Facebook vs. Google+: Social game makers ready to hang hats on big G's network

Right now, Facebook is the place to be if you want to make social games for the Web. That's great if you're, say, a big fancy company like FarmVille-creator Zynga who has millions of dollars to spend on advertising and a cushy deal with the social network.

If you're a smaller game studio, Facebook has its severe limitations, which include making it next to impossible to getting the word out about a game (not to mention the hefty 30% cut that Facebook demands from all game developers.)

None of the other social gaming platforms -- MySpace, hi5 -- have managed to come close to mimicking Facebook's social gaming success, so many social game makers are looking to Google+ to, possibly, fill that void.

Pot Farm creator and East Side Games CEO Jason Bailey says in this Gamasutra article that that all social game makers are "crossing their fingers and bowing down to the almighty G and saying, 'Please, please let this work and give us a viable second platform where we can build our games.'"

A simple way that Google+ could become 'the' next hotspot for social gaming? Instead of requiring a 30% cut from game makers (like Facebook does), let companies host games on G+ for a lower fee (or the low, low price of free!). Facebook has also done a terrible job at surfacing new and interesting games to its users -- and recently made it more difficult by pulling its app directory from the service. If Google+ can support even the most bare bones recommendation system for games on the network, that could be a big win for people who make games and those of us who like to play them.

[Image credit: Infographicsblog]