Social games pundits have been claiming for years now that as far as Facebook games go, we haven't seen the Mario of Facebook.  In fact, we're more akin to the early Atari days, and are waiting for the next revolution.  That said, one of the obvious claims for the future of Facebook gaming is the idea that branded games are going to take over the world, and while the idea does seem attractive, so far there haven't been any Top 40 hits that leverage branding towards their success.

Enter Embassy Interactive, a talented development/design house who've recently partnered with THQ and the UFC to launch UFC Undisputed Fight Nation, a Facebook game attempting to leverage UFC's powerful brand and the mechanics of a great Facebook social application.  I had a chance to discuss the challenges of developing solid branded content with Gary Kanazawa, President of Embassy Interactive, Ryan Donaldson, Embassy's co-founder/Chief Product Officer, and Mike Doyle, Executive Producer of Social Games at THQ.

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