SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwire - March 11, 2010) - Today, CyberAgent, Inc. announced the launch of Ameba Pico, a new virtual community that combines gaming, social networking and virtual goods, tightly integrating it into the Facebook environment. Ameba Pico is the first English language offering from CyberAgent and is based on Ameba Pigg, one of the most popular and successful virtual worlds in Japan. In the Japanese market, Ameba Pigg attracted millions of users in its first year and now generates seven-figure revenues per month due to strong virtual currency transactions. During a short beta period, Ameba Pico accumulated nearly 100,000 users in three days.
Ameba Pico allows users to create custom avatars and explore different virtual scenes, as well as visit storefronts selling virtual goods. Ameba Pico also aims to bridge the gap between the anonymity of virtual worlds and social network profiles by allowing users to click through to the Facebook profiles of the users they interact with in the community.
At launch, Ameba Pico users can create highly customized avatars using over 2,000 facial patterns, along with a range of virtual items to dress up their avatars, decorate their rooms and more. Once they're in the game, users can easily find Facebook friends, chat with friends and other users inside the game and go on missions to collect and give rewards. In the months following the launch, Ameba Pico will integrate gaming and partnerships from companies offering virtual goods for users to buy for their avatars.
"Ameba Pico is a whole new way for people to interact with their social networks and the people in their social graphs," said Toshimichi Namba, president and CEO of CyberAgent, Inc. "It's a safe environment for people to have fun with friends on Facebook, meet new people, play games and hang out. CyberAgent is excited to bring our successful model of social networking to the United States."
About CyberAgent America, Inc.
CyberAgent America, Inc. was established in February 2008 as a fully owned subsidiary of Tokyo-based CyberAgent. With our extensive networks and over 10 years of experience in the Japanese internet industry, CyberAgent America is in a position to forge Japanese internet services in to American market, taking advantage of synergies between the CyberAgent group.
Contact Information:
Press Contacts:
Corey Lewis or Jason Throckmorton
LaunchSquad
(415) 625-8555
pico(at)launchsquad(dot)com