'Super Whales' drop upwards of $10K on social games

If you've ever wondered just how much people are spending in FarmVille and other social games, a new report from Social Gold and Inside Social Games have found some (disturbing) answers. About 90% of social gamers don't drop a dime on these free-to-play games, but those who do, average about $60 a person.

That's not the unsettling part of the story. There's a tiny percentage of that spendy population, called "Super Whales,' who have dropped over $10K on FarmVille and its ilk. Social Gold, a company that provides microtransaction software to game developers, reports that one lavish spender in Saudi Arabia has dropped $25,000 (yes, you read that right -- 25 THOUSAND) dollars on social games and another in the US has invested nearly $20,000 in games as well. Can you say goodbye college fund?

One game maker says he ran across several hedge-funders who tried to out-spend each other in one of his games, dropping over a grand each on virtual armor and weapons. We predict it's only a matter of time until we see a bankrupt virtual farmer sobbing on Dr. Phil. Oh, the horror.

Google and Social Gold -- it's official

Jambool, creator of the Social Gold virtual currency platform, have officially announced that they have been acquired by Google, which confirms rumors that were circulating earlier this week.

The two Jambool founders positively gushed about the merger on the company's official blog and created an FAQ for existing customers. They also recast the Social Gold logo to look like the Google logo -- isn't that cute?

Google's still staying hush-hush on its plans for Social Gold and its rumored 'Google Me' social network. If you follow the money trail, however, all signs seem to be pointing somewhere in that direction.