Online gaming companies should "absolutely" incorporate social networking in to their offering.
"Worlds are colliding; casual players, social players, free-to-play poker players and for money players are overlapping like never before, and this poses a unique opportunity for ZEN," newly-appointed CEO of Zen Entertainment Craig S. Billings told iNTERGAMINGi recently.
Billings believes that it is necessary for operators to include social networking features into their games: "They need to do it with a cohesive strategy in mind. Beyond the general confusion that tends to occur at the outset of any new marketing channel, I see a lot of one-off solutions in the market that aren’t part of a more holistic approach towards a gaming operator’s overall new media strategy."
Looking ahead, Billings said that the market is moving quickly and brands need to assess the impact of free and casual games on their marketing efforts. "Expect to see more brands, including casino operators, utilising casual games to interact with and influence their customers."
