Microsoft could buy its way into social games in 2011, analysts say

Microsoft Game Studios
The year 2011might involve even more acquisitions in social gaming from more companies than just Zynga, with potential buyers like Microsoft and media giant Viacom expected by analysts to be considering serious purchases, Reuters said. Because advertising isn't exactly working out this decade, big media and tech companies will look to virtual goods to stay afloat, according to analysts' predictions.

"The truth is everybody is talking to everybody, every potential buyer is probably talking to just about every social game company out there," said principal with Norwest Venture Partners Tim Chang, whose firm invested in Playdom.

Apparently Microsoft could be the next big customer, looking to enhance its Xbox Live platform, industry executives said. With Zynga's FarmVille coming to Microsoft's Windows Phone 7, they just might be right. However, Zynga is pretty much off the table at this point with an estimated worth of over $5 billion, but that doesn't mean smaller companies couldn't fill that void.

Find out who could be gobbled up next after the break.
Money Handling
"With Playfish and Playdom gone, Zynga being unbuyable, we're on the downside of that slope," said Don Rainey, a partner at Grotech Ventures. "We're through the big moves and into the small moves."

What about 'small move' companies like CrowdStar or Kabam? While CrowdStar chairman Peter Relman reportedly doesn't feel the pressure to sell, Microsoft could probably offer him something enticing. Who knows, Microsoft could be looking to promote the next phase of its Halo franchise through social gaming. All the cool kids are doing it. A Microsoft-owned CrowdStar could become the Facebook brand manager for Microsoft Games Studio much like Playfish is for Electronic Arts.

While consolidation through buyouts is certainly good for business, this could hurt the creative potential of social games studios to make gripping games with fresh ideas. There's nothing like the pressure to create a brand seller to stunt innovation. Hey, at least according to analysts, social games could be worth over $2 billion come next year.

Microsoft shelters new social game developers in Windows Azure

Microsoft wants to be part of the social gaming phenomenon one way or another. (For now, that appears to be without buying a company like CrowdStar.) The ubiquitous tech company has launched the Windows Azure Toolkit for Social Games, a special set of free tools for social game developers to host their games from Windows' cloud storage solution, akin to Amazon's similar service.

And while big companies like Zynga use the latter, Microsoft thinks it can attract new developers with its solution. ITProPortal reports that the company announced its new product at the Casual Connect event in San Francisco recently, and that it will provide tools for developers that other services do not offer.

While Amazon offers simply a place to put your game data, Microsoft wants to help game creators with built-in methods for tracking achievements and scores as well as payment integration over Facebook Credits. And, more importantly, Microsoft claims that its Azure servers can handle an influx of players, which is vitally important in the early days of a game's release.

The free set of tools launched with Tankster, an HTML5-based social game housed on Windows Azure. It was created by Grant Skinner, an established casual and social game designer. With the big "M" in the game, perhaps the time for indie games on Facebook isn't over.

Do you think Microsoft has found its place in the world of social gaming? Will new or indie developers be attracted to this new service?

Microsoft wants the Xbox 360 to be the only box underneath your TV

If you have an Xbox 360 in the house--and based on Black Friday, chances are you do--Microsoft wants that light shining a green glow for a long as possible. The imminent update to the Xbox 360 Dashboard (coming Dec. 6) will add more social and more entertainment options than you can shake a stick at, and no, we're not just talking faster ways to get to the shooting or stabbing.

We're talking more reasons to keep the system on even when the Call of Duty fan in the house needs a break. Sometime in December, the Xbox 360 will get a YouTube app that allows users to view all the cat videos they can take in one sitting. The console will also, soon after the update, gain access to content available on Comcast's Xfinity On Demand and 26 live cable channels through Verizon FiOS TV, though we imagine they're for subscribers only. (Prove us wrong, folks?)
Xbox 360 Verizon FiOS TV
"We think you're going to use one device for movies, music and games in the future," GM of Xbox Live entertainment and advertising Ross Honey told VentureBeat. "We want to make the content accessible and enhance the actual experience. We think you will will want to watch it on Xbox as it is more social and more personal."

According to Microsoft, Xbox 360 users are watching two hours worth of video content daily on the console, and the company wants that figure to increase. In addition to an updated Hulu Plus, the Xbox 360 will allows users to watch ESPN and Epix on their consoles starting tomorrow. Later on in December, users will score access to Crackle, Dailymotion, iHeartRadio, MSNBC.com, UFC , TMZ and more. And that's on top of social features like Beacons. Better put that family Xbox somewhere with lots--and we mean lots--of air flow.

Will you end up using your family's Xbox 360 more when these entertainment features hit? Could you ever unplug from cable providers and rely on something like the Xbox for all entertainment?