Offer-based ad network TrialPay estimates that publishers enjoyed a 5x increase in revenue through Mother's Day promotions with their social games on Facebook in the week leading up to the holiday.

The company says that publishers' "gift for mom" promotions that paired offers (e.g. online flower merchants) with free virtual goods and currency for their social games generated a total of around $1 million per day during the holiday run-up.

TrialPay notes that 40 percent of purchasers were first-time buyers in these social games, and that publishers saw more than twice as many players than usual participate in these offers during the week before Mother's Day.

The firm adds that over 40 percent of the top social games on Facebook ran Mother's Day-themed offers this year, and that those promotions reached nearly 80 million daily users as May 9th approached.

"Seasonal campaigns around holidays can present a significant source of revenue for game publishers. Mother's Day is the 2nd-largest gifting holiday in the U.S. - our study shows that social gaming companies took advantage of this opportunity to convert more of their users to paying customers," says TrialPay CEO Alex Rampell.

He continues, "Social games companies have been primarily focused on engagement and viral sharing, and they're just starting to experiment with monetization, so this is an early indicator of big things to come."

Playfish, the social game developer acquired late last year by Electronic Arts, is working with EA Sports on FIFA Superstars, an adaptation of the mega publisher's popular soccer franchise for Facebook.

Before EA purchased the London-based studio for some $300 million, Playfish was best known for producing casual titles on Facebook like Restaurant City and Playfish, the latter of which currently has nearly 17.4 million monthly active users, according to figures from AppData.

Last February, Playfish president and general manager Kristian Segerstrale hinted that the developer was working on a well-known EA brand, predicting its "rapid maturing over the next 12 to 24 months." He also noted that companies producing titles for well-known brands will soon have an advantage over those in the social games market who aren't.

EA Sports has seen tremendous success with its FIFA series on traditional video game consoles; the latest entry from the annually released franchise, FIFA 10, has sold more than 9.7 million copies worldwide since launching last October. Its planning to put out an English-language version of FIFA Online, a free-to-play PC version of the soccer game, in June 2010, too.

"Our FIFA products connect fans from all over the world who share a common passion for the sport, and soon our partnership with Playfish will allow us to bring the FIFA brand to the growing Facebook community with a new game called FIFA Superstars," said EA Sports president Peter Moore in a post on his company's blog.

He added, "Leveraging our football gaming knowledge and marrying it with the social gaming expertise of our partners at Playfish is sure to provide more great opportunities to bring hundreds of millions of new fans to compete against their friends to win the FIFA World Cup through an engaging interactive football experience."

Woozworld, a 3D virtual world targeting "tweens" (children aged 9-14), raised $3 million in a Series A financing round led by iNovia Capital and ID Capital, which it will use to spin off from developer Tribal Nova Inc. and become a standalone entity.

Montreal-based Tribal Nova incubated and launched Woozworld last December as a replacement for its previous attempt to create a virtual world for children, Kid Studio. Since then, the world has grown from 50 admin-generated virtual spaces to one million user-generated spaces, and now has more than 350,000 users.

In Woozworld, players can design virtual spaces, set up activities, manage businesses, and more. Its average users are between 9 and 14 years old and spend around 45 minutes at the free virtual world with each session (there is a paid subscription option, too). Over 70 percent of the virtual world's daily traffic is from returning users.

Woozworld plans to continue and developing the virtual world after spinning off Tribal Nova. As part of the funding, iNovia Capital's Chris Arsenault and ID Capital's Daniel Cyr will join the studio's Board of Directors.

"We are ready to take Woozworld to the next level by expanding the features offered to users, accelerating our market traction and continuing to establish our company identity," says Woozworld president and CEO Eric Brassard. "Woozworld's full potential can only be achieved by having the proper funding and a team focused 100 percent on growing the user base.

He continues, "The company's recipe uniquely blends [user generated content] enabling developments with extensive database marketing. This naturally led to Woozworld's complete autonomy and flexibility to realize its high potential and already successful plan."

Capcom, publisher of popular video game franchises like Street Fighter and Resident Evil, says it intends to enter the social gaming space and release its first title for Facebook this fiscal year.

"Gaming on social networks is poised to impact the traditional video game industry and is a presence that cannot be ignored," said Capcom's president Haruhiro Tsujimoto, according to a report from BusinessWeek. “We have to make our move.”

Headquartered in Osaka, Japan (with several branches across the world, including a U.S. arm in San Mateo, CA), Capcom is famous for its titles on traditional video game consoles, with releases for high definition systems like Super Street Fighter IV, Lost Planet 2, and Bionic Commando Rearmed 2. It also has an active mobile division and is putting out ports of its popular franchises on the iPhone.

Several major publishers of traditional video games have also made the move into the social gaming market, such as Sony Online Entertainment, Ubisoft, and Electronic Arts. The last of that group sees social gaming as a big part of its future, spending as much as $300 million to acquire Pet Society developer Playfish last year and charging the studio with adapting its beloved FIFA series for Facebook.

Other Eastern publishers are also stepping into the social space, too; late last month, Tokyo-based Final Fantasy publisher Square Enix revealed that it's working on several projects for social networking sites, which it will begin releasing this summer.

Referring to developers already entrenched in the social gaming market, such as Zynga and CrowdStar, Tsujimoto commented, "Their business model is basically a network service, with games as a hook to reel the users into a communit. It looks like in the future the packaged game business and the online component will become one.”

Analyst firm SuperData Research predicts that the prepaid game cards industry will generate $495 million per year by 2014 due to several factors that will help grow this already popular payment method for online entertainment.

The research group points to the 2009 Credit Card Act, which changed the minimum age for credit card holders from 18 to 21 years old, as one of the primary drivers for the increasing popularity of prepaid game cards, as consumers aged under 21 are using this alternate payment method to purchase virtual goods and currency at online entertainment destinations.

SuperData described the growth in sales for prepaid game card as explosive, jumping up 48 percent year-over-year in 2009. The firm adds that North American buyers are receptive to retail-based cards, such as the prepaid game cards that now fill stands at grocery/convenience/drug stores, as they're familiar with the $100 billion gift card market.

As part of its "Prepaid Game Card Primer" report, which seeks to map out the current market landscape of prepaid game cards and assess the buying behavior of digital consumers, SuperData analyzed data from more than 250,000 prepaid card transactions (provided by 15 different publishers of MMOs, virtual worlds, and social games) and from a custom panel of 3,152 respondents.

"Instead of using prepaid game cards as just another payment method, it presents a real monetization opportunity,” according to the report's lead analyst Joost van Dreunen. "Understanding the industry’s incentive structure is critical."

After a rough year that saw a 73 percent drop in profits to ¥2.2 billion ($23.6 million), Capcom has introduced a new strategic business plan that includes more game launches, shorter development cycles and a larger presence in the online arena.

The Osaka, Japan-based Street Fighter publisher said in an annual report that it plans to renovate its product development activities in Japan, shortening the development-to-launch cycle by "reexamining the use of personnel and making extensive use of outsourcing."

Capcom also said it would "update" the model for overseas development partnerships by outsourcing development for new products that are already part of existing series, as Capcom previously stated. The publisher plans to work more closely with these outside developers as well.

Poor sales of Western-developed games Bionic Commando and Dark Void were two factors that Capcom claimed negatively impacted the company's financials during the fiscal year.

Capcom is also taking steps to adapt to a business environment where online and digital downloads are taking away share from the packaged games business. The publisher said it would strengthen its online games business, a category it says has "growth potential."

Offer-based ad network Peanut Labs announced that 3D avatar/virtual world developers IMVU, hardcore online gaming portal ijji.com, and several other companies are now using its Media Monetization platform to provide special offers to their users.

IMVU, ijji.com, and two other publishers -- baby-focused social network Baby Gaga and 3D chat community Club Cooee -- join more than 200 other companies and social media sites currently using Peanut Labs's Media Monetization Platform, which reaches over 170 million consumers each month.

The platform allows users within virtual worlds, massively multiplayer online games, and Facebook apps/games to earn free virtual currency by participating in research surveys, taking advantage of marketing offers, purchasing "Cherry Deals" (discounts for local and national retailers), and more.

Last month, Facebook chose the San Francisco-based company's platform as one of the first three alternate ways users can earn the social network's virtual currency Credits through offers. The Credits system is still in beta but will eventually act as a universal (if not mandatory) currency option for all of Facebook's games and applications.

"We realize that alternate ways of monetizing social media and online gaming are a win-win both for our partners and their users," says Peanut Labs co-founder and CEO Ali Moiz. "Our top goal is innovating monetization, like through our user-friendly market research surveys. Alternate monetization is a vital part of this ecosystem — something our partners realize, too."

Jagex CEO Mark Gerhard will keynote the Business track at the Develop in Brighton conference this July 13-15, event organizers announced today.

Gerhard, who is also the company's chief technology officer, plans to discuss the company's path to success, stressing the merits of being self-directed. Jagex, developer of free-to-play MMO RuneScape, claims the title of the UK's largest independent game publisher.

Gerhard has been CTO at Jagex since joining the company in February 2008, and was promoted to the chief exec role in January 2009. His 14 year career has seen him hold numerous executive positions in the technology sector. At Develop, he also plans to talk about the future of the industry, planning to warn developers against prioritizing profit ahead of gameplay and fun.

The Business track will feature numerous sessions and panels on topics like marketing, downloadable content and media strategy, with speakers including Doublesix studio head James Brooksby, Channel 4's Alice Taylor, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe's Chris Bruce, and more.

The Develop event will also play host to keynotes from BioWare's Greg Zeschuk and Ray Muzyka, InstantAction CEO (and Westwood co-founder) Louis Castle, and Unity Technologies CEO David Helgason, among many others.

It's the fifth year for the Brighton-based game development conference, and this year's event expects some 1200 attendees to its more than 80 sessions. It kicks off with July 13's Evolve event, a day with a specific focus on emerging platforms, markets and technologies. Detailed information on the conference is available at its official website.

Social gaming technology firm Sibblingz launched a new game engine designed to allow users to play titles across multiple PC and mobile platforms -- Facebook, Apple's iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch, and Android devices.

The company says its new social game engine will enable studios to save millions in development costs, as well as decrease their time to market on launching cross-platform releases to less than three months. Its engine is designed to monetize free-to-play games with virtual goods "based on a common production art pipeline."

Sibblingz also claims that its new engine will allow social game publishers to reach the broadest possible audience, including users who plan to buy the hundreds of millions of smart phones and tablets that will hit the consumer market in the next year.

Game developers SiXiTS and CrowdStar have partnered with Sibblingz to create their game on the engine. CrowdStar’s Happy Island, which is built on the engine and launched on Facebook late last year, has more than 10.1 million monthly active users, according to figures from AppData.

"After gamers on social networks have played a cross-platform game that can be used across all devices, they’ll come to expect it from all games," says Sibblingz founder Ben Savage. "Adding these features to a game after it’s been developed is difficult and expensive. We look forward to a new era where a studio starts a title with Sibblingz, giving the title a great foundation to scale."

Social advertising and analytics company Sometrics announced partnerships with MapleStory publisher Nexon America and casual games company PopCap (Bejeweled, Bookworm) to provide their users with free virtual currency through participation in the firm's offers.

With Sometrics's offers, online gamers can earn virtual currency by instead participating in consumer surveys, trial subscriptions, e-commerce shopping, and other activities. The Los Angeles-based company maintains more than 4,000 ads across hundreds of games, and says it "achieves effective cost per thousand impressions (eCPM) as high as $700-$900"

Sometrics is the first offer company to work with PopCap on Facebook or any other social space. The firm has created a custom integration for the casual developer's social network edition of Bejeweled Blitz with offers from major brands such as Microsoft, Netflix, and Disney.

Nexon America began introducing offer-based ads into its free-to-play titles like MapleStory, Mabinogi, and Combat Arms with Sometrics abbout a month ago. The MMO publisher is also working with two other offer providers, Super Rewards and Peanut Labs.

"Sometrics couldn’t be happier lending our proven skill sets in offer-based solutions to the massive audiences behind the free-to-play games of Nexon and PopCap, and we’re sure their players will enjoy an easy, convenient way to earn in-game currency for free," says Sometrics co-founder and CEO Ian Swanson.

"The Sometrics Offer Solution platform is built for optimization, so we can deliver a variety of offers in the most efficient and effective way possible," he adds.

Veteran driving game developer Eutechnyx (Supercar Challenge) has received a major investment: £6 million ($9.25 million) in cash from Dutch VC firm Prime Technology Ventures, an injection it hopes will fuel its next wave of racing titles currently in development.

Among these is Auto Club Revolution, a PC massively multiplayer world centered around not only racing, but car culture; Eutechnyx North America director Todd Eckert tells Worlds in Motion sister site Gamasutra it's aiming to create "a driving-centered community."

Through partnerships with some of the world's major car brands, the company hopes to be able to offer car enthusiasts the opportunity to engage on a deeper and more realistic level with their hobby, while remaining accessible to anyone who might like racing play.

"It's much more a more mainstream audience -- most people have some affinity or some association with cars, but find driving games or car-oriented games to be a little bit frightening, a little bit off-putting," Eckert explains.

"This is actually aimed at them, because the idea is you can immerse yourself not only in the ability to go 200 miles per hour around whatever race track, but also to talk about the history of a company and the stuff that's coming next."

Just a day after the portal was chosen as the "Worst Toy of the Year" by Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, Nickelodeon has announced the launch of a virtual goods platform for its casual gaming site AddictingGames.

The new platform, which claims some 34 million monthly active users, enables developers to convert their ad-based games into microtransactions-enabled games. Players will still be able to play titles for free on the portal, but they can now spend real money to purchase Addicting Games Bucks, virtual currency used to buy in-game goods.

AddictingGames began work on creating the setup internally around six months, dismissing third-party solutions from virtual goods platform vendors like Playspan, as it preferred to control and customize the platform. The company believes that this virtual goods system will increase engagement on its site and keep visitors entertained longed.

Over 1,000 developers currently contribute games to the portal, monetizing their titles through advertising. AddictingGames believes that its new platform will be a boon to developers, as many don't have the resources to set up a similar back-end process to handle microtransactions and virtual goods on their own.

The company says it created the platform to expand the platform, not to make up for weakness in the ad market. "AddictingGames had its best year ever in advertising in 2009," said Nickelodeon Kids and Family Group's senior vice president and general manager Dave Williams in an interview with VentureBeat.

He added, "This is not as much a reflection of weakness in the ad market as it is a big new opportunity. Virtual goods changes the financial equation for developers. It’s clear that consumers have a big appetite for virtual goods."

Thanks to profit targets set by the Walt Disney Company when it acquired Club Penguin in 2007, the media conglomerate saved as much as $350 million after the kids-targeted virtual world missed those goals twice.

Disney's purchase of Club Penguin was valued at $700 million, an amount likely boosted by the popularity of virtual worlds at the time, but the Mickey Mouse company paid only half of that total up front, promising the other half in two payments based on unspecified profit goals.

Club Penguin missed both of those targets, saving Disney from having to pay the remaining $350 million of that acquisition deal, according to a report from The New York Times.

Though marketing research firm comScore says the online world is losing monthly visitors, shedding around seven percent of its 6.7 million user count in March and another 10 percent in April, Disney claims those numbers don't match with its own internal estimates, which point to a 20 percent year-on-year increase in unique visitors.

The entertainment company also argues that the site's traffic doesn't matter, as it makes money from paid subscribers, not advertising. It did not indicate how many of Club Penguin's visitors are paying the $5.95 monthly membership fee, but it says that number, which was at 700,000 when Disney purchased the world, is growing quickly.

Club Penguin co-founder Lane Merrifield blames his company's missed targets on the economic downturn and faster-than-expected expansion overseas -- the site is now available in four languages across 190 countries. He comments, "The good news is that we’re not far off [from the profit targets]."

"We set some big goals and had we met them it would have been great," Merrifield adds. "We knew from the beginning that we may never see that back half."

MMORPG company Funcom signed a publishing agreement with Swedish start-up Stunlock Studios AB (previously Bumblebee Studios) for the developer's upcoming multiplayer arena game Bloodline Champions.

As part of the deal, Funcom plans to publish, operate, and provide customer service for Bloodline Champions, and is already play-testing the game. Currently in its beta phase and slated to launch in late 2010, Bloodline Champions is an arena-based player vs. player game in which up to 10 gamers fight against each other with abilities and spells.

With its exclusive ownership of the online action PC game, the publisher also purchased a minority stake in Stunlock Studios. Gothia Science Park Invest AB and Stunlock Studios's founders and employees own the remaining shares of the developer.

Funcom, which is best known for publishing MMOs like Age of Conan and Anarchy Online, says that Bloodline Champions represents a complement to its large-scale online titles, expanding its offerings. It also noted that the game fits well into "the current trend of quick access online multi-player experiences".

"Everyone at Stunlock Studios is very happy and excited to start this co-operation with Funcom", says Stunlock Studios CEO Tau Petersson. "We met with several potential partners for our game, Bloodline Champions, but when we met Funcom we felt that they really understood our game and its needs. We believe that Funcom and Stunlock together can make Bloodline Champions the best game it can be."

Developer and publisher Gazillion Entertainment unveiled Super Hero Squad Online, a new massively multiplayer online game based on Marvel Entertainment's Super Hero Squad TV and action figure franchise, which features super-deformed, cartoonish versions of the comic company's superheroes and villains.

Super Hero Squad Online is the first project scheduled to release under Gazillion's 10-year exclusive publishing agreement with Marvel. The MMO company, which is also working on other licensed online titles like Marvel Universe and Lego Universe, tasked its internal Issaquah, Washing

In the upcoming title, players will be able to use the powers of iconic characters like Spider-Man, Iron Man, Hulk, and Wolverine as they lead a squad of super heroes on different adventures. They can also team up with friends, show off their customized squad and trophies in social spaces, collect thousands of items, and explore interactive environments based on Marvel settings.

Gazillion intends to reveal more of Super Hero Squad Online's features and announce a release date at a later time. You can see screenshots from the upcoming MMO after the break.

"Super Hero Squad Online perfectly captures the unique mix of action, humor and customization that make the franchise a massive hit with fans of all ages," says Ira Rubenstein, executive vice president of Marvel’s Digital Media Group.

He adds, "The team at The Amazing Society is creating a Super Hero Squad MMO that does justice to this extremely popular IP. Gazillion is proving that its capabilities in MMO development, operations and publishing make them the ideal partner to deliver a breakthrough Marvel online experience."

As it celebrates its first anniversary, free-to-play strategy title Evony wants people to hear about its 19 million-user player base. But so much controversy's surrounded the title, it's unlikely many industry-watchers will happily break out the champagne.

The game's been criticized as being shamelessly derivative of Civilization, hence a name change -- the game was once called "Civony". Not only that, but it's been dogged by allegations that it's actually developed by a Chinese gold farming firm, and that its monetization strategies border on fraud.

Those accusations have been largely spearheaded by UK games blogger Bruce Everiss, who also says the company gives out user addresses to email spammers.

When Evony (the company holds the same name as the game) sued Everiss for libel, the result wasn't a vindication -- the suit brought widespread criticisms of censorship and, counterproductively, further attention to Everiss' claims.

But the lawsuit was dropped after just a few days' hearings: "A lot of our players expressed opinions about the lawsuit," the company's Ben Gifford told the UK Guardian, "and we reacted to that."

The mudslinging itself would be a public relations nightmare for a young game in the highly competitive free-to-play space, but there's yet another cloud hanging over Evony: Its advertising methods.

Microtransaction/virtual trading platform PlaySpan kicked off a new line of its business, celebrity digital goods, with the launch of Snoop Dogg digital items in avatar service and 3D virtual world service IMVU.

Working with Virtual Greats, a branded virtual goods agency, Playspan introduced a selection of officially licensed virtual goods with the rapper's branding, including hats, sunglasses, bikinis, assorted clothing items, branded dance floors, signature moves, musical instruments, and complete DJ sets.

IMVU's audience of more than 40 million registered users can purchase the digital goods, including a selection of limited edition items, for $2 and up through PlaySpan marketplace. Many of the goods are feature new functionality, which PlaySpan says gives buyers a product that not only looks "Snoop legit" but also has a purpose.

"It’s a proud day for all Snoop Dogg fans in IMVU," said the rapper, whose hit singles include tracks like "Gin and Juice" and "Sexual Eruption". "I always look for ways to reach out and touch my fans, wherever they may be online or on the streets. My licensed items are off the chain and it’s a win-win situation for everyone, ya dig?!?"

In an exciting week for new job postings, Gamasutra's jobs board plays host to roles across the world and in every major discipline, including opportunities at EA Tiburon, Square Enix, and many more.

Each position posted by employers will appear on the main Gamasutra job board, and appear in the site's daily and weekly newsletters, reaching our readers directly.

It will also be cross-posted for free across its network of submarket sites, which includes content sites focused on online worlds, cellphone games, 'serious games', independent games and more.

Some of the notable jobs posted this week include:

Electronic Arts Tiburon: Development Manager
"Employing several hundred, Tiburon is the second largest studio among Electronic Arts' World Wide Studio facilities. Our top-notch facility plays a big role in helping us produce some of the top titles in the world. ... We have grown into a campus-style facility with three main buildings all clustered in a small area. There is a wealth of amenities offered at our studio making for a highly productive, yet accommodating environment."

Square Enix: Character Rigger/Animator
"Square Enix, Inc., is 100% subsidiary of Square Enix Co., Ltd. located in Los Angeles, CA. It handles operations in North America including development, localization, marketing and publishing of Square Enix titles. Square Enix, Inc. is committed to marketing innovative titles using creative techniques that will propel game play to new heights of interactivity and realism."

Research firm NPD Group revealed that its annual survey of online gamers in the U.S. shows that Turbine's Dungeons & Dragons Online: Eberron Unlimited is now the third most popular MMO among respondents, right behind Blizzard Entertainment's World of Warcraft and Jagex's RuneScape.

Of the 19,000 online gamers polled last January, some 30 percent said they play World of Warcraft, and around 10 percent play RuneScape, according to a report from consumer site Massively. Both titles have held top spots in the ranking for several years now.

Guild Wars held the third spot in the past two years with 7 percent of respondents playing the MMORPG (unchanged this year), but Dungeons & Dragons Online's popularity doubled its numbers to overtake the NCsoft game. Though DDO's percentage was not disclosed, it's somewhere between 7 to 10 percent.

NPD asked former World of Warcraft players what MMOs they turned to after giving up Blizzard's game. In 2010, 13 percent of respondents said they now play RuneScape, a slight increase from last year but still down from its high of 20 percent in 2008. 9 percent said they're playing Guild Wars, down from 12 percent last year.

Similar to its growth in overall popularity among surveyed gamers, DDO enjoyed an increase this year to 11 percent, up from 7 percent in 2009 and 5 percent in 2005 -- again overtaking Guild Wars as an alternative to World of Warcraft.

This surge in popularity for DDO can likely be traced to its switch from monthly subscription to a free-to-play model last September. NPD's survey findings support that argument -- the firm found that monthly subscriptions are becoming less favored among gamers as their preferred method of payment (down from 130 percent in 2008 to now 18 percent), while microtransactions are climbing in popularity.

NPD also shared gender break-ups for its surveyed online gamers, with males making up 68 percent of those identifying as MMO players, and females making up the remaining third, corresponding with the figures from last years. The poll found that the largest age group of online gamers was the 25 to 34 years old range, and most of them played MMOs more than 20 hours a week.