Facebook Games Are Not Dying: 4 Ways Facebook Has Improved Its Gaming Platform
The pending sunset for SimCity Social, as part of EA’s decision to dump its entire Playfish Facebook portfolio, and Zynga’s very visible attempt to pivot to mobile has many asking if Facebook games are dead? Of course, that’s a classic overreaction to big news, which has more to do with publishers trying to figure out what works best in this disruptive moment in gaming history.
Mike Rose at Gamesutra talked to a number of developers who are still developing games for the social network and seemed to think the platform is doing just fine. It’s a nice counter to the conversation but the commenters really pointed out it misplaced its efforts not examining what exactly Facebook has changed to make it a better gaming platform for all involved.
Now keep in mind, Facebook tends to change its mind – a lot – so one thing mentioned here today might be something they disregard in the near future (or are already). Nonetheless, it’s a great example of how and why game developers shouldn’t just view Facebook as a tool used to promote your mobile games and is still a viable way to generate new users and revenue (minus Facebook’s 30 percent, of course).
1. AppCenter gives Facebook a discovery channel on its own network. AppCenter isn’t huge and will never be an equivalent to Apple’s App Store but it is a great place for users to learn about new games and determine what might work for them. One way for Facebook to improve their channel is to create more engaging content.A partnership with a journalist site that already features a strong Facebook presence would be one direction. Apple has hired multiple gaming journalists for its editorial team, so it would also be a great move for Facebook to hire a small editorial staff to manage it App Center as well. Done well, this will pay off in dividends and prove to developers how serious you are about making sure great games on the platform are recognized as such.
2. Open Graph and EdgeRank are forcing developers to tell great stories, not just spam their users. Open Graph isn’t easy to just pick up and master. It takes a lot of effort and a team approach. Make sure a smart, sensible developer is handy because he or she will prove invaluable. But Facebook is making every effort it can to promote strong storytelling through the viral channels. That might not sound great for developers who want a K-factor circa 2008 but what it will do is promote engagement because people are interested and retention because people aren’t annoyed with your spam. I’d expect Facebook to continue finding ways to improve this process, which gives developers a great way to help players discover their game.
3. Variety is the spice of life (and gaming). Facebook is built on the two pillars of engagement and retention. Give them something interesting and they’ll stick around. And when you’ve got more than a billion users, you’re going to need a lot of options. That’s why Facebook’s partnership with Unity is a wise one. Developers love using Unity and players love the fidelity the game engine provides. Unfortunately, Unity’s install base hasn’t hit critical mass, like Flash. That’s why Facebook is trying to help expand Unity’s install base, which would give themselves more inroads to deeper, synchronous player-versus-player games such as popular and successful online titles World of Tanks and League of Legends. If Facebook can succeed in growing this category, don’t be surprised if you start seeing stories about how Facebook gaming is back and better than ever before.
4. Mobile Facebook is just as good a platform as its web canvas. This might be the most important and most overlooked in the stories stemming from the news about EA shuttering its canvas games (it doesn't really mesh well with the idea that Facebook gaming is dying when mobile is making it more popular than ever before). PopCap isn’t leaving Facebook and recently launched Solitaire Blitz for iOS (I highly recommend if you like quick, twitchy card games.) and has several games coming down the pipeline. Facebook is striving to be device agnostic (well, save for Facebook Home, which I’m sure they’d like to see sell some Android devices that feature it) so it can advertise and engage to its customers wherever they want.
Facebook gaming isn’t dead, it’s iterating, which is the natural state of affairs on that platform. Hopefully, the next iteration will be friendlier to game developers and gamers alike.