Disney buys Tapulous to enter mobile space

As part of Disney Interactive Media Group, Tapulous to drive Disney's mobile entertainment strategy

Tapulous, the uber-successful developer of iPhone games like Tap Tap Revenge, has been acquired by Disney to become a central part of Disney Interactive Media Group, as the group aggressively pushes into the mobile entertainment space. Terms have not been disclosed.

The iPhone developer is especially famous for the Tap Tap Revenge series, which in total racked up over 35 million downloads and a billion songs played. Tapulous' rhythm-based music games are particularly targeted at younger audiences, with some Tap Tap Revenge editions spotlighting specific artists, like Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga, and Nine Inch Nails.

Founded in early 2008, Tapulous' investors include Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff and venture capital firm Khosla Ventures.

Profitable for some time, the Silicon Valley-based startup had reached about $1 million in sales a month.

"As part of Disney Interactive Media Group, we’ll develop more games, more quickly and with the resources of the world’s leading entertainment company," writes Tapulous founder Bart Decrem. "We will continue to develop apps that live at the intersection of music and gaming, but we’ll also push into new and exciting areas of mobile social entertainment. We’re literally bursting with ideas for new apps!"

Decrem and COO Andrew Lacy will be joining Disney as senior vice presidents.

As a part of Disney, Decrem will be responsible for adding social elements to all of Disney's games, including those created by the company's many subsidiaries--like ESPN, Marvel, and Pixar.

Steamboat Ventures, another affiliate of Disney, recently joined Bessemer Venture Partners and New World Ventures in a $33 million round of funding for Playdom, still the largest social gaming network on MySpace. Clearly, Disney is incredibly interested in making a name for itself in the social gaming space.