Social gaming is shaping up to contribute $835 million to the $1.6 billion US virtual goods market this year. At the same time, social games have redefined social platforms like Facebook itself, boosting the site’s advertising revenues and helping it to blossom into a true, vibrant ecosystem.

This year, Inside Network held our first ever summit on these apps and games that are transforming how social platforms function and monetize. Inside Social Apps 2010 featured speakers from many of the leading thinkers in the social gaming industry, from developers and publishers, to monetization companies and investors.

Sebastien de Halleux, co-founder of Playfish and, now SVP of Business Development at EA Interactive, presented on what the social game developers of today can learn from gaming platforms of the past, and where he thinks the social gaming industry is headed.

A clip of the highlights from this presentation:

Here’s the full presentation:

De Halleux also spoke with us in an exclusive interview backstage about where he thinks the future of social games is headed. Even if your core business is not currently involved in social games, pay attention. This rapidly growing industry segment is already presenting many brands with valuable opportunities for in-game marketing and advertising.

Sebastien de Halleux’s full interview covers:

• The role of creativity versus virality as levers affecting a game’s widespread adoption and success
• The consolidation of developers and publishers, and what the powerhouse organizations of the future will look like
• Where the next round of talent and growth will originate
• Can games themselves be drivers for overall traffic growth and user engagement on Facebook

To see the full interview, join Inside Facebook Gold at gold.insidenetwork.com/facebook