RealNetworks buys Backstage Technologies

GameHouse division gets access to millions of new social gamers

Social gaming is a sizzling hot market right now. 

Companies like Zynga reach an estimated 65-plus million users each day. Single titles can be massively popular, like Mafia Wars which currently has 2,148,194 fans on Facebook alone. This market is only expected to grow. A study conducted this year showed 100 million people in America and the U.K. regularly playing social games.

It's no surprise, therefore, that RealNetworks wants in.

RealNetworks announced ths week its purchase of Backstage Technologies, which makes social games. The purchase price was not disclosed.

RealNetworks already has a gaming platform called GameHouse, which was launched this past May and boasts more than 60 million monthly active users.  But GameHouse focuses on games that can be downloaded to a PC or Mac. Its current online offerings are titles like Wedding Dash 2: Rings Around The World, which are single player. 

By adding Backstage Technologies to its mix, RealNetworks gains acces to a stable of players who are already known to be interested in social games. The purchase also brings roughly 13 million active monthly Backstage users on Facebook and MySpace to the RealNetworks' fold. Backstage's flagship game, Family Feud is poised to eclipse one million monthly active users alone, according to AppData. 

Backstage Technlologies was one of the first to integrate the Super Rewards virtual currency monetization platform, and Spare Change micro-payments into thier applications, such as the  Scratch and Win Facebook application. 

The Victoria, Canadian-based social gaming company, with 18 employees, will not have to re-locate.

But the team will, no doubt, be integrated into RealNetwork's GameHouse Fusion project, which was started this year. GameHouse Fusion is part of RealNetwork's initiatve to integrate social, online, download and mobile gameplay. The project has already been getting support from big names like Comcast, MySpace, Qualcomm Incorporated, Mattel and PopCap Games, many of whom plan or are already putting out games via this new development platform.

This acquisition follows similar purchases across the industry. Disney recently bought Playdom and in 2009, Electronic Arts paid $300 million to acquire social games developer PlayFish, which is best known for its Diner Dash series of games. The deal also comes at a time Americans play more games then ever. A recent study, conducted by the Nielsen showed that Americans spend 22% of their online time on social networking sites, and another 10% on gaming.