Button-mashing will take on a whole new meaning next month.
If you're on Facebook or you're a brand new convert to the
social networking giant, you more than likely have been
bombarded by countless notifications from your friends
requesting help with items like cement blocks in Mafia Wars
or those showing off their accessories in Sorority Life.
Roll your eyes if you must, but such updates are the biggest
sign that social network gaming has grown to such an extent
that major corporations have noticed. The major player in
this regard has been 7-Eleven who at the beginning of June
of this year entered into a five-year partnership with Zynga
Corporation, the creator of Mafia Wars, YoVille and other
franchises. But there's a new challenger entering the fray:
Capcom.
Yes, Capcom, according to the Japanese business daily The
Nikkei will start offering games on Facebook as early as
next month. There's no word publicly on which games these
will be but there are strong hints that Resident Evil IV
and Street Fighter IV will be the first ones on tap. Such
a move is sure to spur a significant jump in the number of
gamers on Facebook, currently estimated at 100 million and
counting. The US-based subsidiary of the company will release
the games for free and they'll harken back to the mobile
releases for the iPhone from earlier this year, the main
difference being that the Facebook versions will be free
and Capcom will earn money from selling items offline like
7-Eleven does in it's current deal. It's a bold move, one
that other Japanese companies may imitate given the fact
that their home gaming market has decreased sharply over
the past year to the tune of 6.9% down to $6.3 billion.
Leave it to Capcom to give the industry a Dragon Punch to
the system.