Most of these friends were added to increase her status in the social-network game "Pet Society, " from developer PlayFish.
Startup Keas, a social network with game mechanics, is tackling this problem.
One service of the PlayStation Network the company wants to promote is PlayStation Home, a social game network that has been relatively overlooked in the past.
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Apple made the case for a game-based social network more difficult by adding new features to its Game Center service.
The company's also setting up a game-centric social network, where you'll be able share your game progress (and even screen grabs) with other gamers.
The social-network-based game pits 50 dogs and their owners against each other in various challenges to become the "alpha dog" of their communities -- who will then lead the quest to find 50 hidden virtual dogs by way of other challenges and dog-based activities.
In July, I wrote about one part of this evolution where mobile games developer Social Gaming Network launched the first game ever to let iPhone and Android users play each other in real-time.
As a niche of the overall video game market, social network gaming has become a major moneymaker.
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In addition, the TV network has unleashed a social game, Battle For Nuceria ( www.battlefornuceria.com), which offers new ways for fans to connect with the show that was created by Steven S. DeKnight (watch video below).
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For Facebook, such deals with the most successful game companies on its social network are a way to make Credits the standard for all games and applications.
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Within its first six weeks, ChefVille has become a mainstay for 45 million monthly players and FarmVille 2 introduced stunning 3-D farming for the first time in a web browser becoming the most popular social game within three days of network launch.
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With films like The Social Network, Fight Club, The Game, and an academy Award for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.
Other Mac developers -- the ones who build games rather than mundane useful stuff -- will want to get to work on supporting Game Center, Apple's social network for gamers.
One reason Mail.ru has been so attractive is not only its 75% share of the growing market for internet users in Russia, according to Comscore, but its 2.38% stake in Facebook, 1.47% stake in Zynga Game Network (the company behind the social networking games Farmville and Mafia Wars) and 5.13% of Groupon, the online voucher company that Forbes recent featured on its cover as the fastest growing company ever.
Could this be a game-changing privacy feature for the first social network to adopt such a policy?
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Like Shanda, it is becoming a network too, leveraging the popularity of Farmville among many social game players.
The second-screen offerings are designed to deliver the richest game experience ever available to viewers through a host of unique and interactive online and social features, complementing the CBS Television Network's exclusive broadcast of the game on Sunday, February 3.
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Thus, as tools of discovery (Heyzap) and monetization (Boku) improve on the Internet, game developers and players may not find themselves as bound to the social network anymore.
"I am not sure that kind of social network is what the consumer is demanding, " said Greg Richardson, CEO of online game-making start-up Rumble Entertainment Inc.
Instead, Facebook found that many mobile game developers were reaching consumers directly with their stand-alone apps and didn't need the social network to host the games.
The most interesting thing about the latest title from Social Gaming Network (SGN), "Skies Of Glory, " however, is the business model behind the game, rather than the game itself.
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