Explorer LTE219*19/06/2000-25/06/2000 Cert

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E3 Social Gaming Wrapup Posted: 17 Jun 2011 05:42 PM PDT This year's E3, traditionally one of the gaming industry's most significant events, took place last week. While the unveiling of Nintendo's Wii U console and a strong showing of Console and PC titles generated  a lot of buzz, more than a few publications, including The New York Times, Mercury News, and CNET, noted that one of the fastest growing segments of the gaming industry, social gaming, was conspicuously absent from the show floor. In his takeaway from the show, CNN's John D. Sutter suggested that social and mobile gaming's lack of visibility indicated a growing "rift in the gaming world." Though console titles dominated the show, there were a number of significant social gaming announcements made at the show. The Disney owned Playdom announced a new social gaming title, "City of Might," and also announced that "City of Wonder," which recently debuted on hi5, will now also be available on the iOS platform. Electronic Arts, who has invested heavily in social and mobile gaming, made a large splash by revealing that "The Sims," one gaming's most successful franchises, will soon debut as a social game. And while on the subject of "The Sims," creator of the franchise, Will Wright, indicated that he will be dipping his toes into social gaming with a new game based on the sci-fi short story "Maneki Neko To." Portalarium founder Richard Garriott, another gaming pioneer who has made a foray into social gaming, recently gave two interviews to Gamasutra in which he gave his thoughts on the future of Portalarium and the future of social gaming in general. Having made his first foray into social games with "Port Casino Poker" and "Port Casino Blackjack," Garriott sees publishers' resistance to change as an opportunity for smaller companies to swoop in and meet the needs of underserved gamers. Portalarium also announced that they secured a second round of funding, which will undoubtedly come in handy as they continue to develop a pair of new social games. As CNN reporter Doug Gross noted, one of the clear takeaways from this year's E3 is that social and mobile games have greatly expanded the definition of gamer to include many who would not previously have fit the label. The sheer number of big-budget, AAA releases announced at this year's show suggests that demand for those types of titles will continue to persist. As social games continue to grow, it remains to be seen whether the hallmark events of gaming industry like E3 will grow to incorporate these new types of games or whether online oriented shows such as GDC Online and Casual Connect, which hi5 will be sponsoring this year, will have to continue picking up the slack. If you'd like to schedule an opportunity to meet with hi5 at Casual Connect or any other events hi5 will be attending, please email pr@hi5.com.