TechCrunch Disrupt finalist GameCrush is launching its own take on the Chatroulette-like experience today with Crush-O-Matic. The new service is a random game generator where users simply click “Go!” and automatically get matched up with another user in a two-way cam-enabled game session.
As we we wrote in our initial review of GameCrush, the startup aims to help the millions of male gamers out on the web hook up online with a gaming buddy of the opposite sex for a fee. On GameCrush, gamers can browse the profiles of “PlayDates”, which is the term used to refer to the women on the site. → Read More
The TechCrunch Disrupt Startup Battlefield is approaching its dramatic conclusion, and the 7 finalists remaining are making their closing arguments in front of a panel of all-star Silicon Valley judges. Here are their questions and the startups’ answers, along with links to our past coverage of each company.
Judges:
Kevin Rose
Marissa Mayer
Jason Goldman
Ron Conway
Roelof Botha → Read More
Meet GameCrush, a startup that manages to sound both ridiculous and very promising at once. The gist: take the millions of male gamers out there and offer to hook them up online with a gaming buddy of the opposite sex for a fee. Or, as founder Eric Strasser put it, “if you can buy a girl a drink in a sports bar, why not buy her a game online?”
The site looks like the fusion of a social network, a casual gaming portal, and a porny cam site. But, as the founders make clear, this isn’t a place for porn — though there are photos of attractive women abound. After signing up, a gamer (usually a male over the age of 18) browses the profiles of “PlayDates”, which is the term used to refer to the women on the site. Each profile includes the woman’s interests and commonly played games, and of course a gallery of photos are featured front-and-center. → Read More
San Francisco based GameCrush is part happy hour at the local bar, part old school “900 chat line.” Users come to the site to play games with others, and there’s a video/audio cam. The only hitch is that you have to pay $.60/minute to do so. The site matches “Players” with “Playdates,” and splits that $.60 with the playdate. There are a number of Flash based games on the site, or players can use the GameCrush video while playing XBox Live or games on any other platform.
Usually, guys are paying women to play with them. But guys play with guys, girl play with girls, and sometimes girls pay to play with guys, says co-founder Eric Strasser. And despite the fact that the site is in a strict invite only beta, the money is rolling in. More than one player has spent over $10,000, says Strasser. And some playdates have made over $2,000 in the short time the beta has been live. Playdates can also get extra money from tips and virtual goods. → Read More
