<s>
Shockwave.com,	O
or	O
Shockwave	B-Operating_System
,	O
is	O
an	O
online	O
and	O
offline	O
video	O
games	O
distributor	O
and	O
game	O
portal	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
launched	O
by	O
Macromedia	O
on	O
August	O
2	O
,	O
1999	O
,	O
to	O
promote	O
the	O
company	O
's	O
Shockwave	B-Operating_System
and	O
Flash	B-Operating_System
players	I-Operating_System
,	O
both	O
used	O
on	O
the	O
website	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
corporate	O
owner	O
,	O
also	O
known	O
as	O
Shockwave.com,	O
was	O
based	O
in	O
San	O
Francisco	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Shockwave.com	B-Application
was	O
announced	O
on	O
May	O
24	O
,	O
1999	O
,	O
as	O
an	O
expansion	O
and	O
replacement	O
of	O
ShockRave	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Shockwave.com	B-Application
was	O
formed	O
to	O
promote	O
Macromedia	O
's	O
Shockwave	B-Operating_System
and	O
Flash	B-Operating_System
players	I-Operating_System
,	O
both	O
of	O
which	O
the	O
new	O
website	O
would	O
require	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
the	O
time	O
,	O
100	O
million	O
people	O
around	O
the	O
world	O
had	O
Shockwave	B-Operating_System
and	O
Flash	B-Operating_System
installed	O
on	O
their	O
computers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Shockwave.com	B-Application
was	O
formed	O
as	O
a	O
separate	O
but	O
wholly	O
owned	O
business	O
within	O
Macromedia	O
,	O
with	O
its	O
own	O
finances	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Its	O
CEO	B-Application
was	O
Stephen	O
Fields	O
,	O
a	O
former	O
executive	O
for	O
Disney	O
Interactive	O
Studios	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Shockwave.com	B-Application
was	O
launched	O
on	O
August	O
2	O
,	O
1999	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
website	O
included	O
cartoons	O
,	O
games	O
such	O
as	O
Centipede	B-Application
and	O
Missile	B-Application
Command	I-Application
,	O
an	O
MP3	B-Application
directory	O
,	O
and	O
a	O
program	O
for	O
creating	O
animated	O
greeting	O
cards	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
company	O
,	O
also	O
known	O
as	O
Shockwave.com,	O
was	O
based	O
in	O
San	O
Francisco	O
and	O
had	O
50	O
employees	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Critics	O
were	O
skeptical	O
that	O
an	O
entertainment-based	O
website	O
such	O
as	O
Shockwave	B-Operating_System
could	O
succeed	O
,	O
in	O
part	O
because	O
of	O
bandwidth	O
limitations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
Shockwave	B-Operating_System
gained	O
several	O
notable	O
investors	O
in	O
its	O
first	O
six	O
months	O
,	O
including	O
James	O
H	O
.	O
Clark	O
,	O
Michael	O
Moritz	O
,	O
and	O
Robert	O
A	O
.	O
Daly	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
DoubleClick	O
provided	O
advertising	O
services	O
for	O
Shockwave	B-Operating_System
during	O
the	O
first	O
six	O
months	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
the	O
website	O
gained	O
popularity	O
,	O
Shockwave	B-Operating_System
began	O
handling	O
advertising	O
itself	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
October	O
1999	O
,	O
Macromedia	O
announced	O
that	O
it	O
had	O
plans	O
to	O
spin	O
off	O
Shockwave	B-Operating_System
as	O
its	O
own	O
independent	O
company	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Macromedia	O
chief	O
executive	O
Rob	O
Burgess	O
said	O
about	O
Shockwave	B-Operating_System
,	O
"	O
It	O
's	O
an	O
entertainment	O
company	O
and	O
we	O
are	O
a	O
software	O
company	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Burgess	O
served	O
as	O
Shockwave	B-Operating_System
's	O
interim	O
chief	O
executive	O
while	O
simultaneously	O
running	O
Macromedia	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Lawrence	O
Levy	O
,	O
a	O
former	O
chief	O
financial	O
officer	O
for	O
Pixar	O
,	O
became	O
Shockwave	B-Operating_System
's	O
chief	O
executive	O
of	O
entertainment	O
in	O
mid-2000	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
During	O
its	O
first	O
year	O
,	O
Shockwave	B-Operating_System
assembled	O
a	O
creative	O
team	O
consisting	O
of	O
film	O
directors	O
–	O
James	O
L	O
.	O
Brooks	O
,	O
David	O
Lynch	O
,	O
and	O
Tim	O
Burton	O
–	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
comedian	O
Ben	O
Stein	O
,	O
comic	O
book	O
writer	O
Stan	O
Lee	O
,	O
and	O
South	B-Application
Park	I-Application
creators	O
Trey	O
Parker	O
and	O
Matt	O
Stone	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Shockwave	B-Operating_System
focused	O
on	O
original	O
,	O
interactive	O
content	O
rather	O
than	O
live-action	O
television	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Fields	O
hoped	O
to	O
eventually	O
turn	O
Shockwave.com	B-Application
into	O
a	O
specialty	O
cable	O
channel	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Stein	O
believed	O
that	O
Shockwave	B-Operating_System
would	O
become	O
"	O
the	O
CBS	O
of	O
this	O
era	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Shockwave.com	B-Application
lost	O
$30	O
million	O
during	O
the	O
last	O
nine	O
months	O
of	O
2000	O
,	O
a	O
result	O
of	O
the	O
dot-com	O
bubble	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Shockwave	B-Operating_System
would	O
also	O
acquire	O
the	O
short-film	O
website	O
Atom	O
Films	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
subsidiary	O
,	O
Shockwave	B-Operating_System
Japan	O
,	O
closed	O
on	O
January	O
31	O
,	O
2009	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
June	O
2014	O
,	O
Defy	O
Media	O
purchased	O
Addicting	O
Games	O
and	O
Shockwave	B-Operating_System
from	O
Viacom	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
the	O
time	O
of	O
its	O
launch	O
,	O
the	O
website	O
offered	O
two	O
user	O
control	O
tools	O
:	O
the	O
free	O
Shockwave	B-Operating_System
Remote	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
$19.95	O
Shockmachine	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
March	O
2000	O
,	O
Shockwave	B-Operating_System
launched	O
a	O
new	O
website	O
design	O
,	O
compatible	O
with	O
slower	O
Internet	O
connections	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
MTVi	O
would	O
provide	O
Internet	O
radio	O
services	O
and	O
content	O
to	O
Shockwave	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
updated	O
website	O
introduced	O
music	O
videos	O
,	O
known	O
as	O
Shockwave	B-Operating_System
Singles	O
,	O
which	O
were	O
designed	O
to	O
be	O
played	O
on	O
the	O
Internet	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
addition	O
,	O
it	O
introduced	O
the	O
Shockwave	B-Operating_System
MixMakers	O
feature	O
,	O
allowing	O
users	O
to	O
remix	O
songs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
website	O
received	O
another	O
redesign	O
in	O
2006	O
,	O
along	O
with	O
the	O
creation	O
of	O
an	O
online	O
game	O
development	O
studio	O
known	O
as	O
Shockwave.com	B-Application
Game	O
Studios	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
year	O
later	O
,	O
Shockwave	B-Operating_System
introduced	O
member	O
profiles	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Shockwave.com	B-Application
offers	O
internally	O
developed	O
games	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
those	O
created	O
by	O
third	O
parties	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
May	O
2001	O
,	O
Shockwave	B-Operating_System
began	O
offering	O
select	O
games	O
for	O
purchase	O
,	O
allowing	O
users	O
to	O
download	O
them	O
for	O
offline	O
play	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Shockwave	B-Operating_System
had	O
previously	O
allowed	O
users	O
to	O
play	O
demo	O
versions	O
of	O
games	O
for	O
free	O
,	O
while	O
GameBlast	O
allowed	O
users	O
to	O
play	O
the	O
full	O
versions	O
for	O
a	O
monthly	O
fee	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
the	O
time	O
,	O
Shockwave	B-Operating_System
had	O
more	O
than	O
200	O
games	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
month	O
later	O
,	O
the	O
mobile	O
site	O
began	O
offering	O
30	O
subscription-based	O
cellphone	O
games	O
,	O
known	O
as	O
Shockwave	B-Operating_System
Minis	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
collection	O
included	O
games	O
based	O
on	O
Viacom	O
properties	O
such	O
as	O
SpongeBob	O
SquarePants	O
and	O
Pimp	B-Device
My	I-Device
Ride	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Shockwave	B-Operating_System
Minis	O
utilized	O
Adobe	B-Operating_System
Flash	I-Operating_System
Lite	I-Operating_System
,	O
and	O
were	O
only	O
available	O
on	O
Verizon	B-Application
Wireless	I-Application
phones	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2009	O
,	O
Shockwave	B-Operating_System
launched	O
a	O
premium	O
service	O
called	O
Club	O
Shockwave	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
of	O
2010	O
,	O
Shockwave	B-Operating_System
hosted	O
more	O
than	O
400	O
games	O
in	O
a	O
range	O
of	O
genres	O
including	O
puzzle	O
,	O
action	O
,	O
strategy	O
,	O
racing	O
,	O
sport	O
,	O
jigsaw	O
,	O
adventure	O
,	O
multiplayer	O
games	O
,	O
and	O
downloadable	O
games	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2010	O
,	O
the	O
website	O
introduced	O
Shockwave	B-Operating_System
Cash	O
,	O
a	O
virtual	O
currency	O
that	O
could	O
be	O
used	O
to	O
buy	O
virtual	O
goods	O
in	O
several	O
games	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Shockwave	B-Operating_System
Cash	O
was	O
discontinued	O
in	O
2012	O
,	O
but	O
users	O
were	O
still	O
allowed	O
to	O
use	O
any	O
earned	O
or	O
purchased	O
currency	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Shockwave	B-Operating_System
initially	O
targeted	O
a	O
demographic	O
of	O
18	O
-	O
to	O
35-year-olds	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
April	O
2000	O
,	O
Shockwave	B-Operating_System
had	O
15	O
million	O
registered	O
users	O
,	O
with	O
an	O
average	O
of	O
80,000	O
new	O
members	O
signing	O
up	O
each	O
day	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
the	O
end	O
of	O
2005	O
,	O
Shockwave	B-Operating_System
had	O
22	O
million	O
users	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Peter	O
Sucio	O
,	O
writing	O
for	O
PCMag	O
,	O
reviewed	O
Shockwave.com	B-Application
in	O
2005	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
He	O
criticized	O
the	O
limited	O
number	O
of	O
free	O
games	O
,	O
but	O
wrote	O
"	O
the	O
games	O
that	O
are	O
free	O
are	O
simply	O
fantastic	O
,	O
because	O
they	O
're	O
produced	O
using	O
the	O
newest	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
Shockwave	B-Operating_System
player	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
August	O
2007	O
,	O
Shockwave	B-Operating_System
had	O
4.8	O
million	O
unique	O
visitors	O
,	O
according	O
to	O
ComScore	O
Media	O
Metrix	O
.	O
</s>
