<s>
Playphone	B-Operating_System
is	O
a	O
mobile	O
gaming	O
platform	O
founded	O
in	O
2003	O
(	O
merged	O
and	O
re-incorporated	O
in	O
2006	O
)	O
headquartered	O
in	O
San	O
José	O
,	O
California	O
that	O
provides	O
direct-to-consumer	O
mobile	O
content	O
distribution	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Playphone	B-Operating_System
was	O
founded	O
on	O
February	O
6	O
,	O
2003	O
by	O
Ron	O
Cznerny	O
in	O
Campbell	O
,	O
California	O
,	O
later	O
moving	O
to	O
San	O
José	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Early	O
partners	O
included	O
Digital	O
Bridges	O
,	O
offering	O
access	O
to	O
game	O
titles	O
including	O
Lara	O
Croft	O
Tomb	O
Raider	O
,	O
and	O
Disney	O
's	O
The	B-Application
Lion	I-Application
King	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
September	O
2006	O
,	O
Playphone	B-Operating_System
raised	O
$9.1	O
million	O
dollars	O
in	O
Series	O
B	O
funding	O
from	O
Menlo	O
Ventures	O
and	O
Cardinal	O
Venture	O
Capital	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
That	O
same	O
month	O
,	O
Playphone	B-Operating_System
partnered	O
with	O
RealNetworks	O
to	O
launch	O
a	O
subscription-based	O
service	O
providing	O
more	O
games	O
,	O
ringtones	O
,	O
and	O
wallpapers	O
for	O
mobile	O
phones	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
May	O
2007	O
,	O
Playphone	B-Operating_System
secured	O
Series	O
C	O
funding	O
of	O
$18.75	O
million	O
dollars	O
from	O
Scale	O
Venture	O
Capital	O
,	O
which	O
was	O
used	O
to	O
facilitate	O
expansion	O
into	O
Latin	O
America	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
May	O
2008	O
,	O
Playphone	B-Operating_System
acquired	O
Pitch	O
Entertainment	O
Group	O
,	O
a	O
London-based	O
mobile	O
content	O
distributor	O
founded	O
by	O
David	O
Warburton	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
acquisition	O
of	O
Pitch	O
enabled	O
Playphone	B-Operating_System
to	O
expand	O
into	O
20	O
countries	O
across	O
Africa	O
,	O
Asia	O
and	O
Europe	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
June	O
,	O
Playphone	B-Operating_System
partnered	O
with	O
Cellufun	O
to	O
provide	O
mobile	O
content	O
to	O
its	O
users	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Later	O
that	O
year	O
,	O
the	O
company	O
partnered	O
with	O
UK-based	O
Top	O
Up	O
TV	O
to	O
showcase	O
its	O
mobile	O
content	O
in	O
a	O
Playphone-branded	O
TV	O
channel	O
and	O
signed	O
new	O
distribution	O
agreements	O
with	O
Virgin	O
Mobile	O
USA	O
and	O
Cincinnati	O
Bell	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2009	O
,	O
Playphone	B-Operating_System
expanded	O
a	O
previous	O
partnership	O
with	O
media	O
optimization	O
developer	O
Vantrix	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
part	O
of	O
the	O
expansion	O
,	O
Playphone	B-Operating_System
integrated	O
the	O
Vantrix	O
Storefront	O
Optimizer	O
into	O
their	O
operations	O
to	O
sell	O
content	O
in	O
the	O
Asian	O
mobile	O
market	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
October	O
2010	O
,	O
Playphone	B-Operating_System
announced	O
the	O
launch	O
of	O
a	O
new	O
mobile	O
social	O
gaming	O
platform	O
for	O
smartphones	O
and	O
tablets	O
called	O
Playphone	B-Operating_System
Social	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
first	O
game	O
with	O
support	O
for	O
the	O
platform	O
was	O
launched	O
in	O
June	O
2011	O
-	O
an	O
Android	B-Application
port	O
of	O
their	O
popular	O
iOS	B-Application
game	O
,	O
Playphone	B-Operating_System
Poker	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
August	O
2011	O
,	O
Playphone	B-Operating_System
declared	O
a	O
partnership	O
with	O
Perfect	O
World	O
,	O
a	O
Chinese-based	O
mobile	O
gaming	O
company	O
,	O
to	O
distribute	O
the	O
developer	O
's	O
games	O
on	O
Playphone	B-Operating_System
Social	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
That	O
December	O
,	O
Playphone	B-Operating_System
commercially	O
launched	O
their	O
new	O
gaming	O
network	O
,	O
the	O
Playphone	B-Operating_System
Social	O
Gaming	O
Network	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
compete	O
with	O
other	O
publishers	O
such	O
as	O
OpenFeint	B-Application
and	O
Ngmoco	O
,	O
Playphone	B-Operating_System
’s	O
new	O
platform	O
featured	O
cross-platform	B-Application
multiplayer	I-Application
in	O
addition	O
to	O
its	O
social	O
elements	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
March	O
2012	O
Playphone	B-Operating_System
acquired	O
SocialHour	O
,	O
a	O
mobile	O
social	O
marketing	O
firm	O
,	O
to	O
strengthen	O
their	O
mobile	O
marketing	O
and	O
distribution	O
expertise	O
in	O
support	O
of	O
the	O
growth	O
and	O
development	O
of	O
the	O
Playphone	B-Operating_System
Social	O
Gaming	O
Network	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Playphone	B-Operating_System
’s	O
first	O
carrier	O
app	O
store	O
–	O
Games	O
Portal	O
on	O
Verizon	O
–	O
launched	O
in	O
2013	O
,	O
coming	O
preloaded	O
on	O
multiple	O
Android	B-Application
devices	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2015	O
,	O
Playphone	B-Operating_System
launched	O
its	O
store	O
on	O
the	O
now-defunct	O
CyanogenMod	B-Application
mobile	O
operating	O
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Later	O
that	O
year	O
,	O
Japanese	O
publisher	O
GungHo	O
Online	O
Entertainment	O
acquired	O
70%	O
of	O
Playphone	B-Operating_System
’s	O
shares	O
,	O
making	O
it	O
a	O
subsidiary	O
of	O
the	O
company	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Launched	O
in	O
December	O
2011	O
,	O
Playphone	B-Operating_System
Social	O
Gaming	O
Network	O
(	O
PSGN	O
)	O
is	O
a	O
cross-platform	O
,	O
multiplayer	O
network	O
for	O
smartphones	O
and	O
tablets	O
with	O
a	O
heavy	O
focus	O
on	O
accessibility	O
to	O
developers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
PSGN	O
runs	O
on	O
iOS	B-Application
,	O
Android	B-Application
,	O
HTML5	B-Application
,	O
WP	O
,	O
Windows	O
Phone	O
7	O
and	O
supports	O
Adobe	B-Operating_System
AIR	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
June	O
2012	O
,	O
Playphone	B-Operating_System
’s	O
Social	O
Gaming	O
Network	O
had	O
4.1	O
million	O
monthly	O
active	O
users	O
,	O
12	O
million	O
game	O
sessions	O
,	O
3.5	O
million	O
play	O
hours	O
,	O
and	O
over	O
3,000	O
developers	O
.	O
</s>
