近日，微软公司将携手Facebook第二大游戏开发公司CrowdStar开发一款社交游戏中心（Microsoft Game Hub）。

Microsoft

在15日的发布会上，微软公司宣布将对MSN Games网站进行全面整改，令玩家在Bing Games或Windows Live Messenger等各种网络资产上都可以互相竞争。另外，玩家使用Microsoft Game Hub便可以看到彼此在微软平台和Facebook社交网站的积分情况。

在过去几年，雅虎，Facebook和Apple等公司都开发了自己的社交游戏平台。现在，Microsoft Game Hub也将加入社交游戏的角逐之中。

去年，Facebook社交游戏吸引了广大美国群众。正因这一趋势，老牌视频游戏公司Electronic Arts以4亿美元收购了“Pet Society”和“Restaurant City”的开发公司Playfish，同年7月，迪士尼公司也以5亿6320万美元的价格收购了另一家Facebook游戏开发公司Playdom。

目前，隶属于微软公司的MSN Games总计提供包括《宝石迷阵》、《Mah Jong Tiles》和《黑桃王》在内等近1000款游戏。

今年2月，最大的社交游戏开发公司Zynga同意让其知名游戏“FamrVille”登录微软游戏网站。

开发者排行榜

CrowdStar

目前，开发社交游戏Happy Aquarium的CrowdStar公司是Facebook社交网站第三大应用开发公司，其排名仅次于Zynga和Phrases。据Appdata最新数据显示，CrowdStar公司总计有5000万月活跃用户。

通过此次合作，CrowdStar旗下游戏将首先登陆Bing Games，之后才在微软网站发布。

目前，Facebook或MySpace等社交网站提供的游戏都是免费的，游戏开发商主要通过销售虚拟商品获得盈利。

在纽约时间15日下午4时，世界最大的软件公司微软公司在纳斯达克证券市场的股价下跌7美分，收于26.20美元。今年来微软公司股份累计下跌了14%。（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，转载请注明来源：游戏邦）

Nov. 15 (Bloomberg) — Microsoft Corp. is creating a social-games hub in partnership with CrowdStar International Ltd., the second-largest maker of such titles on Facebook.

Microsoft is overhauling the MSN Games site to let players compete with each other across Web properties including Bing Games and Windows Live Messenger, the companies said today in a statement. Players using the Microsoft Game Hub will be able to see each others’ scores across the Microsoft platforms and Facebook Inc.’s social network.

Microsoft Game Hub will compete against a crowded field of companies moving to capitalize on consumer interest in games that can be played for a few minutes at a time. Yahoo! Inc., Facebook and Apple Inc. have established social-gaming platforms over the past few years.

Games on Facebook gained popularity in the U.S. last year, leading Electronic Arts Inc. to purchase Playfish Inc., the maker of “Pet Society” and “Restaurant City,” for as much as $400 million. Walt Disney Co. agreed to buy Playdom Inc., another supplier of games on Facebook, for $563.2 million in July.

MSN Games, a unit of Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft, offers more than 1,000 titles, including “Bejeweled,” “Mah Jong Tiles” and “Spades.”

In February, San Francisco-based Zynga Game Network Inc., the largest maker of social games on Facebook, began letting users of Microsoft’s game site play “FarmVille.”

Developer Rankings

Closely held CrowdStar, whose offerings include the virtual fish-care game “Happy Aquarium,” is the third-largest developer overall behind Zynga and Phrases on Facebook’s social network, with more than 50 million monthly active users, according to the latest ranking from AppData.com, a website that tracks application use on Facebook.

Under the partnership, CrowdStar’s games will be featured first on Bing Games before rolling out to other Microsoft sites, the companies said.

Games on social networks such as Facebook and MySpace are free of charge. The makers generate revenue by selling virtual goods.

Microsoft, the world’s largest software company, fell 7 cents to $26.20 at 4 p.m. New York time in Nasdaq Stock Market trading. The shares have dropped 14 percent this year. （Source：businessweek）