Facebook builds European social games team following startups ...

Facebook ?? ?r??t?ng a dedicated gaming team ?n Europe, matching th? one ?t h?? ?n th? US, t? work more closely w?th social games developers ??r??? Europe.

?In th? US, w? h??? a team ?f engineers, product managers ?nd partnerships folks wh? ?nl? d? gaming, fr?m Zynga down t? two-person shops. Now w??re ?r??t?ng th?t same unit ?n Europe t??,? ???? Christian Hernandez, director ?f EMEA director ?f business development ?nd partnerships ?t Facebook.

Th? m??? ?? th? result ?f th? recent success f?r several European social games companies ?n Facebook, including Wooga, King.com, Supercell ?nd Nordeus. Hernandez ???? th??? companies h??? ?ll managed t? build healthy audiences ?n th? social network b? focusing ?n different kinds ?f games t? giants l?k? Zynga.

?W??re ?n th? third generation ?f th? Facebook platform f?r gaming,? ???? Hernandez. Th? first generation w?? a ?m?d scramble f?r wh?t th? heck th?? platform w??, w?th n?t-very high-quality games?, wh?l? th? second generation w?? focused ?n world-building games l?k? FarmVille, ?nd competitive social/casual titles l?k? brain training.

?Now w??re ?n th? third evolution ?f th? gaming platform, ?? th? world-building ?nd social/casual space h?? begun t? consolidate,? ???? Hernandez.

?Newer players ?r? coming ?nt? untapped areas ?nd satisfying n?w types ?f users, wh? don?t want t? play FarmVille b?t m?ght want t? play strategy ?r shooter games, ?r free games around jackpot, slots ?r blackjack. Th?? ?? th? fastest growing ?nd m??t ?nt?r??t?ng area.?

Hernandez ?l?? cites EA bringing Monopoly ?nd Risk t? Facebook; Rovio?s launch ?f Angr? Birds; ?nd social football management game Top Eleven ?? g??d examples ?f social games mining n?w (f?r Facebook) genres, ?? well ?? hidden object games l?k? Gardens ?f Time ?nd Hidden Chronicles.

?King.com w?? a highly successful casual gaming company doing quite well, b?t th?? h??? changed th? whole company strategy t? focus ?n social gaming,? h? ????.

?Th?? w?nt fr?m n?t being ?n Facebook ?t ?ll t? being ?n th? top developers. And Wooga came onto th? platform ?ft?r Zynga w?? b?g, b?t focused very specifically ?n social casual games, ?nd managed t? become th? number two player ?n th? platform ???ll fr?m Berlin, r?th?r th?n fr?m Silicon Valley.?

Hernandez believes th?t Europe ?? ?th? m??t ?nt?r??t?ng region ?n terms ?f th? innovation ?n top ?f th? Facebook platform ?n gaming?, although h? adds th?t h?? job w??ld hardly allow h?m t? th?nk otherwise.

A recent report fr?m Deloitte claimed th?t Facebook?s app economy h?d generated ?467m ?f economic activity ?n th? UK, ?nd ?r??t?d 7,000 jobs.

H? adds th?t Wooga ?? ?l?? a g??d example ?f a company competing w?th th? l?k?? ?f Zynga n?t through a barrage ?f Facebook ads, b?t through organic growth ?nd user referrals.

In February, th? company?s chief executive Jens Begemann ???d th?t ?nl? 5% ?f ?t? n?w users come through paid ads, w?th 40% coming through viral features ?nd th? remainder fr?m cross-promotions ?n Wooga?s existing games.

Mobile w?ll b? a b?g focus f?r Facebook?s n?w European games team, bolstered b? th? company?s extension ?f ?t? applications platform t? mobile devices ?n October 2011.

People ??n now discover games through Facebook?s mobile apps ?nd website, wh?l? developers ??n m?k? money fr?m ?n-game transactions ??r??? web ?nd mobile, using a combination ?f Facebook Credits ?nd native ?n-app ??r?h????.

?Y???ll see a lot ?f investment fr?m ?? ?n teaching developers h?w t? ??? those channels ?n mobile,? ???? Hernandez.

?In March w??re bringing a group ?f engineers ??r??? ?nd doing a tour ?f Europe around ???t th? mobile platform, ?nd h?w t? build gr??t apps w?th ?t. W??ll h??? 250-300 people per event ?n three ?f th? m??t ?nt?r??t?ng hubs f?r gaming ?n Europe: Stockholm, London ?nd Tel Aviv.?

Rovio?s launch ?f Angr? Birds ?n Facebook h?? b??n ?n ?m??rt?nt moment f?r th? social network, n?t l???t b?????? th? company ??t more effort ?n th?n simply porting ?t? game ??r??? ?nd wrapping leaderboards around ?t.

Angr? Birds? Facebook incarnation features n?w power-ups ??earned, gifted ?r b??ght ???? well ?? features designed t? spark competition between friends playing th? game. A week ?ft?r ?t? release, ?t already h?? 1.5m monthly active users (MAUs) ?nd 530,000 daily active users (DAUs).

?W? spent a lot ?f time working w?th th?m,? ???? Hernandez. ?A key focus ?? adding n?w layers ?f conversation around th? game, t? generate ?t?r??? ??whether th?t?s ?Christian ???t g?t three stars ?n th?? level?, ?Christian ???t beat ???r score? ?r ?Christian invoked th? Mighty Eagle ?n th?? level?.?

Wh?t areas ?r? still under-targeted ?n Facebook gaming? Hernandez suggests watching th? combination ?f ?commerce ?nd gaming? ??titles using game mechanics t? m?k? online shopping more fun ?nd social.

?Th?r??s one startup based ?n Birmingham building a very girl-centric game called Fantasy Shopper, around building ???r ?wn store, ?nd going shopping effectively w?th f?k? money f?r real goods,? h? ????.

?It?s ?n ?nt?r??t?ng dynamic: teenage girls going ?nd actually building ?n interest board around wh?t th???d l?k? t? b??, even though th?? don?t h??? th? money. And th?n th?? ??n d? special offers around th?t.?

H?w ?b??t branded social games? Agency BBH h?? launched a division t? m?k? social games w?th th? company behind lollipop brand Chupa Chups, f?r example. Ar? w? l?k?l? t? see more ?f th?? kind ?f thing?

?W??ve seen ?t ?n ?nd ?ff, wh?r? brands want t? build social dynamics ?nt? ??m? ?f th??r campaigns. Th? q???t??n ?? whether ?t ?? really going t? b? a game,? h? ????.

?FarmVille ?nd ?th?r titles ?r? still quite strong, b?t h?w d? ??? really d? th?t w?th a brand? Wh?t game w??ld lead ??? t? come back over ?nd over again, ?? th? brand becomes a permanent fixture ?f ???r life, ?? opposed t? ???t a launch campaign??

Th? message coming fr?m Hernandez ?nd Facebook ?? clear though: th? social network ?? very k??n t? convince developers th?t ?t? platform ?? n?t a closed shop, ?ff limits t? n?w startups due t? th? marketing m?ght ?f dominant publishers l?k? Zynga.

?A? a gaming platform w??re ???t getting ?t?rt?d,? h? ????.

?Companies th?t came onto th? platform f??rl? recently h??? become very ????l?r very quickly, b?????? th?? focused ?n th? users ?nd distribution channels. I still th?nk th?r??s a b?g opportunity f?r others t? come ?n.?

Source: http://spotgames.info/facebook-builds-european-social-games-team-following-startups-success/

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