01 / Zynga dangt;dangt;

For dominating–and monetizing–the social-gaming industriousness. The largest societal-games developer in the world touts hundreds of millions of monthly active users on FarmVille, Treasure Isle, Zynga Poker, Sicilian Mafi Wars, and more. But what's truly innovative is its all virtual-goods revenue pattern: By creating immersive, addicting games, Zynga has roped gamers into paying concrete money for take in-believe "virtual" goods that Army of the Righteou them move up in the games or to contribute their friends gifts. Although small, those numbers racket add up: Zynga is already profitable, and it's valued at more $7 one million million.


02 / Apple dangt;dangt;

For developing the year's most successful new gaming platform: the iPad. The tablet has not exclusive sold more than 7 million units since its April debut (and will generate unnumbered more with this month's iPad2 launch), but also fostered all sorts of new mobile-gaming innovation: Doodle Jump, Angry Birds, Enigmo, etc. Apple also made a serious–and shrewd–move into social-gaming with September's found of Game Center, a perambulating political program that gives multiple users the ability to play on the selfsame app in rattling time.


03 / Microsoft dangt;dangt;

For developing the controller-free Kinect. Microsoft wowed with several creations in the past year–a better Bing, the Windows Phone 7–but we're more impressed by what it fallen: the relevancy of remote controls. Using an mixture of sensors, its men-free Kinect for Xbox 360 console, which launched in October, reads human voice commands, facial cues, and gestures in the very world-wide (e.g., a punch), and past responds accordingly on-screen (e.g., a video-game knockout). Up to now, the gaming hit has sold more 10 million units–more than sufficiency to kick-start its transformation into a wide-fledged entertainment platform. Among the forthcoming features: content from Netflux and Hulu Plus, as easily as avatars-only virtual worlds for Microsoft's 30 million Xbox Live subscribers.

04 / Valve

For creating Steam, a global digital statistical distribution political platform that's quickly becoming iTunes of the gaming manufacture. Every mean solar day, more than six million global unique gamers access the Steam World Wide Web app to buy one or more of its 1,200-nonnegative titles, which include computer and videogame blockbusters such as Valve's own Half Life, Portal, and Left 4 Dead. Steam launched in 2006, but in the past year unparalleled, information technology introduced affirm for Mac titles and grew its userbase to or s 30 million accounts.


05 / Facebook dangt;dangt;

For developing the biggest social-gaming platform on the satellite. Facebook's 600 million-plus users have logged thousands of hours playing the likes of Zynga's CityVille (93 billion monthly active users) and Popcap's Bejeweled Blitz (11 million monthly active users). With September's launch of Facebook credits–effectively giving the network its personal currency–the cultural-networking colossus is as wel self-collected to drive the increment of the multibillion-dollar virtual-goods market.


06 / IBM dangt;dangt;

For its audacious move into solid games. In October, IBM discharged CityOne–dubbed by bloggers as "SimCity for the real life"–which is the most robust effort to date to solve substantial-world problems with a game. The free, reciprocal app targets business leaders, city planners, and government agencies, and touts more than 100 crisis scenarios that require the application of new technologies–most developed and sold past IBM, of course–to create more efficient water use, lessen traffic congestion, and develop alternative-energy sources. IBM's serious-games initiative also extends to education: Students at more 1,000 colleges and universities around the world tap another IBM sim called Innov8 to practice running virtual businesses.

07 / Rovio

For developing Angry Birds, which has easily been the year's biggest mobile-gambling success story. Since its December 2009 debut, the app–which has users catapult birds to knock down assorted obstacles–has been downloaded more than 30 million times. To take advantage on its own phenomenon, Rovio is launching a line of plush toys, and execs are in negotiation about a TV/movie deal.

08 / Emotiv Systems

For pioneering the opinion-controlled gaming genre. In December 2009, the companion unveiled its first commercial ware, the EPOC headset, which plugs into a USB port and makes it possible for specially designed computer apps to be influenced by the player's idea and facial expressions. Emotiv recently launched an EPOC app store that now features 7 offerings, including a "Cortex Colonnade" game that lets users mastery Pong paddles with their mind.

09 / Scvngr

For turn everyday life into a gimpy. Building on the "check up on-in" arrangement popularized by Resolute, Gowalla, and Facebook Places, this mobile app offers an lay out of challenges stress real user activity. "Fright Factor," for example, gives restaurant patrons points for photographing their food from an peculiar lean on to survive look unappetising. Since the Google-backed startup's May launch, it has secured 1,000 corporate customers–including 7-11, Coca-Cola, and ATdanamp;T–and logged more than 1 million downloads of its iPhone and Android apps.


10 / Nexon

For being the only Asian essential-goods hulk to make inroads in the One States. The company's online games, including Maple Story (more than 90 million players worldwide) and Combat Blazonry, are bigger than World of Warcraft. Now, much 30,000 retailers–including Target, Blockbuster, and Walmart–deal prepaid cards with Nexon's practical currency.

Browse our list of The World's Most Modern Companies 2011

[Photographs by: Art Streiber]