Zoosk等相亲网站已经植入了类似于Facebook的社交功能，但为什么不从Facebook最热门的领域——社交游戏中入手，让约会变得更有趣呢？这就是新兴企业CupidsPlay的创意，该公司位于华盛顿贝尔尤维，他们将社交游戏作为牵线搭桥的工具，让单身男女玩家成功配对。

据游戏邦了解，这个社交游戏约会网站于上周三正式上线。尽管该网站的创意仍是一个未允分开发的市场，但社交游戏的黏性、病毒式传播渠道和比例相对均衡的男女玩家，这些优势对任何一个约会网站来说都是必要条件。

cupidsplay-com

CupidsPlay公司的创始人及首席执行官Philip Yuen表示，“如果你去看看社交游戏的用户结构，就会发现这些玩家中的女性占54%，还有56%是单身用户，74%用户表示自己曾在游戏中遇到新的对象。所以社交游戏是一个结交新友的好办法。”

该网站目前已发布了不少休闲游戏，包括人们所熟悉的农场类、餐厅主题的社交游戏。用户在该网站上可以创建个人资料，并说明自己需要寻找的对象类型。他们在玩游戏过程中，可以发布自己的游戏进程，然后向他人求助，这就是用户之间潜在的配对机会。玩家可以选择与他人一起玩游戏，也可以通过赠送付费虚拟商品，向她或他提供帮助。

Yuen表示，网站的目标是让更多的社交及Flash游戏开发商向这个平台投放游戏，所以CupidsPlay支持Facebook游戏开发商轻松将游戏植入这个平台，开发商可以在Facebook和CupidsPlay之间跨平台运行游戏。对开发商来说，

这个网站的一大益处在于，它增加了游戏发布渠道，同时又为虚拟商品销售创造了新的商机。游戏邦获悉，用户可以免费注册该网站帐号，但需要付费购买虚拟商品以加速游戏进程，或者与他人互赠礼物。他认为用户不会羞于通过购买虚拟商品向互有好感的对方表达爱意。CupidsPlay目前不会从虚拟商品交易中抽成，但未来有可能改变这一政策。

Yuen于去年创建了CupidsPlay，他之前曾在亚马逊就职三年，因为他创办的移动支付服务公司TextPayMe被亚马逊所收购。CupidsPlay在两周前的种子轮融资中获得了50万美元支持，主要支持者包括Clearstone Venture Partners、亚马逊产品副总裁Michael George。他表示，公司将增加包括更具同步性的实时游戏、视频聊天服务等新产品，未来也有可能向手机平台进军。

相亲市场已经吸引了众多社交及移动服务公司争相加入战局，也有不少公司推出的是集体相亲的理念，让单身男女进行约会，但用社交游戏这个热门领域的优势，促进男女玩家的结合倒是个别出心裁的主意。Yuen认为不少人目前仍然没有勇气根据相亲资料与对方搭讪，但建立在社交游戏基础之上的交流却更为休闲而有趣。

他表示，“看到对方资料和他们的长相、年龄时，你很难马上想出妙语来吸引对方的注意力，这个方法也很不自然，不是很有效，但如果你向一个男生或女生提供帮助，就很容易以此为契机展开对话和交流。”（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，转载请注明来源：游戏邦）

Social Gaming Meets Dating in CupidsPlay

Tweet The dating game has gotten more social with sites such as Zoosk incorporating Facebook-like features. But why not tap into one of the most popular aspects of Facebook — social games — to make dating more fun? That’s the idea of CupidsPlay, a new startup based in Bellevue, Wash. looking to leverage the power of games to bring potential matches together.

The site, which is officially launching Wednesday, is designed to use social games as a bridge to help singles break the ice. It’s an idea that’s still largely untapped, but it makes sense. Social games have a lot of engagement, are very viral and boast a good balance of genders, which is necessary for any dating site.

“If you look at the demographics of social games, it’s 54 percent female, 56 percent single and 74 percent said they’ve met new people in games,” said Founder and CEO Philip Yuen. “It’s really perfect for meeting new people.”

CupidsPlay is launching with about a dozen casual titles, including familiar genres like farming and restaurant-themed games. Users create profiles and identify the kind of people they’re looking for. As they play games, they publish their progress and requests for help, which other potential matches can see. A player can then choose to engage another person or help him or her out by buying them a virtual good.

Yuen said the goal is to enlist social and Flash game makers to build their games atop CupidsPlay, so CupidsPlay is making it easy for Facebook developers to port their games to the site. Developers can also run cross-platform titles on both Facebook and CupidsPlay. The attraction for developers is added distribution and the potential of making more money via sales of virtual goods.

Yuen said the site will be free, but users will be able to buy virtual goods to help them progress in games or share as gifts for others. He expects members will not be shy about buying goods to help potential matches level up. CupidsPlay is not taking a cut of the virtual good sales yet though that could change in the future.

Yuen created CupidsPlay last year following three years at Amazon ( s amzn), which bought his mobile payment start-up TextPayMe. CupidsPlay closed half a million in seed funding two weeks ago from Clearstone Venture Partners and Yuen’s old boss, Amazon VP of Product Michael George. Yuen said the company will look to add more games, including more synchronous real-time titles instead of single-player social games as well as a video chat service. He said CupidsPlay will also eventually expand to mobile platforms as well.

The dating world is crowded with a lot of established players getting competition from more social and mobile-minded upstarts. We’re seeing more companies look at group-dating ideas to help bring people together. But with social gaming already a huge hit, it’s not a bad idea to integrate dating into the mix. Yuen said people still struggle to strike up conversations with other singles based on their dating profiles. Building conversations around games can be more fun and casual for gamers.

“When I look at profile and look at eye color and age and then have to think of something witty to say, it’s not very natural or effective,” said Yuen. “But when you want to talk to this girl or guy and they need help in leveling up, you can use that as a catalyst to start conversations.”（source:gigaom）