YOUR GROOVY HOST:
Billy Ingram
In the 1970s there were fewer options than we have in today's market!
More Obscure 1970s entertainment and information!
The greatest entertainers of the seventies -
especially those you never heard of!
Despite recent financial losses by major social gaming companies in America, the technological market for this type of online entertainment is clearly here to stay. Large social gaming companies are projecting bookings of more then one billion dollars per year, meaning this business is a real player in the fledging social media industry.
Look to Japan
However, America's social game designers are actually playing catch-up to the Japanese, who have embraced social gaming even more then the ADD-saddled North Americans. This should really come as no surprise, as the Japanese have always been on the forefront of the latest video game technology, be it the motion sensors on the Xbox Kinect or small games you can play on your phone. Entire districts of Tokyo are devoted to these advancements and inventions in the gaming world, making everyone look to Japan for what is coming next. This now incudes social gaming.
Apart from purchased music, mobile phone videos and movies, the social gaming industry has boomed in the past five years. In 2007, social games made just 76 million dollars on featured phones. However, in 2011, social games made 2.65 billion dollars on featured phones and another 610 million on smartphones, bringing the entire mobile social game market to a whopping 3.26 billion dollars, nearly 50 times what it was just a half decade earlier. Keep in mind the smaller size of Japan and its population as well, consider how many people are actively playing social games. In other words, this accounts for a large percentage of the population.
Much of this boom can also be attributed to Facebook's rise around the world, as so many of these social games are played through the social media's site. Because Facebook offers users a little bit of everything, a lot of revenue is generated for advertisers by users playing these games, due to the amount of time they spend on each page.
Many mobile developers like Ludia have found that, according to InsideSocialGames.com, "roughly 50 percent of its total mobile player base is logged in via Facebook."
Other developers have reported that players who play social games via Facebook will engage in 65 percent more games, play 30 percent longer and spend up to 80 percent more on games than players who are not logged in. Stats like that will help generate revenue for Facebook and its social game developers.
Where are We Going?
So if Japan's consumption of social games has increased so quickly and they are on the forefront of the industry, then the rest of the social gaming industry is undoubtedly destined for a major shot in the arm. Despite the aforementioned heavy losses some of the bigger social gaming companies and Facebook have taken in the past few months, trends are showing this is merely a lull and perhaps a perfect time to buy stock in these social gaming companies, as they are most likely only going to become bigger and more profitable.
What will really give the social gaming industry a boost is when real-world gambling is introduced to social gaming. Games from the popular bingo operator, Jackpotjoy (such as Texas Hold'em Poker) will soon be linked to the ability to bid your own money and win money by playing the game. Imagine the higher level of interest you would have in these games if you could actually win money for your efforts. Then again, you could be sorely disappointed when you lose, costing yourself a bit of money. Either way, this added amount of chance may be just what the social gaming industry in America needs to really go full speed ahead and catch up with Japan.
Music you hear from the 1970s on the radio - that has a tendency to be the same old top ten tunes they've been playing on the radio for decades. It seems that only one or two songs by any artist from the 1950s - 1990s will get played.
Obscure 70s is a web site that looks at LPs and singles that may not have made the top of the charts - but they were wonderful none the less.
Obscure 70s Looks At:
Walter Murphy's Phantom of the Opera
Mary Kay Place's Tonight at the Capri Lounge
Barbra Streisand's 1970s Albums