Microsoft, probably the biggest and the leading multinational computer technology corporation that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports computer software, is reported to be indulging on talks with CrowdStar. The social game company, CrowdStar, is behind the hit Facebook games, Happy Aquarium and Know-it-all Trivia. Microsoft is said to be planning its big entry into the world of social games.
A week after Microsoft announced that it will bring Zynga games to its online properties, such as MSN and Windows Messenger, Bloomberg Business Week has reported that Microsoft has already expressed its intent to purchase CrowdStar for $200 million. Microsoft is already engaging in talks with the social game company. It is said that a deal may be made in a few weeks. $200 million is a staggering number but is roughly half the amount that the publishing giant, Electronic Arts, paid for Playfish.
CrowdStar may not be as popular as Zynga or Playfish. (Zynga is responsible for making Facebook fanatics go gaga over games such as Farmville and Mafia Wars while Playfish created a craze with their games such as Pet Society and Country Story.) It can still be considered as a great investment since it ranks fourth among the biggest developers on the social networking site. Its hit game Happy Aquarium is actually ranked as the sixth most popular game. In addition, CrowdStar has only been in this business for two years but this fall, it was able to gain $1 million per month profit.
Representatives from both companies remain mum about the reported talks. Meanwhile, Microsoft has expressed that they would not comment on rumors or speculations.
