FIFA Superstars and 10 social gaming titles we'd love to see

EA didn’t choose the Xbox as the platform for its newest major release. It didn’t choose the PS3, the Wii or even the lowly old PSP. Nope. It chose Facebook.

The game was released last Friday to coincide with the start of the World Cup. Facebookers took to it in their thousands stoked by the excitement around the start of the tournament.

Initially some people were disappointed the game didn’t feature any traditional football gameplay — it was similar in structure to manager simulations, and by encompassing, a real-time training aspect, it also took on gameplay conventions from existing Facebook and social gaming titles such as Farmville.

The game is cool, if a tad under-developed: The interface is overwrought and confusing and some of the cut-scenes are just a bit baffling. The incentive system is also very one-dimensional and actually you’ll find it’s the social side of the game that keeps you coming back.

That said, I’m happy to see it out there. Social gaming has developed rapidly over the last couple of years and combines casual gaming with social networks in a way that is both fun and rewarding for gamers and provides an interesting platform for businesses.

I’d like to see a slew of new social games all pushing each other forward. With that in mind I’ve put together 10 franchises we’d love to see release a social gaming title in the very new future.