Google+ hints at social gaming features

Online gaming, a key attraction of social networking juggernaut Facebook, may soon be a part of Google's upcoming social network Google+ too. Tech site Engadget spotted Google+ help pages for Games Stream, a possible place where social-style gaming results may be placed. "If you’re looking for updates shared from games, check out your Games stream," Engadget quoted the help page as saying. But as of Saturday morning, the page had been pulled from Google+. Engadget noted that before the help page briefly appeared, there had been past indications of the incoming functionality. It cited application programming interfaces (APIs) such as “/_/games/getGameFriends", “/_/games/getActivities" and “/_/games/postToStream". "However it’s also possible that Google+ could be used to pull in Android game results, turning the site into an online leaderboard of sorts," Engadget said. A games feature may potentially match the major attraction of social networking juggernaut Facebook. But Engadget also noted Google is believed to have quietly invested up to $200 million in game developer Zynga in mid-2010. Zynga is behind the Facebook smash hit game "Farmville." A separate story on TechCrunch said Google had also acquired Slide, which also develops social games; while Google Ventures backed gaming companies like ngmoco, Kabam and SCVNGR. It said Google even recruited gaming industry veteran Mark DeLoura, formerly of Ubisoft, Sony Computer Entertainment America, Nintendo and others, as developer advocate for game-related products. DeLoura quit after only four months on the job and is now a VP at THQ, it noted. Another article on AllThingsDigital cited multiple sources who said Google will take less than a 30-percent cut of the revenues. It said this will break the industry standard created over the past few years by both Facebook and Apple. "I am also hearing that the game network will have significant technical differences. Two people described the platform as a 'native client,' which means that Google will host the games on its own servers, rather than on the developer’s," it said. "The expectation is that this could lead to faster game play for users, with shorter loading times and fewer bugs than in games found on Facebook," it added. Job opening GameSpot cited a recently-surfaced job opening, in which Google is looking for a Product Manager to “grow its brand-new business – Games at Google!" It said the description indicated the position will be a strategic one, with duties spanning both "designing a great user experience and building out key partnerships." "This will include developing relationships with external developers, as well as working 'directly' with early adopters of Google games, whatever form they might take. The listing also references a 'team of gamers' that will help the company craft its gaming strategy," it said. — TJD, GMA News