Microsoft Outfits Bing With Game Database, Integrated Casual Games

Microsoft has boosted the video game-related capabilities of its Bing search engine, integrating around 100 PC casual games directly into the service and hooking up search results to IGN's 35,000-strong game database. When users search for supported casual games, including standards like Solitaire and Blackjack as well as newer games from well-known developers like PopCap (Bejeweled, Plants vs. Zombies), the search results now include the option to "Play now." That link leads directly to an instance of the game hosted on Bing's servers. "Play now" links do not appear to be automatically bumped to the top of the search results list; a series of Gamasutra's example searches for various games turned up the links anywhere from the top of the page to the bottom. Traditional larger-scale console and PC games have also been integrated into Bing's search results by way of a database including aggregated links to reviews, screenshots, videos, walkthroughs, and other media. Searching for games included in the database turns up a specially-designed game info box that appears at the top of the non-sponsored search results. That functionality seems to cover most recent games as well as a great many older titles, to various extents depending on the volume of information about the game. For example, searching for the relatively non-uniquely named Doom, which dates back to 1993, turns up a more fully-formed info box than the slightly younger but more obscure System Shock 2. Games that are both recent and well-covered, like Super Mario Galaxy 2 and Red Dead Redemption, have the most complete slates of information. In a community blog post, Microsoft said it integrated the database because "in the gaming realm, people go to the web for a few key tasks." As for the integrated casual games, the company said the new feature provides convenience as well as the guarantee to players that the games "are actually games and not malware."