Xbox Live to Get Zynga Games?

Zynga today announced a new partnership with Microsoft, which will see FarmVille and other titles come to MSN Games and Windows Live Messenger. Since the leading social gaming company is getting all chummy with Microsoft, we wondered if Xbox Live could be the next platform to see Zynga's titles. After all, Xbox Live Arcade already serves both a hardcore and casual audience, and Microsoft is looking to widen its audience on Xbox, so it could be a good fit. 

IndustryGamers pinged Zynga about it, but we've not yet heard back. [Update: Zynga got back to us to tell us they have no comment.] We did manage to speak with two of our favorite analysts, however. "Microsoft is a  large organization and I believe this partnership has to do more with the Windows Gaming division than the Xbox division. However, getting one’s foot in the door is half the battle and I do believe long-term we will see Zynga games on Xbox Live," EEDAR's Jesse Divnich told us. "I would consider it a natural progression for Zynga to make its presence felt on some of the consoles and handhelds. Hundreds of millions play Zynga games each month, making the brand awareness much deeper and broader than most console properties. Even if they can convert 1% of their consumers to a DS Zynga game or XBLA game, that will result in some substantial profits."

He added, "It has famously been said 'Build it and they will come.' Well for Zynga, the consumers are already here, so they just need to build it."

As the social games space continues to grow, there's been much talk about someone potentially acquiring Zynga. Would Microsoft be a good fit? Wedbush Morgan Securities analyst Michael Pachter doesn't think it's likely to happen. "I don’t think that Zynga is an acquisition candidate, for a couple of reasons.  They are growing quite rapidly, are the market leader in casual social games, and they’re making a lot of money," he told us. 

Of course, money is no object for Microsoft, but Pachter doesn't believe Microsoft is interested. "I’m not sure that Microsoft wants to be in this business, and Zynga makes a lot of sense as a partner for Microsoft, as they get access to very high quality content without having to build the infrastructure themselves.  I think it’s a testament to Zynga’s market leadership that they landed this deal, and it fits with Zynga’s likely strategic direction to broaden their portfolio beyond Facebook.  I’d read the deal as a win-win for both parties, and not presume that an acquisition is imminent," he said.