Blackberry-pusher RIM digs social gaming with Scoreloop purchase

Alright, it's official: Everyone wants in on social games. RIM, or Research in Motion (the Canada-based creator of the Blackberry), has snapped up Scoreloop for an undisclosed amount, paidContent reports. Based in Munich, Germany, Scoreloop is known for its cross-platform social gaming developer tool kit that allows mobile game developers to add social elements to their products. In other words, it's a lot like OpenFeint, but without the backing of a gargantuan Japanese company. In other ... other words, Blackberry devices will get serious about mobile social gaming in the near future. But Scoreloop works across several mobile platforms, so what happens to Android, iPhone and Windows Phone?

"We'll continue our cross-platform approach," Scoreloop CEO Marc Gumpinger wrote in an announcement encased in a Blackberry PlayBook tablet. "But you'll see that our BlackBerry solution will be unparalleled."

Blackberry devices, and even the recent PlayBook, were never known to be gaming powerhouses. But according to RIM's VP of global alliances and developer relations Tyler Lessard, that's about to change. "We look forward to working with the team at Scoreloop to provide tools that will further enable our developer community to take gaming to a new level of social integration on the BlackBerry platform," Lessard wrote in an announcement blog post. The word "fun" is rarely associated with business-heavy Blackberry phones, but this is likely the first of many steps toward achieving that inflated three-letter word.

[Image Credit: BusinessWeek]

Do you think this acquisition will help Blackberry devices appeal to mobile gamers? Would you ever play games on a Blackberry or buy one for that purpose? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment.