Presentation Topic: Social Gaming

I've been deliberating for a couple weeks now, and a few days ago I decided that for the final project for Business of Media, I'd like to dig into the quickly growing world of Social Gaming.

I've taken a quick look at social games in the past, as well as EA's purchase of Playfish.However, as with many emerging trends in the realm of online social activity, this is only the tip of the iceberg. Social games are doing things that traditional games have never be able to accomplish. For example, Nintendo recently bragged about how many female players it has, compared to other consoles like the Xbox or PS3.

This is all well and good, but when you look at social games, women and girls aren't just a small pink chunk on a pie chart: they dominate the field. This is a by-product of the fact that they are spending more time with social media, in general.

And while bridging the gender gap alone would is an impressive feat in the gaming industry (women have always been big gamers in the casual sphere, but rarely have they been so readily talked about), it is just one reason why social gaming is so attractive right now.

Pop Idol Likes Videogames, Would Be Interested in Production

I touched a little bit yesterday on my disdain for videogame advertising only seeming to target women when it wants to sell distinctly "feminized" games (fashion, cooking, baby-pet-rearing) rather than even bothering to view them as part of the market for major industry blockbusters. However, as I tried to make clear with that post, the prospect of having more girls and women playing more games, in general, excites me and makes me all warm and fuzzy.

Last Friday, Gamespot noted that pop music idol Beyonce Knowles has expressed an interested in working on a dance-based fitness game for women. Of course the news is entirely speculative, but it is interesting to note. After all, Knowles would already have the powerhouse of her personal brand to drive an advertising campaign should a game with her name on it ever come to fruition. She's an iconic figure of the "strong" yet desirable female role model, for both young girls and older women alike.

"I'd like to get involved in videogames since I really love Wii Fit," the singer was quoted as saying. "I think it would be a great idea to incorporate choreography because for me my workout is way more fun when it involves dancing as opposed to running on a boring treadmill. So I would love to do some kind of fitness game but incorporate dance and performance into it. I think a lot of women would enjoy that."

As the article points out, celebrity-backed games aren't a new concept. That said (and this is open to some, though I doubt much, debate) none of the celebrities mentioned are half so influential as Knowles amongst the possible target audience (women and young girls who enjoy dancing and pop music).