MCV/DEVELOP News, events, research and jobs from the games industry
Disney’s social unit Playdom is brining the NBA franchise to Facebook.
The Californian social studio was last year acquired by Disney for $563.2 million, with another $200 million on offer based on future performance.
It has partnered with NBA Digital to build a fantasy team game, where Facebook users can hand pick NBA stars from 1946 to the present day.
NBA Dynasty will also be rich in content to the Facebook platform, with over 1,200 video clips of NBA highlights from the 2010-11 season.
“Social media takes sports gaming to new frontiers,” said Bryan Perez, senior vice president and general manager of NBA Digital.
“The combination of our industry leading social audience with Playdom’s social gaming expertise will give fans an entertaining new way to engage with the NBA.”
Global revenues generated from social gaming will reach an annual $5 billion by 2015, independent research claims.
Analyst group Parks Associates says that, should the milestone be met, social gaming will have grown five-fold since 2010.
Virtual goods and new advertising revenues will drive market growth, the research firm said.
“Gaming on social networks has quickly become the most visible category of online games,” analyst Pietro Macchiarella said.
“Right now more than 250 million people play games like Zynga’s CityVille and FarmVille on Facebook every month, and both game developers and marketers have taken notice. Big brands such as McDonald’s and 7-Eleven have carried out cross-promotions with existing social games.
