MySpace Gets in the Game
Social networkers rejoice; MySpace has finally launched a games portal. According to the page’s mission statement, the site promises “the best online games available in a safe, user-friendly environment” and caters to hardcore gamers and newbies alike.
The launch, announced last year, arrives as Facebook continues to affirm its role as social networkers’ casual gaming Mecca. MySpace’s portal, while impressive, seems to offer less in the way of multi-player appeal than its veteran competitor.
Actually, the portal features substantially fewer options than those found on Facebook. At least for now, members cannot invite others to join in massive social games a la Facebook Duels. Nor will they be able to create their own games. There is no word yet on whether we can expect these features in the future.
There’s been a lot of buzz surrounding so-called “casual gaming” as of late, so it’s no great surprise that MySpace wants a piece of the pie. Really, the most surprising aspect is the fact that it has taken them so long to get in the game. At this point it looks like MySpace is going to be stuck playing catch-up for some time.
It’s not all gloom and doom for MySpace, however. The array of games offered is impressive, akin to those found on Yahoo! Games. With several different genres—ranging from cards to original, arcade-style titles—casual gaming fans shouldn’t be disappointed with the line-up.
Whichever social network you call home, any increased competition should benefit both sides. Here’s hoping that some of Facebook’s more popular games (anyone else thinking Oregon Trail?) come to MySpace in the near future.
Tags: Facebook, MySpace, Yahoo
Any new place that offers competitive casual games is great. The more offering the same product will mean more competition. Hopefully we will see more games from each site begin to pop up as they try to gain an advantage. Yay for more games!
Yup, I was thinking about Oregon Trail too.
It’s going to be nice to be able to play retro flash games on your myspace or facebook. Saves time and kills time… AT THE SAME TIME. lol.
Well, they’re doing a good job, ’cause hitting the casual online gaming market is like hitting a sweet spot on a tennis racket.
I think arcades fail in the sense that so many people cheat to get the high scores that it isn’t fun for the rest of us. The spam-bots and hackers that myspace has been facing for quite some time now, will no doubt be attracted to the games section as well to pump up their advertising. I’ll stick to COD4
I agree with you zigzag that often hardcore gamers are turned off by the imprecise nature of many online arcades. But the real market that those are tailored to are the so-called “casual gamers”, which is a pretty big buzz word these days (especially since Nintendo’s just cashed in with the Wii). Hopefully, MySpace can work out the hacker issue enough to protect their games section. In the meantime, competitive gamers would probably do best to stick to more accurate representations of their skill (COD4 is a perfect example). Happy gaming all…
It may be true that the hardcore gamers will be turned off a little. But in truth, who could ever turn down the ability to reminisce the games of their past. I may love playing the more intense games, but I would never want to miss the re-release of “Where in the World is Carmen San Diego” or even “Street Fighter” and “Double-Dragon”. Some things are just too valuable. Myspace and Facebook are just giving us a chance to remember the good old days when “up up down down left right left right b a start” really meant something.
I agree with Sarassaris –> sometimes people want to enjoy a bit of the old times, return to the origins of what launched them into the adventurous gaming world.