Social climber
The profile of social gaming was given a big lift yesterday with the news that the chief operating officer of one of the world's biggest games publishers has decided to jump ship in order to head up a leading social game developer.
John Pleasants leaves Electronic Arts (EA) to become CEO of Playdom, which publishes the most popular game on MySpace - Mobsters (soon to be available on the iPhone too) - and also makes games for Facebook. He oversaw EA's mobile gaming operations as well as its transition from a software to a services model.
"I'm thrilled to join Playdom," said Pleasants. "Online gaming is the fastest-growing sector of the gaming industry, and social gaming, in particular, is transforming the way people play and experience games. With its expertise understanding player behavior, Playdom is uniquely well positioned to lead the industry."
Pleasants will be replaced as EA COO by John Schappert, who left EA in 2007 to head up Microsoft's Game Studios and Xbox LIVE.
"After nearly two decades working in or around this company, I've got EA in my blood," said Schappert. "This is a team that is intensely focused on quality and innovation. I'm looking forward to rejoining EA as chief operating officer and helping grow the business on new platforms and in new markets."
