Videogames See Social Networks As Growth Engine

for those wondering when the videogame industry will enter its next console cycle, some argue that the new cycle has already started, with social networks as the next big opportunity.

such was apparent this week at the Game Developers’ Conference in San Francisco, an annual gathering of videogame designers and publishers. while the event saw some big developments among traditional gaming–most notably, Sony’s (SNE, 6758.TO )new motion-control system–a big theme running through the event was the rapid growth of social networking and the related opportunity for game makers.

the opportunity is big indeed. the largest social-network site, Facebook, alone has …