Bigpoint, Spil Games try the Facebook alternative: The Buddy System

Facebook is the largest social game platform out there, so what do you do when you can't beat 'em? Shack up with somebody else, that's what. And that's exactly what Bigpoint, the developer behind hit MMOs like Battlestar Galactica Online and most recently RamaCity (a blatant competitor to CityVille by Zynga), has opted for. The Hamburg, Germany-based developer has joined forces with Spil Games, based in the Netherlands, to increase its potential player base to 130 million players.

"We're thrilled to bring our already hugely successful game ZooMumba to Spil's platform," Bigpoint CEO Heiko Hubertz said in a release. "Spil's audience of like-minded gamers is unique in the industry. We're certain this collaboration will ensure high amounts of exposure to ZooMumba and more of our games in the future."

Bigpoint will first take a dive on the deal with ZooMumba, its hit zoo-keeping social game, though there are other Bigpoint games headed for Spil Games' collection of European and Asian social gaming websites, according to a release. Considering Facebook's arguable stranglehold on game developers with its new Credits initiative, it's tough to blame companies for making partnerships to avoid it (and its 30 percent cut). It makes one wonder what Zynga might do ... in five years.

Farmerama's Bigpoint knows how badly Zynga wants out of Facebook

"Oh they desperately want to," Bigpoint chief games officer Philip Resiberger told GamesIndustry.biz. "They have plans, they've had plans for the last two years. Everyone wants to reduce their dependence on Facebook I think." That's what everyone has said, but even the FarmVille maker's upcoming Project Z is tied rather intrinsically to Facebook, so what gives?

"Eventually it will come, but as some attempts have shown in the past, it's not as easy to understand the world outside Facebook because it's a totally different world," Reisberger elaborated during an interview with GI.biz "That's why Bigpoint is in a very good position: we're not just the ones developing, we've mastered, to a certain degree, the distribution."

But Bigpoint's (known best for Facebook-less social games like Farmerama and Skyrama) Resiberger goes on to compliment Zynga on its innovations in social games. Of course, it's safe to take Reisberger's earlier comments with a grain of salt: He works with a company that creates social games outside of Facebook--crazy, we know. And that company is doing quite well for itself, with 250 million registered players on Bigpoint, according to Reisberger.

It makes you wonder, however, is Zynga really drawing in new players, or are meteoric launches like CastleVille more thanks to its existing players than new ones? Most would go with the former, at least for the time being. Will Project Z and zTags finally help the CityVille creator bring in new players from throughout the web? Stay tuned for 2012.

Do you think Zynga relies too much on its existing player base for successful games? Would you rather play social games on Facebook or elsewhere?