Facebook has hired the development team behind the Spaceport framework. Spaceport exists as a platform to help mobile games developers publish their products across multiple platforms. The platform has been used to expand the reach of the mobile games space, allowing developers to access platforms that they would not have had access to in the past. Spaceport can, for instance, be used to take a web-based game and bring it to Android mobile devices, effectively converting it into a mobile title.
Facebook has a strong history in the gaming field
It is no secret that Facebook has a strong interest in gaming. In the past, the company has leveraged its status as a social network to expose millions of consumers to the games it had supported. These games brought in significant revenue for Facebook and the social network had once been considered an ideal platform that developers could use to connect with a massive audience. Facebook has been losing traction with developers over the pas few years, however, as more developers begin to favor the Android and iOS platforms due to the rampant popularity of mobile games.
Spaceport team may help Facebook break into mobile gaming
In hiring the Spaceport team, Facebook may be making a move into the mobile space. The social games that are supported on the site are still very popular among Facebook’s users, but the company has been showing significant interest in the prospects that could be gained in the mobile gaming field. Mobile games have come to represent one of the most lucrative sectors of the game industry, which is enough to entice several companies to look toward getting involved in gaming.
Mobile is becoming the primary focus of the social network
Facebook has been reforming its online presence recently. The social network has improved its mobile platform to align better with the interests of its users and Facebook has launched new versions of its SDK to Android and iOS developers. The social network, as a whole, is becoming more mobile-centric as well, with many of the features being added to the social network catering to the mobile space specifically.
Facebook has long been a strong presence in the realm of social gaming due to its status as one of the most used social networking platforms in the world. The social network has been supporting various kinds of social games over the past several years, and has plans to continue doing so, but Facebook has also been growing more interested in the world of mobile games. Facebook has announced plans to reach out to a demographic it has not pursued in any serious fashion over the next year: Core gamers.
Facebook to focus on core gamers
Core gamers represent the stereotypical demographic of consumer that plays games in some way. This demographic is typically separated into various subclasses, such as mid-core and hardcore. Facebook has taken a strong interest in core gamers due to the fact that they are willing to devote a significant amount of their time to games that they enjoy or, in some cases, games that they do not enjoy at all. In the world of mobile games, more time spent playing a game itself generally translates into more money spent by the consumer, whether by participating in advertising or purchasing in-game content or virtual currencies.
Social network to offer developers promising incentives
Facebook is formulating a plan to attract mobile game developers to its platform, hoping that these developers will produce games that are attractive to core gamers. Currently, the social network is showing interest in a wide range of genres for these games, though which genres Facebook will focus on more intently will be determined by further research into what gamers actually want to play. Mobile games themselves are somewhat attractive because of their easily accessible and addictive nature, so Facebook may be interested in genres that play to the strengths of mobile gaming.
Mobile games may help Facebook overcome the past
Facebook experienced a turbulent 2012, with much of the social network’s turmoil being based on poor performance in the stock market. Lackluster security has also been a major problem for the social network, an issue that has served to plague Facebook for some time. Mobile games may be able to help the social network put much of its past troubles to rest, as long as these games are as successful as the company is hoping they will be.
