Just days after it reported a significant decline in Zynga game revenue, Facebook is saying its total gamer traffic has seen a year over year spike. Facebook said 251 million people played games on its social network in September 2012, a 16 percent spike from the same period last year.
Earlier this week the company announced better than expected third quarter earnings but also said revenues from its top game moneymaker Zynga fell by 20 percent. But it seems that doesn’t people have necessarily moved on from gaming on the network. Facebook said users are driving the growth in number of people playing games by inviting friends to join the games they’re playing. Users also tend to try out a game when they see their friends playing it in the App Center.
Speaking at a press event, Facebook Growth Director Alex Schultz said, “When you sign up for a social game where only one or two of your friends are playing, it’s not as fun as if 10 to 20 of your friends are playing.”
Facebook also pointed to more variety in the types of games now available. Where the site was once dominated by simulation games, and namely the “point-and-click-villa” fare served by Zynga, it’s now seeing more gamer-friendly genres such as arcade and puzzle games on the rise.
Source: Mashable.com
