An excerpt:

First, a fast recap of what Zynga sells, which are multi-player games such as MafiaWars, primarily on Facebook. Lately, Facebook has expressed some annoyance with Zynga’s games. They definitely aren’t core to Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg’s vision for the platform.

Further, Facebook has muscled in on Zynga’s revenues by insisting Zynga players spend Facebook credits on such necessities as virtual cows (for FarmVille) or virtual bullets (for MafiaWars). In the process, Facebook has demanded 30 percent of Zynga’s action on such purchases. Ouch.

So why the VC love — at the very moment when the primary distribution vehicle is showing powerful signs of annoyance?

Click HERE to read the full story.

Liza "checking in" to her first E3

Cool was a big word coming out of the mouths of Fanscapers at this year’s E3 and topping that list was Microsoft Kinect for Xbox 360. The sports games looked extra cool and it’s pretty amazing everything that can be done without a controller. We are very excited for this to hit retail! Sony’s Move also got a lot of Fanscape attention with special note to the some of the games that are specific to Move coming out in September, especially Sorcery.

3D Gaming – Nintendo 3DS with no glasses needed is going to be a pretty hot item and KillZone 3 in 3D is amazing.

Just Dance was fun to watch. Didn’t actually demo this, as we didn’t want our mad dancing skills on public display just yet. We still can’t wait for this one, as it looks like loads of fun.

LittleBigPlanet2 made some nice character upgrades and now has the ability to have four players on one screen. Very cool!

Terry Dry giving Tron a big thumbs up

Plenty of nostalgia was at this year’s E3 as well: Epic Micky, Tron, Pac Man and Golden Eye 007 to name a few. Fanscape President, Terry Dry commented that the Tron game has visuals 100 times that of the original film and the arcade game. He was also impressed with “Battle Royal” as part of the 30^th anniversary of Pac Man – loving that now four players can play at once with the goal of destroying the other three players. No more chasing ghosts, you chase your fellow players. The first look at Golden Eye 007 was exciting for all at the Nintendo presentation with Fanscaper Eric overheard saying, “My Childhood,” when he saw it.

A few of the Fanscapers also visited the Target Lounge to take a little break from the action and because it was a WiFi Hotspot. Thanks Target!

Eric with Destructoid

Eric was excited to have played NBA Jam 2010 with Fanscape CEO, Larry and President Terry Dry. Sorry, no pictures of this epic event, as Eric was playing and not able to capture the moment. You’ll just have to take our word for it that it happened.

Until next time.

To see more of our E3 pictures, click HERE.

Numerous game publishers, console manufacturers, and retailers, such as GameStop are taking to social media to further engage their avid fans. Since last year, Facebook has become the primary destination for social gamers, and a videogame, Modern Warfare 2, became the biggest entertainment launch in history, thanks in part to social media and an increasingly engaged consumer.  And as we move into the second half of 2010, we are seeing more opportunities to continue the conversation.

Facebook, MySpace and other social sites have opened their platforms to publishers like Zynga (e.g. Farmville, Mafia Wars and the most recent FrontierVille), Playfish (e.g. Hotel City and Pet Society) and Playdom (e.g Social City and Sorority Life), allowing for games to be built that leverage the networks’ existing user bases. In less than a year’s time, those three publishers alone have amassed more than 300 million monthly active users. Even with Facebook’s recent changes in notifications and requests that eliminated a significant amount of the free advertising these apps have enjoyed, social gaming applications are still a force to be reckoned with.

Console gaming has incorporated social network integration at a slightly slower pace, but is making strides. As mentioned in our September 2009 article about the socialization of gaming, nearly all handhelds and consoles introduced since 2003 include a social element. It was only recently that Xbox 360 and PlayStation3 integrated with Facebook and as of right now the experiences are focused mostly on publishing virtual accomplishments and purchases. Most games with an online component do, however, include a built-in chat room or forum to connect players of the same title. Few games have attempted to make a true tie-in to social media; Sony’s LittleBigPlanet 2 aims to be an exception.

Dubbing itself the “platform for games” (rather than a “platform game”), Sony’s LittleBigPlanet 2 lets users create levels and other game content that can be shared directly with friends via Flickr and YouTube. This allows players to tag, rate and try out user generated content, all while enjoying the benefits of viral sharing, crowdsourcing and mass content organization. This integration also makes it much easier for users to share content via their other social profiles on sites like Facebook and Twitter, to promote their creations and elicit feedback. The users of the first iteration of LittleBigPlanet created more than 2 million custom levels, further adding to the great promise of social integration into the next version.

At the moment, third-party gaming sites like Playfire.com offer the best solution for gamers who seek a social network that is platform agnostic. At Playfire, users can import data from their existing gaming profiles to connect with each other and schedule online games, meet similar gamers, build a group website, quiz each other and discuss tactics. It can be expected that such features will be built into console titles in the near future, but for now, external solutions will have to suffice.

With the impending release of Microsoft’s Kinect for Xbox 360 (formerly Project Natal) and Sony’s PS3 Move motion technologies, both companies are making its hardware more personal and interactive. Other hot trends such as 3DTV will also have a profound effect on the way games are designed and played, but don’t expect to see social media be a key feature for right away.

Taking a step away from the platform and games themselves; retailers are taking to social media to build excitement around title releases. GameStop, the country’s biggest gaming retailer, has been keeping its followers up to date on the latest deals and promotions via Twitter and recently launched its Facebook page with announcements, title information, and community discussions. Publishers are also taking to the medium to further connect with its fans and to build awareness surrounding titles and developments. EA, Rockstar Games, Square Enix and many, many more have jumped into social media to connect with their core fans and to further brand its products – indicating that it is only a matter of time before social is fully integrated into the gaming experience.

With a community that welcomes the interaction, gamers and social media are a natural fit. As game developers, console manufacturers and retailers move toward a more social experience, the time for meaningful engagement is here and we can’t wait for what’s next.

Of course, this development is hardly accidental – every major gaming platform introduced since 2003, handhelds and consoles alike, includes a significant online component to permit gamers around the world to meet and play. Every day new games are released which take advantage of these fresh horizons in innovative new ways – LittleBigPlanet’s level creation tools, for instance, or Rock Band Network’s content distribution system. And as gaming hardware becomes as inseparable from the modern lifestyle as the cell phone or the microwave, social sites such as Facebook and YouTube have raced to support interaction and playback on devices such as the DSi and the Playstation 3.

Gamers, for their part, have responded to this industry push with great enthusiasm. Research indicates that gamers are more than 10% as likely to make use of social-networking sites during any given week – and the activity on pages such as Call of Duty 4’s XBox 360 Facebook Fan page (over 300,000 fans) or GameStop’s corporate Twitter account (nearly 17,000 followers) certainly bears this trend out.

But not all socialization takes place online. As anyone who’s ever played Wii Tennis in a room full of people can confirm, motion controls are every bit as significant a social component as XBox Live; people see other people playing and instantly want to join in. It’s also apparent from sales data that social gaming such as this can be just as much of a purchase-driver as social-media outreach, as best evidenced by the success of titles such as Mario Kart Wii or Wii Play. Small wonder that both Microsoft and Sony have announced that they’ve been working on making motion controls a central feature of the XBox 360 and the PS3 – both Project Natal and Playstation 3 Motion Controller are both scheduled to be released next year.

It’s becoming rapidly obvious that “gaming” (core and casual) as an activity is migrating from consoles to handhelds. This speaks to the increased socialization of gaming – not only are these devices multifunctional and web-integrated, but people are playing games around other people rather than ensconcing themselves in high-def nerd-caves. Furthermore, it’s proof that gaming has something for everyone and will continue to expand, as our appetite for social interaction through technology grows.