The social gaming market is beginning to show signs of maturity, with Screen Digest predicting that its explosive growth will moderate in coming years. At the same time, major media and entertainment players are getting involved in the business and buying some of the most promising social gaming startups.
Google has teamed up with Zynga for a social gaming property that the search engine has in the works, and it has acquired social app maker Slide. Both are signs that Google is making moves toward the social networking business, likely with a focus on games.
Another social gaming company, Playdom, has been acquired by Disney. As eMarketer senior analyst Paul Verna commented, this is a sign that Disney is “betting that social gaming won’t die off as a passing fad, and that Facebook and other social venues will continue to support these games.”
As the social gaming industry consolidates, there are two attractive revenue sources for the companies that buy in. The smaller of the two is ad support, which eMarketer predicts will bring in $142 million in the US this year.
Virtual goods sales will account for a larger slice of the pie, according to ThinkEquity.
“Over the past year, social gaming has become a cultural phenomenon and a revenue driver for an industry that is otherwise struggling to maintain growth,” said Verna. “Facebook was on the ground floor of this trend with Zynga, and other top companies such as Google and Disney are now jumping in.
“I don’t think we’ve seen the last of this wave of consolidation,” he added. “I expect other social networks, internet portals and entertainment companies to shift resources toward the social gaming space while they still see it as a potential money-maker.”
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Check out today’s other article, “Mobile Content Soars Thanks to Device and Network Advances.”