IRELAND—The Irish Independent has published an article on the downsizing of staff by Manwin, now MindGeek, in its Dublin offices. However, the company did not confirm the paper's contention that its main project in Ireland, the Superhippo game studio business, for which it reportedly hired 33 people last year, has been quietly reduced in size.
"It is believed that most of the higher paid developers have moved on to other Irish games firms, including various PopCap spin-offs," wrote Nick Webb for the Independent, adding, "Manwin had earlier used Ireland for some complex transactions relating to content ownership of such classics as VIP Crew (Where the Girls Like to Get Nasty); Tranny Surprise; MILF Hunter and Mike in Brazil. Two of the country's most prestigious law firms, Arthur Cox and A&L Goodbody, were involved in the deal. They haven't been shouting about it for some reason, though."
In other somewhat related news, the Irish Mirror is reporting that the country is "in the grip of porn addiction." according to "shocking figures released by one of the world’s biggest pornographic video-sharing websites" that claim, "Ireland's habit has grown by 77 percent since 2010, with a massive 6.72 million visits every month. The figures are from data collected over the past four years."
Though the porn site is not named in the article, there is a substantial likelihood that it could be a MindGeek-owned property, like Pornhub.com, which has been releasing global traffic numbers to the media of late. If it is, that would mean that despite reducing its physical footprint in Ireland, the company's influence remains arguably profound, whether or not one believes that, as one Irishman put it to the Mirror, porn "ruins lives."
According to that unnamed site, by the way, "Between 10pm and 1am is the busiest time for Irish users to access the websites—with an average of eight pages viewed every nine minutes."
Duly noted.
Photo: Sunset on the Liffey
