1）市场调研公司Inside Network最新报告指出，2011年全美社交游戏规模将达12.5亿美元，预计2012年将增长至16.5亿美元。

social games revenue(from sealcegel.com)

据该报告所称，Facebook将在2012年通过社交游戏中的Facebook Credits业务创收5亿美元以上。受虚拟商品交易的推动，2012年将成为社交游戏行业有史以来的发展高峰期。

2）谷歌高管Bradley Horowitz在日前的Srata Summit on Big Data大会上表示，Google+用户在内部好友圈中发贴的次数比发布公开贴多二到三倍。

google-plus-logo(from blog.go-optimisation.co.uk)

观察者认为，这种情况有助于解释Goolge+最近使用率大为下降的原因，同时也说明外界实际上低估了Goolge+的使用率。

3）社交网络Tagged（该公司位于旧金山，拥有1亿多用户）近日宣布收购游戏公司WeGame，但并未公布具体成交金额。

WeGame(from games.com)

WeGame主要为玩家提供基于社交网络和在线数字渠道的游戏服务，其锁定的用户主要是《魔兽世界》等硬核游戏群体，从这一点上来看，Tagged所走的路线可能与Facebook、Google+存在区别。

4）社交游戏公司6waves Lolapps日前投入1000万美元成立6L Fund基金会，将于9月27日开放服务，为有意进军Facebook、iOS或Android游戏领域的开发者提供帮助。

6waves lolapps logos(from androidified.eventbrite.com)

该公司副总裁Jim Yang表示，他们希望通过此举找到具有远见和抱负的游戏开发者，任何规模的开发者（甚至是10人以下的小团队）都可以向其申请资金，而获得资助的开发者还有可能得到6waves Lolapps提供的营销推广和本土化等其他服务支持。

6waves Lolapps最近获得了韩国网游公司Nexon（《冒险岛》开发商）的融资，即将推出的下款游戏是《Ravenshire Castle》。

5）澳大利亚开发商3 Blokes在被RockYou收购后将推出的首款游戏是《Calactic Allies》。该工作室副总裁兼创意总监John Passfield表示，虽然这款实时策略游戏的主题类似于3 Blokes之前的作品，但其玩法更关注故事情节发展和NPC角色。

Galactic Allies(from insidesocialgames)

该游戏与RockYou当前的其他游戏存在三个不同点：首先， 它是一款锁定硬核玩家的策略游戏，主要用户群体明显不同于《Zoo World》玩家；其次，与《Zoo World 2》等其他RockYou游戏相比，它的发布并没有太多PR和营销支持；第三，该游戏将与RockYou采用的新广告平台一起发布。

6）德国新兴企业Iconicfuture的创立宗旨是打造一个让品牌授权方与游戏开发商就贴牌虚拟商品进行合作的平台，支持开发商通过该平台找到最适合植入游戏中的贴牌虚拟商品，然后与品牌授权方进行协商，开发商和授权方最后可一起从游戏虚拟商品交易中分成，Iconicfuture则从中抽取部分佣金。

virtual goods(from venturebeat)

该公司首席执行官Ze’ev Rozov表示，相对开发周期短暂的社交游戏、手机游戏、在线游戏项目来说，品牌授权谈判过程所占时间过于冗长，其中涉及的地区或平台权益、盈利抽成等条款更是开发商面临的一大棘手问题；与此同时，品牌授权方通常也不清楚哪类虚拟商品最有市场，应该如何在游戏中植入贴牌产品，但Iconicfuture可以帮助开发商、授权方顺利处理这些事务。

由西班牙开发商推出的《Sports City》已经通过Iconicfuture平台的服务推出了米兰圣西罗体育场这种付费虚拟商品，每个售价50个Facebook Credits（或3.5欧元），Iconicfuture将从中提取部分抽成。

该公司目前有9名成员，其姐妹公司是体育营销机构Triumph Media Group，竞争对手包括那些直接进行合作的游戏公司和品牌企业。

7）在本周的DAU增长最快Facebook游戏榜单上，Zynga新作《Adventure World》（最近DAU为394万）居于EA游戏《模拟人生社交版》（最近DAU达1129万）之后，排在第二名，第三名则是《Words With Friends》（DAU为357万）。

Top Gainers This Week-Games(from AppData)

值得注意的是第六名的新面孔《Dirty Dancing》（DAU为6万8607），该游戏由多伦多开发商Social Game Universe和狮门影业根据1987年的一部爱情电影改编。（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，如需转载请联系：游戏邦）

1）WebMediaBrands’ Inside Network: US Social Gaming Market to Reach $1.65 Billion in 2012

By Sebastian SujkaShare

A new report released today by research firm Inside Network (a division of WebMediaBrands) concludes that the total US market size for social gaming will reach $1.65 billion in 2012, up from $1.25 billion in 2011. The report, “Inside Virtual Goods: The Future of Social Gaming 2012″ is the latest original research study in the Inside Virtual Goods series, co-authored by Justin Smith and Charles Hudson. “The biggest player in social gaming, Zynga, filed its S-1 this June, with expectations to raise $1 billion in its IPO. At the same time, others developers in the market continue to see strong growth in traffic, engagement, and monetization. Social gaming now makes up an even greater share of the overall tech and entertainment economy and will continue to grow in 2012.” Justin Smith, founder of Inside Network says.

“Based on our research and market projects for growth in the US social games market, Facebook could make over $500 million in revenue through Facebook Credits activity in social games in 2012,” adds Charles Hudson, co-author of the Inside Virtual Goods research series. Inside Virtual Goods: The Future of Social Gaming 2012 presents updated estimates for next year’s social gaming market in the United States, and reveals that next year’s social games market will increase 32% over its 2011 size. Smith and Hudson’s research is based on extended interviews with top executives and entrepreneurs in social gaming. Inside Virtual Goods: The Future of Social Gaming 2012 is the culmination of months of original research and presents findings not available publicly.（source:socialgamesobserver）

2）Google Plus Users 2-3 Times More Likely to Post Privately

By Richard MacManus

Today at the Strata Summit on Big Data, Google’s Bradley Horowitz noted an intriguing statistic about Google Plus usage: users of Google Plus are two to three times as likely to post content to private circles than they are to post it publicly. As our own Marshall Kirkpatrick commented, these numbers suggest the Circles metaphor is working.

Horowitz is VP of Product Management and a leader of the Google Plus social network, so he knows better than anyone the usage data. Still, I am very surprised to hear that private posts are 2-3 times as likely as public posts on Google Plus. I myself hardly ever post privately and I had thought that not many of the people I follow do either. So let’s do an informal poll: do you regularly post privately in Google Plus?

I also asked the question on my own Google Plus profile, where you can leave a comment if you like.

This statistic from Horowitz may explain the recently reported apparent drop in Google Plus activity. If 2-3 times more people are posting privately than publicly, then it’s likely that Google Plus usage is being significantly under-reported. However we’d love to see actual numbers from Google about this, so we will follow up with Horowitz.（source：readwriteweb）

3）Tagged bulks up for a bout with Facebook, acquires WeGame

by Joe Osborne

The imminent battle between Facebook and Google+ over social games domination has a potential, scrappy third contender. People often forget about Tagged, the San Francisco-based social network with a considerable 100 million plus users. Video games, our favorite thing to talk about, might change all that, as the company announced that it has purchased WeGame.

WeGame is a cross between a social network for gamers in vein of services like Raptr and an online store with digital copies of games. Of course, terms of the deal weren’t disclosed, and it’s unclear exactly how the social network will make use of its new gaming network-meets-game store.

This news is especially striking considering the fact that Tagged already offers social games to its users. In fact, the company hired former Pogo VP Andrew Pederson to oversee its social gaming efforts. Perhaps that venture hasn’t produced results, or Tagged simply looks to further bolster its social gaming efforts. Unfortunately, we currently haven’t a clue.

According to TechCrunch, Tagged will reveal the details of how WeGame’s technology will be incorporated “in the coming months.” The company in question is run by a mere four employees, so we imagine there is a good amount of automation going on there, something Tagged could be looking to take advantage of.

It’s also worth noting that WeGame is heavily skewed toward the hardcore crowd, offering a number of games for sale that only fans of franchises like World of WarCraft might recognize. That said–and this is pure speculation–Tagged could be looking in a completely different direction than Facebook is and Google+ appears to be: the proverbial Call of Duty player. Hey, if the social network has found strong enough of a niche to thrive in the shadow of Facebook, perhaps it has found another.（source:games）

4）6waves Lolapps starting $10 million social and mobile game fund

By Andrew Webster

The newly formed social gaming giant 6waves Lolapps is looking for talented social and mobile game developers. And it’s created a $10 million fund to attract them.

Dubbed the 6L Fund, it will open up on September 27, at which point interested developers looking to make Facebook, iOS, or Android games can apply for funding. Those looking to participate can apply here.

“We want to find the companies with the big ideas and bring their vision to completion,” senior VP Jim Yang told VentureBeat. “Facebook and social games are evolving.”

The money will be used to help developers of any size, from 10-person teams to even smaller studios, receive the funding necessary to actually complete a game. Those who receive funding will also potentially have access to benefits like promotion and localiztion help from 6waves Lolapps, as well as the ability to license the company’s Flisio game engine.

6waves Lolapps recently received funding itself from MapleStory creator Nexon. Its next big release is the much-anticipated Ravenshire Castle, the follow-up to Ravenwood Fair.（source:gamezebo）

5）RockYou 3 Blokes Launches Social RTS Game Galactic Allies for Facebook

By AJ Glasser

The first game to come from Australian developer 3 Blokes after being acquired by RockYou will be a real time strategy game set in space called Galactic Allies.

Speaking to Inside Social Games, 3 Blokes VP and Creative Director John Passfield explains that though the theme is similar to the developer’s previous title, Galactic Trader, Allies is a combat-oriented game with more narrative-driven gameplay and non-playable characters. Players construct fleets of starships, each containing up to six vessels that the player can control individually during combat. The combat phase is real time with actions occurring as the player or the computer instructs the units. At launch, Galactic Allies will allow for player versus player combat between friends, but the activity will be asynchronous with the computer stepping in to control a friend’s fleet when we attack them.

Galactic Allies differs from the current portfolio of RockYou-owned games in several key ways. First, it’s a strategy game aimed at a more niche and largely male audience compared to, say, the Zoo World franchise. Second, the game is launching without as much as hype or extensive marketing compared to Zoo World 2 and other RockYou games published through its partners program. Third, Galactic Allies is launching with RockYou’s new ad platform already in place.

RockYou SVP of Games Jonathan Knight lays out the strategy behind Galactic Allies as one of gradual, steady growth. He says that the opening will be “smaller and slower,” with RockYou 3 Blokes reaching out to the community for feedback in order to fine-tune the game. Knight explains that because there is a larger pool of RTS games on Facebook than ever before, the audience is already there for Galactic Allies. The trick is attracting it to the RockYou brand, where traditionally, it’s been all about women-oriented animal and farming sims.（source:insidesocialgames）

6）Iconicfuture creates easy way to license brands for virtual goods

Dean Takahashi

Iconicfuture believes in the virtual future. The German startup hopes to be a matchmaker that puts together the owners of brands with developers who want to use branded virtual goods in their online games. It is doing so by setting up a digital marketplace where licensors and licensees can cut a deal.

The Hamburg-based company is the brain child of Ze’ev Rozov (pictured right), chief executive of Iconicfuture and a 17-year veteran of the media and online games industries. It is a logical outcome for the free-to-play game industry, where users play games for free but pay real money for virtual goods. If developers can get attractive items, such as the Lady Gaga virtual goods in Zynga’s FarmVille game, users will pay real money for the items. As crazy as that sounds to outsiders, virtual goods is already a $1.25 billion industry in the U.S.

In the marketplace, a game developer can search for the best branded item that they can use inside a game. The legal permissions are either pre-specified or worked out in negotiations. At the end, developer and licensor can share revenue related to selling the virtual goods in games.

One example is Shaun the Sheep, a British stop-motion animated character produced for TV shows. Bigpoint recently used Iconicfuture to license the rights to Shaun the Sheep in its popular Farmerama game. In an interview, Rozov said it normally takes too long to figure out licenses for games, especially online, social network, and mobile games that have much shorter development times than traditional console games. Figuring out the legal issues such as territorial or platform rights is often a hold-up, as are terms for sharing revenue.

“We want to streamline that,” Rozov said. “Licensors are often looking for a minimum amount of performance, but you often don’t know which items will sell well. It’s a long negotiation.”

But those who can get it right can improve the monetization of both brands and games. One Facebook and web game, Sports City, has steadily been adding rights to premium soccer clubs across Europe. In the city building game, users create cities, manage teams, and build their own stadiums. They get a lot more excited if they can build a stadium based around a license, Rozov said. Created by Spanish company Zed, Sports City will launch this week with items such as the San Siro stadium in Milan, available for 50 Facebook Credits, or 3.50 euros. Other customers include ACM, Aardman Rights, and Zen Studios. For each deal, Iconicfuture gets a cut.

Iconicfuture is the sister company of sports marketing firm Triumph Media Group, which incubated the startup. Rozov was vice president of digital at Triumph.

“We saw an opportunity to expand in this area and set the company up in February,” he said.

The company has nine employees and funding from the backers of its sister company. It is not raising outside money now. Competitors include those game and brand companies that can negotiate directly. Zynga did that recently when it licensed the Indiana Jones character from Lucasfilm for Zynga’s Adventure World game.

The video game industry went through its own licensing cycle in the past. Movie-based games were popular for a while, until they became associated with poor quality games. Then they fell out of favor. But Rozov said that casual gamers who play Facebook games may put the emotion around the brand equity ahead of any quality concerns for virtual goods.（source:venturebeat）

7） Adventure World Catching Up to The Sims Social on This Week’s List of Fastest-Growing Games by DAU

By AJ Glasser

Zynga is hot on the heels of EA Playfish’s The Sims Social with Adventure World and Words With Friends both gaining ground in our list of fastest-growing games by daily active users.

At No.6 this week is newcomer Dirty Dancing, a Facebook game based on the 1987 romance film of the same name from Toronto-based developer Social Game Universe and entertainment company Lionsgate. Expect a full review from us later this week.（source:insidesocialgames）