Quote of the Moment: 'A brand is never a replacement for a good game'

Branding
That's all well and good, but it's also not to say that brands aren't "extremely important" to Facebook games today. Playfish GM John Earner made the quip to GamesIndustry.biz during a recent interview. According to Earner, the Facebook game space is growing increasingly crowded. In other words, big time creators like Zynga, Playfish and wooga have a competitive advantage.

"So I think brands are now extremely important, and I think that you either are a big player in the space already and you have an installed base of users, or you have a... man, otherwise I think you're in big trouble," Earner said to GI.biz. "It has just become a much more mature platform, and I'm not saying somebody can't rise up from the bottom--sure they can--but the barriers to entry now have changed in a big way and it's become a lot harder. I see that trend continuing, but at the end of the day, though, a brand is never a replacement for a good game. If you have a great product and a great brand, you'll have a lot of success."

Branding in Facebook games has become almost a norm among the top developers and games. While Zynga has been a bit slow on the uptake when it comes to branded games, the company has employed the pull of major celebrities and companies for some time now. And soon, the company will have its very first branded game: Adventure World: An Indiana Jones Game.

We've been told before that the day of the indie game creator on Facebook is through. However, Earner may be right--just look at games like Weeds Social Club and Dexter Slice of Life. While the latter does add refreshing new gameplay, neither of which have exactly taken off, according to AppData. Sadly, it'll eventually be first instinct to see whether Feature Film A, TV Show B or Video Game C has a Facebook game. Check out the interview in full here to learn much more about The Sims Social.

Are you digging The Sims Social still? Are you excited or disappointed at the prospect of branding gaining popularity in social games?