Virtual Goods Summit panel says indie Facebook games still have a chance

Panelists as Virtual Goods Summit
There is hope yet for you indie enthusiasts out there (no, not the music). During a panel at the Virtual Goods Summit in San Francisco, five small social game studios took stage to dispel some myths and confirm some claims about the industry. Most important of those confirmations was that yes, "It's still possible for an indie developer to launch a successful Facebook title," the panelists unanimously agreed upon.

According to the panelists, innovation is still the primary factor in a successful game and it will propel good games to the forefront (try telling that to Zynga). Frederic Descamps from A Bit Lucky gave mention to the recent game sensation powered by social media, Minecraft. With the help of a plethora of "Look what I made" style YouTube videos, Minecraft has made $5 million in preorders in just three weeks. The game hasn't even reached beta status.

But with Facebook cracking down on game discovery and Groups potentially fragmenting potential fans even further, is this really all independent developers have to bank on? Regardless of how innovative and fresh your new game is, it's going to take some serious marketing savvy--or maybe what viral channels Facebook has left--but more importantly dollars to get the buzz going.

Well, these developers are out there every day making and selling games, so they should know first hand of what's possible. For our enjoyment's sake, let's just hope they're right.