London-based social “game shows” startup Amuso has launched its live multiplayer, micropayment-based trivia game platform with Bebo, and UK national free-paper Metro. Is this the first deal to be done for a between a social networking company and a newspaper business? No. But it’s one of the first in the UK. Amuso is also understood to be “in advanced talks” with three other UK newspaper houses, three magazine publishing houses, two major UK TV networks and another social networking site.
Amuso’s Trivia Star game invites up to five players to pitch their trivia knowledge against each other. A countdown begins as soon as two players arrive in the Trivia Star ‘lobby’ during which time other contestants can join the session before it automatically starts. Each session consists of 10 multiple choice questions where players compete to be the first to answer correctly.
Bebeo has it running live now here and Metro here.
Contestants can play the free version of Trivia Star, or put money in the pot that they can potentially win via SMS or PayPal. The pot then that funds cash prizes for the winners. Partners obviously take a commission. The games are connected to Amuso’s multiplayer server that pools users across multiple sites so there is always a steady flow of players ready to stake £1 for the thrill of beating opponents and winning the cash prize. Because it is skills-based, Trivia Star is not considered gambling by law and hence does not require a license to deploy in the UK or in most international markets.
Metro.co.uk claims 9 million page impressions and 1.25 million users a minth, while Bebo claims 9 million users.
With newspaper and magazine circulations declining, micropayment solutions like Trivia Star have the potential to engage what audiences they have online and monetise them.
In November last year Amuso, partnered with the Miss World beauty contest to offer a social network centered around the Miss World competitors, allowing users to send them messages, view photos, read about their interests, and vote on their favorite candidate.
Amuso.com is developed out of Barcelona but is now HQ’d in London office and is backed by Mangrove Capital Partners.