Internet search leader Google Inc. is bringing a little more gamesmanship to its duel with Facebook.
Just like they have been doing for years on Facebook’s website, Web surfers will now be able to play games with their friends and family on Google’s blossoming social networking service.
Google’s expansion into games, announced Thursday, had been expected since the company unveiled its “Plus” networking service in late June. The service is being groomed to be an alternative to Facebook’s popular hangout.
By adding games to Plus, Google hopes to give its fledging network’s more than 25 million users a reason to come to the service more frequently and stay longer once they’re there.
The strategy has worked well at Facebook, where games requiring players to fill the roles of farmers, mob bosses and card sharks have attracted obsessive followings among its more than 750 million users.
Facebook’s top games are provided by Zynga Inc., a 4-year-old company hoping to sell its stock in an initial public offering this fall. Google is one of Zynga’s investors, according to IPO documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The papers don’t specify the size Google’s stake in Zynga, which is based in San Francisco.
The investment evidently wasn’t enough to buy Google access to Zynga’s best-known games. The initial games on Plus include a poker game made by Zynga. Plus also will feature the “Angry Birds” game that so far has been played mostly on phones. The gaming option will gradually start appearing within the accounts of Plus’ users.
But people who want to play other Zynga titles such as FarmVille, CityVille and Empires & Allies will still have go to Facebook.
Zynga and Facebook are already financially wedded to each other. Zynga gets most of its revenue from Facebook, which requires games on its site to use its payment system to sell the various items that can be used to make the games more fun. Facebook keeps 30 percent of the revenue sold on Zynga’s games.
Although the games may seem frivolous, they are emerging as a serious business. Zynga earned more than $90 million on revenue of nearly $600 million last year and is growing even faster this year. In March, Zynga estimated its market value at $11 billion after hiring an expert to appraise its business, according to documents filed Thursday.
Google’s expansion into Web games could cause headaches for Zynga. In its IPO documents, Zynga says it could be hurt if Google or other larger companies such as Microsoft Corp. and Amazon.com Inc. get into the Web game market.
Google mainly wants to undercut Facebook with Plus. The reason: As people spend more time and share more insights about themselves on its website, Facebook becomes an increasingly attractive advertising option. The trend poses a threat to Google because its search engine can’t index most of the information on Facebook and its own revenue growth could slow if more online advertising shifts to Facebook.
“Se7en” Turns 30, Gets A Special Restoration From David Fincher For Its Re-Release
For David Fincher, seeing “Se7en” in 4K was an experience he can only describe as harrowing. That or a high school reunion.
“There are definitely moments that you go, ‘What was I thinking?’ Or ‘Why did I let this person have that hairdo’?” Fincher said in a recent interview with The Associated Press.
He’s OK with the film being a product of its time in most respects. But some things just could not stand in high-definition resolution.
“It was a little decrepit, to be honest,” said Fincher. “We needed to resuscitate it. There are things you can see in 4K HDR that you cannot see on a film print.”
Ever the perfectionist, he and a team got to work on a new restoration of the film for its 30th anniversary re-release. This weekend the restored “Se7en” will play on IMAX screens for the first time in the U.S. and Canada, and on Jan. 7, the 4K UHD home video version will be available as well.
The dark crime thriller written by Andrew Kevin Walker and starring Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman as a pair of detectives looking for a serial killer was somewhat of a career-reviver for Fincher, whose directorial debut “Alien 3” had not gone well. “Se7en” was not a sure thing: It was made for only $34 million (and only got that when Fincher managed to persuade studio execs to give up $3 million more). But it went on to earn more than $327 million, not accounting for inflation, and continues to influence the genre.
Fincher has over the years overseen several restorations of the film (including one for laser disc) but decided this needed to be the last. It’s why he insisted on an 8K scan that they could derive the 4K from. He wanted to ensure that it wouldn’t have to be repeated when screens get more... Read More