited is a major provider of online entertainment software and services. GigaMedia develops software for online entertainment services, including the global online gaming market. GigaMedia's FunTown game portal is a leading Asian casual games portal and the world's largest online MahJong game site in terms of revenue. GigaMedia operates the EverestPoker.com poker site.

GigaMedia Limited
Public
Traded asNASDAQ: GIGM
IndustryOn-line MMORPG, Casual Games, and Casino games
Founded1998
FounderChester Koo
HeadquartersTaipei, Taiwan
Key people
Mr. John Stringer, CEO
Revenue$54.6 million USD Q1(2008)
$12.9 million USD Q1(2008)
$12.1 million USD Q1(2008)
Number of employees
501 (2007)
Websitegigamedia.com.tw

History of GigaMedia

Founded by Chester Koo and Raymond Chang in October 1998,[1] GigaMedia was incorporated in September 1999 as a company limited by shares organized under the laws of the Republic of Singapore, and completed an initial public offering of its shares on NASDAQ on 24 February 2000.

Under new management in 2004, GigaMedia began to restructure.

  • In April 2004, GigaMedia acquired the business and operations of Grand Virtual, Inc. and related affiliates, a privately held entertainment software developer and application service provider, through Cambridge Entertainment Software Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary.
  • In September 2005, GigaMedia sold all of its ownership interest in the Rose Records and Tachung Records music store chains in Taiwan to sharpen focus on online entertainment software and services.
  • In January 2006, GigaMedia acquired FunTown, the world's largest online MahJong game site by revenue and a leading Asian online casual games portal with approximately 5 million registered users.
  • In March 2006, GigaMedia entered into a strategic alliance with online community blog site, Wretch. According to market rankings from independent industry source Alexa.com, Wretch is one of the most popular sites on the Internet in terms of daily traffic.
  • In May 2006, GigaMedia entered an exclusive partnership with and strategic investment in online casual games company T2CN Holding Limited. T2CN is a leading online sports casual game operator in China with over 21 million registered users.
  • In December 2006 GigaMedia entered into a strategic alliance with Infocomm Asia Holdings Pte Ltd, an operator and distributor of online games in Southeast Asia.
  • In December 2006, GigaMedia entered into a licensing agreement with a subsidiary of the PM Media Group, an online entertainment provider, through which GigaMedia has licensed certain of its gaming software.
  • In May 2007, GigaMedia Licenses Hit SEGA Game, the latest sequel to No.1 RPG series Phantasy Star.
  • In June 2007, GigaMedia formed a strategic alliance with SoftStar Entertainment Inc. (also known as SoftStar consulting) and made an initial investment of NT$60 million (or approximately US$1.8 million) for the acquisition of 10 million convertible preferred shares of SoftStar. SoftStar is a games design house and online game operator in Taiwan. SoftStar has announced plans in 2005 for Xbox 360 game development.
  • In September 2007, GigaMedia secured an exclusive license to offer and operate the hot new massively multiplayer online role-playing game Holic, in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau.
  • In November 2007, GigaMedia and Electronic Arts signed an agreement for the operation of highly anticipated Online Game NBA Street Online.
  • In December 2007, GigaMedia announced a strategic partnership with and investment in hot game development studio XLGames Inc headed by Jake Song, the creator of The Kingdom of the Winds - one of the world's first MMORPGs, and Lineage - the most popular online game franchise in history.
  • In December 2007, GigaMedia announced a strategic partnership with and investment in leading game development studio Neostorm Holdings Limited, one of the largest independent game developers in South Korea.
  • In 2008, GigaMedia announced online Pachinko for the Japanese market.[2]
  • In January 2008, GigaMedia signed an exclusive license from Electronic Arts to offer and operate Warhammer Online in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau.
  • In August 2008, GigaMedia sold its ISP business to China Network Systems for $20 million in cash plus up to $5 million over the next two years.

FunTown

A subsidiary of GigaMedia, FunTown is one of the leading casual game platforms in Asia, with approximately six million registered users and a wide variety of casual games, including the world's largest MahJong platform in terms of revenue. FunTown generates revenues through access fees and also through the sales of various in-game items. It was founded in 1998 by the Acer computer company. They are based in Greater China, with offices in Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.

FunTown's casual games are designed for players of all levels of skill and experience, from the complete beginner to the “Game Master.” FunTown also provides services, such as game clubs for players, tournaments related to FunTown's online casual games, and social networking. The company's software allows users to create their own online persona – offering players a wide selection of clothing, styles, icons and other elements to individualize a player's online look.

FunTown's games can be played on personal computers, mobile phones, airplane entertainment consoles and will be available on the Xbox 360 in Taiwan in 2006. FunTown has developed nearly all games in-house.

Everest Poker

Everest Poker is a multilingual online poker cardroom owned by GigaMedia Limited. In August 2012, it was announced that Everest would join the iPoker network.

Everest Poker offers online tournaments and ring games in both play and real money formats, as well as both web-browser and download client platforms (Windows-only).

Everest Poker was the sole poker-related table sponsor of the 2008 World Series of Poker and the 2009 World Series of Poker. The Everest Poker logo was located on the "felt" of every table in the competition. They also had other prominent on-site visibility at the WSOP, including hanging banners and barricade logos.[3]

Antoine Saout, who finished third on 2009 World Series of Poker Main Event qualified to the event by Everest Poker satellite.

Notes
  1. Li, Yifei (14 May 2001). "25 Rising Stars". Fortune. Retrieved 25 January 2017.
  2. JanPachi Kaikan Archived 2008-09-05 at the Wayback Machine
  3. Everest Poker Secures Key Multi-year World Series of Poker Agreement
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