As Real Economy Pales Virtual Economy Brightens

CNBC August 2010 | For the better part of the last year, game industry pundits have shouted from the rooftops that social network gaming was the next big thing – but it’s starting to look like even they underestimated just how big it would be.

Major media companies, traditional game developers and more are gobbling up the developers of Facebook and MySpace games – and the price tags are escalating at a startling pace.

Disney holds the current crown, last week paying $563 million for Playdom, the third largest maker of social games. (That price could escalate to $763 million if the unit hits performance targets over time.)
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