It was only a matter of time before Google + fell behind in the social media race. From the get-go, internet users were sceptical about the platform but tested it out anyways. It wasn’t long before the social networking site fell to the wayside, with Facebook and Twitter taking over yet again. Now, Google+ is suffering from gaming woes, as two major social games developers have dropped the platform.
It has recently been announced that EA and Wooga will be removing some of their games from Google+. The social networking site worked hard to become a formidable opponent for Facebook in the social gaming race, but seeing these major developers remove games will hinder Google+’s progress in the market.
Wooga will be pulling some of its most popular titles, including Diamond Dash and Monster World. EA will be removing Bejeweled Blitz and a few other social games. Both companies state that their reasons for removing the games are based on the player population on Google+. Not only are there more users on Facebook, they are also more active, providing these developers with more activity and ad revenue.
“We decided to remove certain games from Google+ because we have a much larger following on Facebook and they are active users," says a spokesperson from Wooga.
As such, the social gaming situation on Google+ is certainly a reflection on the success of the site as a social networking platform. With major gaming developers stating that they have more active users on Facebook, it is a sign that Google+ is not a successful competitor in the social media market. If Google+ does not make some improvements soon, we could see the site go the way of Google Buzz – the site’s short-lived answer to Twitter.
So, it seems that Facebook will remain the winning in the social gaming market for now. Other social gaming sites have yet to match Facebook in terms of popularity and activity; so, if you’re a social gaming developer, it is best to focus your attention of Facebook audiences.
