Google is in talks with developers to create a social gaming platform in an attempt to capture users and ad dollars from Facebook. Social gaming is on the rise, as is seen with Zynga's Farmville boasting 60 million active monthly users, and big players a looking to tap into this new trend. Many are seeing social gaming as a new platform to reach an even more deeply fragmented audience, with users participating in these games from a multitude of devices and new destinations that keeping popping up in the digital space.
What is pulling people towards these social games, like Farmville and Diner Dash? Their level of simplicity. Unlike their closet competitors, console games such as Sony's Playstation or Nintendo Wii, these games are less complex, don't require a specific device or destination to play it with, and they allow users to interact with their friends online. Microsofts' Xbox 360 does allow for users to engage with other players with its Xbox Live platform, however it revenues go straight back to Microsoft for the service. Social gaming has opened up a new marketplace where users can pay for virtual goods to be used in the games as well as created another medium for advertiser's to work with.
Will Google's move be a game-changer in social networking? Will it become a rival Facebook or just another fragmentation in the social media landscape?
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