According to an industry research firm, Parks Associates, online gaming on social networks is increasing significantly with promises of healthy revenues that are likely to increase from 2010 to 2015 five times over. The firm sees this rise in part due to ad revenue and virtual item sales. As social network gaming is becoming highly visible and wildly popular, it is understandable that popular and high-profile gaming companies would want to take part in the industry’s growth. To that end, one of the largest online game retailers, Gamestop, recently launched its own Facebook store to market its products and to create enhancement games for users to enjoy alongside Facebook’s popular games like FarmVille.
The retailer has customized its Facebook store to integrate more media-rich features and offers significantly more game ratings and reviews, store finders, product descriptions and also features that will encourage user’s likes and shares on the store’s page. Gamestop thought it would not only be a profitable venture, but also a way to further brand the company while encouraging social gaming and networking activities. Kelly Mulroney, Gamestop’s VP of Ecommerce, stated in an interview that Facebook and social commerce are essentially natural complements to each other. Therefore, by further developing that online networking system, Gamestop fans and customers can continue to enjoy their experience across multiple channels in addition to their online retail site and offline stores.
One of the outstanding new Facebook features that will result from the new site will be the user’s ability to purchase pre-orders on new releases and popular games, especially those that are expected to sell quickly. Users will also have the option to upgrade their customer status to become “PowerUp Reward” members which gives them the ability to earn and redeem points. These points can be used towards more gaming purchases or software downloads. The goal is to also encourage users to share this information with their Facebook connections and other gamers with these points.