Mobile gaming platform Hot, what is Facebook's goal?

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NetEase Science and technology news June 30, by virtue of Happy Farm (FarmVille) and other very addictive games, Facebook once created a boom in leisure games. However, the world's largest social network seems increasingly willing to be a platform for others, rather than a platform for casual gaming in the mobile arena.

The company launched the app Center in May, while supporting both the mobile and PC side, which this week made a slight adjustment to the game board to help users find games more easily on any device.

In fact, Facebook's support helped push Zynga into today's success. Now, with Asian-based information companies such as line and micro-letters making a big profit on a dedicated gaming platform, Facebook certainly wants to get into the lineup again, targeting the mobile side.

Profitable mobile gaming Platform

Line with close to 500 million registered users, is expected to receive revenue of about 600 million dollars this year. Micro-letter monthly active users reached 390 million, but it has not disclosed the game platform revenue. But in the recent fiscal quarter, the chat app helped to increase the mobile gaming revenue of the parent company Tencent by twice to 290 million dollars.

These chat application gaming platforms are actually equivalent to the mobile optimized version of the Facebook platform during the game's popularity. Users download individual apps through Google Play or App Store, and then log in using their information application account. This allows line and micro-letters to use the circle of friends to allow users to scramble for the ranking of friends based rankings, share information and games in exchange for free props, while using other similar viral mechanisms.

These games are provided free of charge, the enterprise is through the application of the purchase of money. Line offers more than 30 different kinds of games. Its game platform on the game to obtain more than 400 million cumulative download, more than 7 games download more than 10 million times.

Tencent is less likely to talk about micro-credit game data, but what we can learn is that the first 5 games of the Chinese version of micro-letters were downloaded up to 570 million times in the first 3 months of the launch. Micro-letters are indeed subversive to China's mobile gaming field.

South Korea's Kakao scale is much smaller than the micro-letter or line, but it is also vigorously developing the game business. The company dominates the local app store list, and gaming revenues help it achieve 59 million dollars a year--very impressive for businesses that have only 4 years to set up.

Facebook's goals are higher

The game clearly represents money. Given that Kik and Tango are the only 2 information companies that have developed a gaming strategy based on the United States, the U.S. market is also in the early stages of development, so these conditions are ideal for Facebook.

In April this year, analysts pointed out that Facebook may have developed a two-pronged strategy for Mobile information services: Let WhatsApp replace simple SMS, making Messenger a more content-driven experience. But Facebook Messenger can use its own gaming platform in the future, and it now looks as if Facebook is willing to play the role of facilitator rather than provide a platform to use its brand.

In the last quarter, Facebook's mobile app ad installation system, which accounts for nearly 60% of its total advertising revenue, is developing a path that Twitter and other companies are keen to follow. Now, if Facebook opens a game channel, it will immediately compete with companies eager to buy their apps.

Facebook games can also harm users and advertisers. The company may have learned from the days of the happy farm, when Facebook friends ' requests for cows and other items flooded the walls of millions of of Facebook friends, creating anger and frustration, and many people began to question the value of the social network. The experience of the mobile end is more personal, and each "unsolicited" message is more unpleasant than the PC side, so it is particularly important to keep the experience from being garbage-insecure.

Possible threats

Facebook wants to do more than just target mobile games. The company has plans to pay for and other platform services, but if line, micro-mail or other information applications stand firm in the US and rob consumers of Facebook's attention, the company may need to reassess its strategy and make the game a priority.

Of course, these companies are the world's leading technology companies, they are actively chasing the game business to help them to expand globally.

Tencent recently invested 500 million of dollars in the acquisition of a South Korean company's CJ Games stake. We learned from the news channel that the company is actively pursuing a U.S. studio, and Tencent recently said it was considering breaking free games and focusing some of its attention on the central nuclear game (between leisure and hard core games). Alibaba has started the game business from scratch, but its ample financial resources and influence in the US through recent investments in Tango could threaten the concerns of messenger.

Gaming-focused social networks such as Dena and gree may not be able to expand their empire beyond Japan, but information applications have become a hot topic in the 2014, and games have become an important way to attract users and earn a lot of money But don't expect Facebook to be directly involved in this area. (Chu Shen)