[Update: Gaikai has told GameSpot that its WoW on Facebook demo was not an announcement that the game is coming to Facebook. A representative told GameSpot: ""Gaikai is NOT bringing WoW to Facebook (at least not in the foreseeable future)."]We'd insert our collective foot in our mouths, but no one said it's going to take yet. GameSpot reports that David Perry, CEO of cloud gaming service Gaikai, demoed its Facebook game streaming service, and guess what game was included in the demo? Yup, World of Warcraft (WoW). According to the website, Perry looks to bring traditional, downloadable games like WoW and shooter Bulletstorm to Facebook in the near future with zero downloads.
Speaking of WoW, Perry said that the most recent expansion, Cataclysm's "launch-month sales meant that if it was a Facebook app it would have debuted in 67th place," according to GameSpot. Perry showed off the Facebook-based game streaming tech at the Cloud Gaming Europe event in London. During his presentation, Perry said that, according to Gaikai's research, 73.5 percent of gamers would prefer cloud game delivery for traditional games (your Halo's and Call of Duty's) if it were an option.
Cloud gaming, an Internet-based method of streaming games to players (and player interactions back to the servers that provide the games) much like videos on YouTube, is all about accessibility. According to GameSpot, it's only a matter of bringing down the barriers between players and their favorite games to almost nothing to ensure success. As for WoW on Facebook: Based on how MMOs (massively multiplayer online games) have done on Facebook in the past, we just can't wait to see this.
Would you ever play WoW if it came to Facebook? Do you think traditional MMOs will ever do well on Facebook? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment.