Virtual Worlds, MMO’s, Social Networks, Online Casual gaming, the New Convergence (really?)

The economic downturn is definitely shaking the gaming industry, and a new convergence is taking place, trying to take the best of all « worlds » in terms of gaming, trafic, and well, business models.

But while « history is on the move », is there really an editorial logic in this convergence ?
A few month ago Bob Moore on his blog Terra Nova made some interesting points both on the trend going on and on the deep difference between Virtual Worlds and MMO’s on one hand and Social Networks on the other.

“While Virtual worlds and MMO's already are social networking sites of a sort. and enable you to interact and play with friends online, add new people to your buddy list, monitor their online status and in some cases view their custom profiles.”…. “Social networking sites provide profiles and buddy lists for your WHOLE life, not just your virtual one.”

Check the whole story….