Thailand-based gamification startup Playbasis has secured $770,000 in its seed financing round, TechCrunch reported. The funding came from Ardent Capital, 500 Startups and Axis Capital and Playbasis intends to use the proceeds to grow its Asian footprint in 2014.
Gamification refers to the concept of including game elements to services in order to lure younger users. By giving cool rewards and social games, Playbasis helps firms engage with employees and clients. Last year, gamification reached the peak of Gartner's Hype Cycle. The research firm also warned that about 80% of gamification apps will lose out in the end.
Playbasis Founder Robert Zepeda, however, thinks gamification is not going to be a passing fancy. He told TechCrunch, "I don't think Gamification is a fad. I think the lines between productivity software and entertainment software will only continue to blur. Foursquare, Waze, Duolingo, Line, and even Facebook are already incorporating gamificafion techniques such as scoring, leaderboards, virtual currencies, virtual goods/stickers, etc."
While medium to large sized companies still seek new ways to target millennials and other niches, gamification companies, like Badgeville and Bunchball, believe there is still a profit to reap. Toyota, T Mobile, Ford, Marriott, Amex and Samsung are some of customers of these gamification companies, the report said.
Gamification is getting good feedback from South Asian enterprises these days. This is especially true in India where smartphones play a role in how new technologies are welcomed. However, the question is if these companies will be able to sustain the preliminary interest and transform that into a long term engagement that can generate revenues for enterprise clients. Their success in this area will also decide if some gamification startups will become billion-dollar companies or if they can become alluring acquisition targets for firms like SAP and Oracle, the report said.
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