Social gaming giant Zynga recently announced the launch of their own gaming platform Zynga.com and signaled the long disintermediation process that will take place between the company and Facebook. Reports recently revealed that Zynga accounted for 12% of all Facebook revenues, a pretty chunk of change for Zukerberg’s social platform.
Today, Zynga announced that it had signed on two major game developers and hardcore gaming outfits Konami and Rebellion, both of which will publish their games on Zynga’s platform and to Facebook via Zynga.
The two gaming companies behind popular game titles such as Metal Gear Solid and Aliens vs Predator will seek to leverage the legions of Zynga players who are already playing popular titles such as Farmville and Cityville.
Zynga has extended a hand of partnership to third party developers in an effort to distinguish itself as a platform provider, rather than a platform consumer. Zynga has complained in the past that Facebook features were distracting its players and that this was translating into fewer hours spent playing.
Facebook could argue the same and say Zynga games are doing this as well, but what will really make the difference is when the time of reckoning arrives, when Zynga has to say goodbye to Facebook and become a full-blown competitor.
We saw that with Yahoo, who only kept Facebook close until they realized they had more to scheme off the social media giant as opposites rather than as bosom buds, but at least in Zynga’s case, the transition is slow and smooth.













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