Google promises a unified social and mobile game platform

http://venturebeat.com/2012/03/06/google-promises-a-unified-social-and-mobile-game-platform/

by acro • 14 years ago

32 5 14 years ago

ch0wn• 14 years ago

There are some references in the Google+ app for Android to an unpublished app named "com.google.android.apps.oneup" that seems to be related to gaming.

I'm really interested to see where Google is heading with their gaming strategy.

kwamenum86• 14 years ago

My first and only thought is "Google will fuck this up"

michaelochurch2• 14 years ago

Google has an incredible amount of talent under its roof and has established a brilliant apparatus for drawing more talent in.

The problem is that Google has the wrong people making major decisions, and if it doesn't find a way to fix that, its next 50 years will be pure mediocrity. Talent doesn't matter if the direction is nukular buttfail.

One thing I like about Google is the ideology of being non-editorial. This served it very well in web search, where being non-editorial is necessary (because of the size of the problem) and stately, but it's an unmitigated disaster in game selection. Farmville was good for Zynga but bad for Facebook; it clogged the channels with spam, contributed to social network fatigue, and marred Facebook's reputation.

To get games right, you have to be editorial. The only way a general-purpose social network is going to beat Facebook in the next 5 years is if it generates an excellent games brand. In-house game development wouldn't work at Google, so the solution is to form relationships with top indie developers, not to promote (and give preferential treatment, such as early inclusion) whatever mainstream publishers like Zynga throw at them.

If any Google execs are reading this, that'll be $17,500 for the advice. A bargain.

vibrunazo• 14 years ago

I believe they are being editorial with games already, via the Staff Picks on the Android Market. They certainly are openly editorial with Google Music. So now that they're unifying all that, I guess we can only expect more of it.

Google promises a unified social and mobile game platform

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