Google+ Games: Should Facebook and Apple be Nervous?

  • The introduction of games to Google+ potentially threatens both Facebook (which also has games) and Apple (which takes a 30 percent cut versus Google’s 5 percent).
  • Google+ sees games as being core to their mission: “We don’t consider ourselves experts at making compelling games, but we can bring a lot to the party,” explains Bradley Horowitz, VP of Product for Google+. “There were some internal debates about whether Google was well-suited to have games in our repertoire and what is the value of games to the users. There’s tremendous value for users. They provide a way for people to connect, discover and interact with each other… We don’t see games contrary to our mission, or a diversion. We see them as being core.”
  • If HTML5 unifies the Web and mobile, it could become possible “for software to be written once and run across multiple devices.” And if Google+ games were to run via a browser on the iPhone or iPad, this could be an additional concern for Apple.
  • What do you think? Should Facebook and Apple be nervous?

2 Comments

  1. I agree with Bryan’s other comments…Google+ needs something sticky beyond wall-posts, and Games seems to be it. Sure hope they deliver an API soon so people can do other (entertainment-related) stuff too!

  2. I agree with Bryan’s other comments…Google+ needs something sticky beyond wall-posts, and Games seems to be it. Sure hope they deliver an API soon so people can do other (entertainment-related) stuff too!

Leave a comment

You must be logged in to post a comment.