The Walt Disney Company's acquisition of fast-growing social gaming startup Playdom for as much as $763 million will be closely watched in Seattle. After all, both Playdom and Disney maintain operations here.

The Disney Interactive Media Group -- which traces its roots in the region back to the old Starwave -- provides much of the back-end technical infrastructure for the company's digital media offerings. Meanwhile, Mountain View, California-based Playdom, which has more than 35 million active monthly users, maintains a game studio in Seattle and expanded its presence here earlier this year when it acquired Bellevue's Offbeat Creations.

It is unclear at this point if the Playdom acquisition will have any impact on the companies' Seattle operations. But it will certainly be worth watching.

And it is likely that other casual gaming companies in the Seattle area -- Big Fish, PopCap and RealNetworks -- will be paying close attention as well. After all, the whopping valuation that Playdom obtained could push gaming companies even deeper into finding ways to distribute their products via social media platforms.

That was a hot topic at the recent Casual Connect gaming conference in Seattle, with Alex St. John of Hi5 discussing the topic at length with TechFlash in this Q&A.

Playdom, known for games such as Mobsters, Sorority Life and Wild Ones, raised a $33 million round last month from Disney's Steamboat Ventures, New World Ventures, Bessemer Venture Partners and others. Total venture funding in the company stood at $76 million at the time.

“We are at the start of a once-in-a-generation opportunity to transform the way people of all ages play games with their friends across devices, platforms and geographical boundaries,” said Playdom Chief Executive Officer John Pleasants in a statement. “Disney is an incredibly forward-thinking company that shares our vision and is the ideal partner to further our mission to bring great entertainment to people around the world.”