summarize key points of its contents . please consider expanding the lead to provide an accessible overview of all important aspects of the article . please discuss this issue on the article s talk page . march 2010 gamecrush type private industry video games social network service founded 2007 headquarters san francisco california usa revenue not disclosed website http www.gamecrush.com gamecrush is a website where gamers meet match and play a variety of video games including console flash based casual and pc based . gamecrush members the site focuses on female players due to their relative scarcity in console online gaming can post profiles with pictures videos and gaming information and interact with other members through text chat video chat and private messages . the site launched publicly on september 28 2010 the same day it presented as a finalist at san francisco s techcrunch disrupt contents 1 design 2 history 3 reception 4 references 5 external links design edit gamecrush is different than most social gaming sites in that gamecrush credits can be used to buy and give gifts that hold real world value . while messaging and requesting a game are free it is considered a nice gesture to offer a gift when requesting a game to someone new or as co founder eric strasser puts it much like buying a drink for someone in a bar . members can also earn badges and achievements and can be rated or even blocked by other members based on their behavior . 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 history edit shortly after first launching their beta in march 2010 the gamecrush site went down . 16 19 20 according to statements made by its management it was overloaded with more connections than it could handle due to the high demand . it is reported that management said they were overwhelmed with interest and have smoking servers to prove it . 19 it was claimed that the site received over 10 000 queries in five minutes of operation overloading their servers and crashing their network . 16 19 20 on june 5 2010 gamecrush returned as a private invitation only beta . businessweek wrote an article describing gamecrush as part social network part online dating site and a lot of grand theft auto . 21 the same article revealed the founders to be eric strasser david good and anees iqbal . strasser revealed that the site had more than 5 000 women and 1 000 men participating in its private beta . in august 2010 techcrunch s michael arrington revealed that gamecrush had raised 700 000 in an angel round featuring scott banister and his wife cyan among other angels and vcs . the public launch was loosely scheduled a month out from the article september 2010 . on september 28 2010 gamecrush launched its public site and presented as one of the six finalist companies at techcrunch disrupt . in early 2011 gamecrush launched a free random game matching engine called the crush o matic . techcrunch described the service as one that mined a vein similar to the video experience of chatroulette but with cofounder eric strasser stating that the site s registration requirement user profiles and a user rating system help prevent the rampant nudity found on that site . as of early 2013 the website has shut down prior to the shut down a change was implemented that prevented playdates to gain money from their endavors instead releasing a reward system . shortly thereafter the website was shut down . as of late 2013 and early 2014 the link redirects to buckme.com a supposedly similar website that has yet to start its function . however since this websites demise another website date hero has come onto the market . reception edit the boston phoenix s laser orgy online column written by maddy myers said i m as mystified by this service as i am by similar services offered by girls or guys but usually girls who sit around talking to people on their webcams . she also commented there s something inherently sexual about gamecrush yes but that s mostly due to the over sexualizing of women in both american society and particularly in gamer culture ... and so gamecrush i give you props for your stupid idea . i am dubious about how successful it ll be though when the percentage of female gamers climbs every day . 9 igns xbox live online column written by daemon hatfield said i can imagine some guys might be disappointed if they paid to play with a girl only to hear her go on and on about her boyfriend ... and perhaps the most surprising thing about gamecrush is that no one else thought of it sooner . i have no doubt there are many gamers out there who would be willing to pay a little cash to play and flirt with hot girls the only question is whether or not gamecrush is offering the right features for the right price . 8 venturebeat s gamesbeat online column written by dean takahashi said but a hot girl who can beat you at a game of halo is probably a close to an ideal date for a lot of gamer dudes . at least that s my guess . 7 cnet s online column crave written by matt hickey said still the idea could work if gaming girls i m sorry playdates can get around the slightly creepy idea of selling themselves for the attention of boys . like alicia i m a little skeeved out by the whole thing . 1 pc world s online column today pcworld written by sarah jacobsson said isn t it great to know that playing video games and chatting with hot girls aren t mutually exclusive activities any more assuming you have the cash to spend 4 tom s guide article written by kevin parrish mentioned that concerns about the play dates were raised by reporters with the site s pr firm . 19 it was noted that their extracurricular activities were not directly connected to the dating service however it s unavoidable to turn a blind eye to their other hobbies . as an example jaderox works elsewhere online as an amateur pornographer and even has a website that shows off her naked feminine qualities . needless to say she s not sporting any manly luggage . she s even selling her used panties . 19 he concluded maybe lonely gamers should put down the gamepad and head to a local club with friends . 19 fast company article written by dan nosowitz said here s how pathetic gamecrush is it modeled its service after the behavior of a desperate man trying to get a girl s attention at a bar by buying her an eight dollar drink . but in reality it s more of a gamer s phone sex line dressed in ed hardy . 11 the escapist article written by greg tito notes that during the testing period internet comedians have already created false profiles such as gabe newell a bear and a grill . get it a gamer grill genius 12 xboxic article written by jason andrews warned that use of gamecrush might violate microsoft s terms of service tos for xbox live and that microsoft logs all xbox live sessions . if you don t want the xbox live enforcement team to laugh at your penis as they bring down the banhammer or to have to call customer support because the woman who sent you dirty texts stole your xbox live account then think wisely andrews wrote . 13 the tos states that users may not among other things use the service for commercial purposes use the service in a way that harms us or our advertisers affiliates resellers distributors or vendors or any customer of ours or our advertisers affiliates resellers distributors or vendors or publish distribute or disseminate any inappropriate profane defamatory infringing obscene indecent or unlawful content topic name material file or information . 22 andrews also notes that gamecrush s rate is almost 40 per hour . 13 crush frag destroy article written by rob rich said i will say that i m pretty put off by this whole thing . especially the fact that ign seems to condone it . but maybe i m just being an alarmist . i suppose it was bound to happen sooner or later right 23 games abyss article written by brad hilderbrand said the website is set up like the world s loneliest singles lobby allowing players to pick their game as well as whether they want their pretend date to be flirty dirty or both . you then pay around 10 for a ten minute game and feel much worse about yourself afterwards . 24 the huffington post article written by jessica rovello said let s not mistake what this is . it s not gaming it s simply a new spin on the phone sex lines of the 80s . it s light porn with a twist . if it wasn t you wouldn t need to be over 18 to join you wouldn t be able to have uncensored dirty talk over webcams and you wouldn t be able to tip your playdate real cash after your session . if there s anything revolutionary about gamecrush it s that it took this long for someone to come up with the idea of actually paying women to play core games like modern warfare 2 . after all the hardcore game community has never valued women for anything more than their avatars . it shuts them out of their ranks on the corporate side hyper sexualizes them in games and then wonders why they have a hard time attracting more female players . 17 writing in binge game james walker wrote does it sound shady sure . is it sleazy to pay women to chat with you over a game of gears of war to a degree you bet . but if there is one thing that gamers know how to do it s waste exorbenant sic amounts of money on pointless shit . 18 references edit a b c hickey matt march 23 2010 . gamecrush pay to play with girls . crave . cnet . retrieved 25 march 2010 . hatfield daemon march 23 2010 . gamecrush lets gamers pay to play with girls . news.com.au tech news . news limited . retrieved 25 march 2010 . gamecrush spices up online gaming press release . gamecrush . march 23 2010 . retrieved 25 march 2010 . a b jacobsson sarah march 23 2010 . gamecrush pay to play video games with hot girls . today pcworld . pc world . retrieved 25 march 2010 . coldewey devin march 23 2010 . gamecrush lets you pay to teleconference with cute girls while they game seriously truly . crunchgear . techcrunch . retrieved 25 march 2010 . martin joe 24 march 2010 . gamecrush launches online dating for gamers . bit tech.net . retrieved 25 march 2010 . a b takahashi dean march 23 2010 . dudes can pay hot girls to play online video games with them . gamesbeat . venturebeat . retrieved 25 march 2010 . a b hatfield daemon . would you pay a girl to play halo with you gamecrush lets you get flirty and dirty with gamer girls . . ign xbox live . ign . retrieved 25 march 2010 . a b myers maddy march 23 2010 . gamecrush.com girls who play for pay . the boston phoenix laser orgy . boston the phoenix media communications group . retrieved 25 march 2010 . hatfield daemon 23 march 2010 . gamecrush lets gamers pay to play with flirty girls . my fox boston . fox television stations