Google's hunt for social gaming partners could secure another piece of machinery this week, as the company has reportedly agreed to buy social gaming player and widget-maker Slide for for $182 million. Slide would provide a pre-established user base and easy-to-use chunk of infrastructure for Google gamers to share gaming experiences and slideshows of information on non-Google webpages.
According to a report on TechCrunch, the deal will be officially announced on Friday, and Google will be making even more purchases in the near future as they attempt to construct a social gaming and app machine to rival Facebook.
Google already invested heavily in Zynga, in what many have interpreted as a major move to lure the "FarmVille" makers into a Google games stable once it's established.
As far as Slide goes, social gamers love badges and ways to show off their scores, and the company already has a presence on Facebook and MySpace that includes game apps and info widgets. Whatever Google's master plan turns out to be, one of the big questions that this Slide buy presents is whether Google wants to leverage them against Facebook or as a way into Facebook.
What do you think Google will do with Slide? Do you use any Slide apps or widgets? Share your opinions in the comment section below.