LiveJournal launches social games channel with ... four games

LiveJournal, the 21-million-user strong social journal website, has launched a social games portal. The company has teamed up with i-Jet Media, a Russian social games publisher, to bring four games to the public beta test LiveJournal Games. The games include Sim Hospital, Farm Frenzy Neighbors, Crazy Cars and City Gangs, most of which appear to be localizations of previous i-Jet Media games. So far, games like Sim Hospital are already enjoying over 3 thousand players.

Of course, all of the games are free to play, but require a LiveJournal account to join. After looking at i-Jet Media's catalog of over 70 published social games from 40 developers globally, you can safely assume this list of four games will grow in the future. "Many of our users are gamers, so we're pleased that our users will now be able to enjoy their favorite social gaming activities without leaving LiveJournal," US LiveJournal general manager Anjelika Petrochenko said. "This beta version of games is just a starting point for LiveJournal. We look forward to expanding upon this initial offering with a growing suite of social games to suit our users' eclectic interests."

Farm Frenzy Neighbors
In fact, some future games have already been announced like the aptly-named Trains and Airport. (Boy, I can't wait to find out how those games work.) Alex Kostarev, CEO and Co-founder of i-Jet Media, said, "We believe our unique take on social gaming will be very well received by LiveJournal users, who have a reputation for wanting differentiated social media experiences. Our mission is to bring compelling games that offer original twists on popular themes."

Sean Ryan, a former LiveJournal CEO, left News Corp. recently to join Facebook in its attempt to strengthen partnerships with social game developers. Could this move be a reaction to that? That's uncertain, but regardless of the quality of its games LiveJournal might want to consider giving Ryan a ring.