Facebook: Games Will Help Make Experiences ‘Social At The Core’

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Right now, the phenomenon called “gamification” is sweeping across multiple industries at the moment. To Ethan Beard, Facebook’s director of platform partnerships, he sees this trend coming to social media and content as well.

“You know, in many ways, gaming, we think, is leading the way,” said Beard. “It’s going to transform lots and lots of industries and experiences by making them social at the core.”

“I think it’s still early days. I think there’s a lot more that we’re going to see. The space is moving quickly. We’re definitely not at an end game,” he added. “What’s going with mobile is completely different. In two years, the type of games we’re playing on a mobile phone is going to look really different from what we’re playing today. We find that users that use us on mobile are more engaged than users who only use us on the PC.”

Of course, this also includes games that are not just games that are platform exclusive to Facebook. “You can play games on PlayStation and Xbox that are social and have the social graph at the core of them. We’re still at a very early stage. Titles that tie together all those experiences. Distribution that you can get on all these different experiences. And truly rich social gaming that isn’t just setting a title on a Facebook Canvas space.”

“That’s what we’re constantly thinking about, Facebook as a platform that is the graph, and having users tap into that and have experiences with their friends. We feel like we’re just scratching the surface, and it’s really going to transform,” he added. “A lot of the true innovation and genius is happening within our gaming partners. We certainly encourage it and listen to them to make sure that what we build works for that, but I definitely think the like kind of cross-platform coordination and cross-platform platform is a really exciting area. We think we’re going to see a lot of interesting innovation take place.”

Source: Gamasutra

PS3 – ‘Long Live Play’

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For the past couple of years, PlayStation has had the “It Only Does Everything” campaign headlined by Kevin Butler. SCEA has announced that they are rolling out a new campaign called “Long Live Play” for the system’s switchover to $249, with new ads rolling out immediately on websites, TV networks, retailers and social networking outlets immediately.

“PlayStation has always been about the gamer and the PS3 is the ultimate portal to a land of infinite experiences and accomplishments. PlayStation is reaffirming our commitment to gamers like yourselves with ‘Long Live Play’ – mixing humor and a little good, clean fun with the kind of entertainment content you crave,” said Scott Steinberg, SCEA VP of Product Marketing. “What better way to transition than with a visit from Kevin Butler, back from his four-day retirement with a special message.”

Source: PlayStation Blog

PS3 ‘Must Do Better In U.K.’ Says SCE Euro Boss

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The PS3 has outsold the Xbox 360 in mainland Europe, but the U.K. remains more intransigent in its support for the Xbox 360 over the PS3. President and chief executive officer of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Jim Ryan says this trend is a special concern for him.

“U.K. is one of the territories where we have to do better,” said Ryan. “Whether you approach the U.K. from the perspective of our momentum, or the perspective of the competitive landscape, for us the U.K. is more like U.S. than continental Europe. If you look across the PAL territory, where typically we outsell our competitors by around 50 percent on a weekly basis, it’s inverted in the U.K. That is something we want to address.”

“History has shown us that once you get to £199 you hit lift off,” he added about the price cut. “We can do some serious business and this kick-starts that. Getting to £199 was a defining moment for the PSone and PS2 – this will be no different.”

Source: MCV

Zynga Might Delay IPO Until November

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Zynga had been preparing an IPO to raise about $1 billion as early as June. However, the recent volatility in the stock market means that Zynga’s public stock offering may be delayed until November.

“It wouldn’t be illogical for the bank to delay a sale, given the markets,” said a source. “It makes sense for a bank to protect its clients from a market that could potentially be a bottomless pit.”

Meanwhile, the SEC has concerns that only 5 percent of Zynga users actually pay anything for their games. The SEC wants more precise detail on how many paying customers it has for each of its titles, but that is something that Zynga wishes to conceal.

Source: New York Post

Create Your Own Coke Drink

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Coke’s Freestyle dispensers aim to deliver on your 13-year old soda fountain mischief: mixing any combination of their beverages to form your own unique cocktail. As a way of generating excitement for the national roll-out of these very real-world machines, Coke recently launched the Coca-Cola Freestyle app on Facebook {link no longer active} (along with an iPhone and Android game) that allows fans to mix their own unique drinks using 125 Coke beverages. Upon mixing your concoction, a ‘push’ button invites you to fill your cup and name your beverage. The Facebook Page allows you to ask for a Freestyle machine in your town, if one is not currently available via one of Coke’s partners.

Kevin Butler: President, Economy Flooring

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Kevin Butler is a very busy VP of whatever for SCEA and also tweets fairly frequently. However, a recent tweet suggested that he was hired for a new job, though we have a feeling he’ll be used in plenty of Sony commercials going forward.

“A man can only be made VP so many times, KB’s off to be PRESIDENT of my uncle’s new upstart company,” tweeted Butler, later adding, “Thanks for all the well-wishes. Yes, as president of a flooring company I’ll be hiring but please no job apps yet. Commercials We’ll see…”

His new description on Twitter reads: “President, Economy Flooring. I’m a man of the people and the people need help. Carpets worn Hardwoods warped Linoleum non-linear Rest Easy, KB’s here to help.”

Source: Twitter