There’s no denying that MySpace has become an online phenomena. The social networking site is one of the most popular destinations online, with millions of registered users around the world. Musicians, politicians, priests, authors and of course, students all have MySpace pages and regularly use the site to stay connected with old friends, and make new ones.
But as successful as MySpace has been in the Web 2.0 world, as a company, the social networking site has yet to turn a profit. But that could all be about to change, as MySpace prepares to introduce a selection of online games and other “sticky” content in early 2008.
The move toward MySpace games is seen as an attempt to increase the time users spend on the site. MySpace has partnered with Oberon, a developer of so-called “casual” online games to provide new content for the site. Although details of the expansion have not been fully revealed, MySpace is expected to put games on user profile pages, with a focus on multiplayer games that will allow competition between friends and other users.
The multiplayer games will likely be monetized with online advertising, sponsored tournaments and pre-game, video-based ads, providing a much-needed source of income for MySpace and, so the company hopes, increasing the “stickiness” of individual MySpace pages.
Oberon and MySpace are also expected to solicit game content from third party developers, a move that could see the two companies partnering with dozens, or even hundreds of smaller online game and software developers.
Internet experts see the inclusion of gaming content as a strategy to begin expanding MySpace from a social networking site into a full-fledged Web portal, not unlike Yahoo or MSN. The idea is to create a central MySpace “Hub,” which includes a variety of Web services from social networking, online search, classified ads, online gaming, entertainment and media content, and even a news portal.
If successful, MySpace’s new strategy could finally push the company’s account balance into the black, through expanded advertising and sponsorship possibilities.
But can MySpace really take on the giant portal sites like Yahoo.com and expect to compete for market share? Analysts have mixed views on this, but at least some believe that there is functionally very little difference now between the big portals like Yahoo and MySpace, excepting of course that MySpace has a younger demographic.
But in the end, the inclusion of online games on MySpace will only be effective–and profitable– if the games themselves are good. Good online games = sticky content.
i agree, it all depends on whether the games are good. it seems like this will end up being more of an accessory, then a destination. right now i’ve been playing on iwon.com’s relaunched site, and i like knowing the company has been around since 1999- and has consistent prizes and money.
Comment by tyler — October 30, 2007 @ 1:06 pm