MySpace Flings FUD at Gaming

'Traditional media conglomerate' News Corp has a bit of a problem with its MySpace purchase. The social networking site and its management are flailing around in a bid to regain market share and revenue. It appears now that video games are the way to go to recapture MySpace's credibility. And a little disinformation doesn't hurt. "None of the traditional media conglomerates are also significant video game players..." is the line being taken by News Corp digital head Jonathan Miller.

If by 'traditional media' Mr Miller means television, radio, newspapers and magazines, he's wrong. Vivendi (Activision/Blizzard and Canal+), Time Warner (Warner Interactive and Time magazine), Disney (Disney Interactive and ABC television) might have a thing or two to say about that statement.

So, why come up with something so obviously naive? A few weeks ago, News Corp's CEO (MySpace's owner), Rupert Murdoch told an interviewer that, MySpace would be seen as "as an entertainment portal".

MySpace CEO (and former Facebook exec), Owen Van Natta, took the message and told his own staff in a memo that "Our users don’t know if we’re a social portal, a music site, or an entertainment hub."

So, someone has to take a grip, which is why Miller has stated that "None of the traditional media conglomerates are also significant video game players, so to speak, and I think that that's the missing piece of the equation, particularly when you see how much time is spent playing games online."

In short, if all else fails to capture the youth market, look to video games. However, if the MySpace is anything like the Sky Games web-game portal, also owned by News Corp, the search for the missing piece to the MySpace equation could be a long and painful one.