Netbabyworld
Social gaming website
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Netbabyworld was one of the first browser-based social gaming sites, known for its low-polygon 3D imagery and ensemble cast of characters. The site was launched in 1999 by Jens Rudberg, Jesper Kouthoofd, and David Eriksson.
 | |
| Industry | Video game industry |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1999 |
| Founders | Jens Rudberg, Jesper Kouthoofd, David Eriksson |
| Defunct | 2003 |
| Fate | Bankruptcy; management buyout (2003) |
| Headquarters | , |
| Products | Browser games |
| Website | netbabyworld |
The company that developed the site went bankrupt in 2003. The site remains online but has not been maintained since then.
History
Netbabyworld was founded as a joint venture with the Swedish company PlayCom. Under its former name Game Design Sweden AB, PlayCom had developed Kula World for the PlayStation in the late 1990s.
The site won the 2002 Webby Award for best game site,[1] but PlayCom went bankrupt in 2003. In April of that year, a management buyout transferred ownership to former PlayCom and Netbabyworld staff. The community features were removed, and site updates ceased.
Rudberg, Kouthoofd, and Eriksson later co-founded Teenage Engineering.[2]
Games
The team produced around 20 games from 1999 to 2003, initially using Macromedia Shockwave and later moving to PlayCom's proprietary engine. A former team member, Nick Sakellariou, released a mobile version of Ninja Girl in the late 2000s.[3]
As of 2023[update], Netbabyworld.com remains online, but the games are largely non-functional because Shockwave Player was discontinued in 2019.[4]