Google+ Games comes out swinging with Zynga, PopCap, Playdom et al

The gloves are officially off. Google has announced that it's slowly rolling out games to its Google+ social network. Aptly dubbed Google+ Games, the search--and possibly now social games--giant has teamed up with a number of high-profile Facebook game developers and publishers to bring their games to its platform.

According to a blog post announcing the new games movement, Google is focused on providing you with games that "are there when you want them and gone when you don't." Meaning that, instead of being infused with the existing Google+ News Feed, game updates are found by clicking on the new Games button between the search bar and the Circles button.

And just as quickly, these updates will be removed from your view when you press any other button next to the search bar. Your accomplishments in games on Google+ are only shown to those who also play games on Google+. And boy, has Google come armed to the teeth against Facebook. Google+ Games launches with games from PopCap, Playdom, Kabam, Wooga, GameHouse, EA, Funzio and Digital Chocolate. (And, of course, Rovio.)

Google+ Games
Wait a second, is that a Zynga game down there? But, doesn't that violate its terms with Facebook? (Surely, there's a loophole there we're not aware of.) Check out all of the launch games below, and join us in the waiting game for when that Games button appears on your Google+:

Games on Google+

[Image Credit: Google]

The Godfather: Five Families takes an exclusive hit out on Google+

Google+ just made hardcore social gamers an offer they can't refuse. Kabam announced that its new ... family-oriented social game, The Godfather: Five Families, hits Google+ exclusively today, and it'll stay that way for the next 45 days. In fact, this is the first game to release exclusively on Google's games platform, meaning not both there and on Facebook, capiche?

The game, set in the Prohibition Era before the events of the first film, employs many of the same gameplay hooks found in existing Kabam games: build armies, sic armies against enemies or defend your friends asynchronously, repeat. However, this social take on the Oscar-winning franchise packs features that spice up the social strategy gaming formula, namely "Families".

Upon starting the game, players must choose to join one of five Families (get it?). The concept of "Families" introduces a level of tension to the alliances players make, because there can only be one Don. Perhaps it's thanks to features like this that Five Families is said to have enjoyed the most successful beta test in Kabam history.
Five Families in action
"The Godfather: Five Families has enjoyed the best ever beta period for a Kabam game," Kabam COO Chris Carvalho said in a release. "To support the exclusive launch on The Godfather: Five Families on Google+, Google will provide promotional support to maximize the game's visibility to Google+ users. This is our fourth title to launch on Google+ and they have repeatedly exceeded our expectations."

It's nice to hear that Google will somehow support Five Families, as the size of the network's audience could be a cause for concern, especially for a game launching exclusively on the platform. Then again, "hardcore" social gamers are said to be a dedicated bunch, and they'll certainly know where to find their next family.

Click here to play The Godfather: Five Families on Google+ Now >

Do you consider yourself "hardcore" social gamer? Do you plan on trying the game out on Google+, or will you wait until it hits Facebook?

Google+ releases API to developers, more social games incoming

Google+ Games is cool with its no-nonsense interface and all, but the sad fact is that it only has 16 games. Compare that to the thousands of Facebook games out there, and it's clear that Google has to do something to compete with that selection. Enter the Google+ API, which was just recently released to developers, and could lead to a plethora of more Google+ Games.

The acronym API is short for Application Programming Interface, meaning it contains the tools for developers to create new applications within a given framework--in this case being Google+. Wired reports that Google will steadily release its developer API, meaning that it will be some time before it's feature-complete. And the features not yet included are, well, kinda vital.

For instance, at the moment developers can only create apps that publish read-only public posts. For instance, if a developer like Zynga released a new social game today on Google+ Games, your friends would not be able to interact with the News Feed posts you create. You all already likely know that this is essentially the bread and butter of Facebook games. It's how things get done in-game aside from directly requesting help from friends.

The reasoning for the omission? According to PC World, Google's Eric Chabot explains that this is because the company would rather improve Google+ over time, rather open up a "vacuum" with too many features at once. I'm not sure adding simple post-sharing interactivity would create a vacuum for the platform, but it's a first step nonetheless. What Google+ Games has to deal with more in its competition with Facebook's wide offering of games is scale. The bell rings on Round 2.

[Source: Google+ Platform Blog]

Do you think developers will flock to Google+ Games, even with a limited API at launch? Does Google+ Games have a chance against Facebook's Canvas platform for games? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment.