Top 25 MySpace games of Dec. 2010: The land beyond Zynga's rule

Top 25 MySpace Games
Thanks to Inside Social, the results are in for this month's top MySpace games and the results would be shocking for anyone who doesn't normally game on the platform. Essentially, things over at MySpace could be known as the bizarro world of social gaming. In a land where MySpace is second fiddle to Facebook, so is Zynga to Playdom in a strangely mirroring way with its hit game Mafia Wars (13.4 million players) beat out by its direct competitor, Playdom's Mobsters (14.9 million players) by over one million players.

However, this list includes products that are more web apps than true social games like Tag Me from BitRhymes sitting in the number 5 spot with 8.4 million users. Though, web apps and games competing for the same audience is also common on Facebook with Phrases recently dethroning FarmVille as the top app in town. In fact, web apps are the majority on MySpace with 12 spots on this list including Bumper Stickers in the number 3 spot with 12.8 million users and Own Your Friends in fourth place with 10.3 million users.

Filling out the rest of this month's top MySpace games are a slew of pet care games such as SuperPoke Pets by Slide in ninth place with RockYou Pets tailing behind them in the 10 spot. Then rest of the list includes more obscure titles by Zynga and Playdom such as the former's Street Racing in the 13 spot and the latter's Bloodlines in 24th place. All in all, it shows that despite the power and insane growth of social games, social web apps can still give this relatively new genre of gaming a challenge.

Mass Effect for Facebook looks even more likely, job posting suggests

And honestly, with how well Dragon Age Legends (DAL) did (and how impressive of a game it is) when its companion Dragon Age 2 launched this year, why wouldn't it be? Mass Effect is even bigger than Dragon Age--that's enough to convince me, but alas, we have another piece of hard evidence. Inside Social Games reports that Bioware is looking for "a well-rounded Artist to work on an exciting, new, social game for gamers," a job posting reads.

More specifically, the job is based in Bioware San Francisco. You know, the studio that was born of EA2D, the social game arm of Bioware's parent company? The studio that was also wholly responsible for Dragon Age Legends? (Hopefully, this is all coming together now.) While the text does well to avoid pointing out any Bioware franchise in particular, the timing is simply too close to the release of Mass Effect 3.

The console game releases on March 6, 2012, and most social game development cycles range between six and nine months. The job posting calls specifically for an experienced concept and UI artist, meaning this game could be past early planning stages already.

While DAL never cleared the 1 million monthly players most Facebook games strive for, again, Mass Effect has much more mainstream appeal than Dragon Age and could easily blow past 1 million monthly players. We have only one request, Bioware: Please, somehow, make it involve a Reaper?

Family Feud maker iWin hires Loot Drop's Laralyn McWilliams

Before the studio released even its first Facebook game, Cloudforest Expedition, social game exec Laralyn McWilliams has left Loot Drop and joined iWin as its VP of Creative, Inside Social Games reports. After mere months with seasoned designer John Romero's Loot Drop, McWilliams joins Dragons of Atlantis developer Nick Rush and mobile developer Randy Angle at iWin.

Best known for its social renditions of popular game shows like Family Feud and 1 vs 100, iWin looks to use these strategic hires to get its list of casual downloadable games onto social and mobile platforms. Before joining Loot Drop for a short time and now iWin, McWilliams worked with Sony Online Entertainment on Free Realms and a number of Facebook games that were unfortunately axed before release.

"I had a change of heart and wound up accepting at iWin," McWilliams explained to ISG. "There's a great gift with iWin's brands in that they've been tested [and] there's a wealth of content and learning. The greatest challenge is taking the brands an extending them into some of the new spaces - like [making] a Jewel Quest mobile game, for example. That's what appeals to me about this role. I'm always interested in new frontiers."

ISG reports that Rush and Angle will focus on social and mobile, respectively, and we imagine they will report to McWilliams in some capacity. McWilliams, while she couldn't confirm to the website whether iWin originals like Jewel Quest would come to Facebook, doubts that iWin will ignore them in its increased social and mobile efforts. You know, because we certainly don't have enough match-three games on Facebook already.

Do you think iWin could become a worthy competitor to the standing Facebook game giants with its game show offerings and upcoming original properties? How do you think this move might affect Loot Drop as it tries to get its first game out the gate? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment

Google+ opens its doors to all, but (hopefully) mostly social gamers

The proverbial veil has been lifted, everyone. Google+ is finally open to the public, meaning anyone can join Google's social network regardless of whether they've been invited through a friend. More importantly, this means the service, which soft-launched back in August to a controlled amount of users through invites, is open to even more social gamers than before.

Granted, there are only 16 games so far on Google+ Games. But surely the company hopes, that with an influx of potential players, that developers will become even more interested in Google as a social gaming destination. However, there are several arguably basic social features that aren't yet a part of the Google+ developer API, or application programming interface.

Namely, the posts that players can push through to the Games Stream from a Google+ game are not interactive. This means that the viral nature of social gaming is severely hindered on the network--players cannot directly help one another through the Games Stream like the can through the Facebook News Feed. This essentially thwarts what is popularly believed to give social games their name.

At the moment, players can only post general updates such as, "I scored 5 bajillion points in Bejeweled Blitz!" However, Rovio played somewhat of a smarter game with Angry Birds on Google+ Games, and introduced a friend gate to most of its content, meaning players have to add so many friends to access new levels. Luckily, Google has already stated that it's working to introduce more robust features over time.

Regardless, omissions like this serve as proof that Google+ Games, while impressive in its scope, ambition and support, is still a nascent gaming platform when put up against competitors like Facebook. With this news, perhaps the race Google+ is running has changed track to whether Google+ Games can keep up with the demands and needs of its players, rather than its competitors.

[Via Inside Social Games]

Have you tried out Google+ Games yet? Do you think, after what you experienced, that Google has a chance at competing in the social games world? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment

Google+ opens its doors to all, but (hopefully) mostly social gamers

The proverbial veil has been lifted, everyone. Google+ is finally open to the public, meaning anyone can join Google's social network regardless of whether they've been invited through a friend. More importantly, this means the service, which soft-launched back in August to a controlled amount of users through invites, is open to even more social gamers than before.

Granted, there are only 16 games so far on Google+ Games. But surely the company hopes, that with an influx of potential players, that developers will become even more interested in Google as a social gaming destination. However, there are several arguably basic social features that aren't yet a part of the Google+ developer API, or application programming interface.

Namely, the posts that players can push through to the Games Stream from a Google+ game are not interactive. This means that the viral nature of social gaming is severely hindered on the network--players cannot directly help one another through the Games Stream like the can through the Facebook News Feed. This essentially thwarts what is popularly believed to give social games their name.

At the moment, players can only post general updates such as, "I scored 5 bajillion points in Bejeweled Blitz!" However, Rovio played somewhat of a smarter game with Angry Birds on Google+ Games, and introduced a friend gate to most of its content, meaning players have to add so many friends to access new levels. Luckily, Google has already stated that it's working to introduce more robust features over time.

Regardless, omissions like this serve as proof that Google+ Games, while impressive in its scope, ambition and support, is still a nascent gaming platform when put up against competitors like Facebook. With this news, perhaps the race Google+ is running has changed track to whether Google+ Games can keep up with the demands and needs of its players, rather than its competitors.

[Via Inside Social Games]

Have you tried out Google+ Games yet? Do you think, after what you experienced, that Google has a chance at competing in the social games world? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment