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Daily iPhone App: My Town 2
You probably remember Booyah's MyTown, which eventually claimed more users than even Foursquare for a time. Booyah's management has switched up a bit since then, but the company is still plugging away at the iOS market, most recently releasing a sequel to MyTown called (not surprisingly) My Town 2. This version runs is more of a traditional social game, similar to Farmville, Cityville or any number of time-based management titles. Much like the original, the draw of My Town 2 is that you build cities with real places from your own neighborhood. Checking in to those places helps you break open rewards and items that you can't get anywhere else. Unfortunately, this means My Town 2 is sticky with the marketing. There's a whole lot of brand placement and not a lot of game play. I'd prefer more action and less marketing of the in-app purchases. But Booyah has been at this a while and they've reached an acceptable balance, especially considering that this is a freemium game and service. If you enjoyed the first MyTown, or if you just want to see what Booyah is all about, My Town 2 is well worth the download. It's free on the App Store in a universal version right now.
Zynga reports record quarterly revenue, profits still down year-over-year
Never underestimate the addictive power of microtransaction infused farms, apparently, as Zynga has disclosed a record quarter for the period between July 1 and September 30: Over $306 million, an 80 percent increase in revenue over that same period in 2010. The social megalith attributes the increase in revenue to the successful launches of Adventure World and the Facebook version of Words with Friends, which took place during this quarter. Revenue is a very different beast than profit, however, where Zynga continues to decline. Following a 95 percent year-over-year profit decrease in Q2, the SEC filing shows a 54 percent decrease year-over-year in Q3 after a total of $12.5 million in net profits. Hey Zynga, want a tip? It's on the house: Monetize letter tiles in Words with Friends. We'll pay you fifteen dollars to get rid of "MXLCZDL."
Zynga reports record revenue in last quarter
A recent SEC filing from Zynga, creator of the social gaming epidemic known as FarmVille, revealed that the company is reporting a record quarterly revenue of over 306 million USD, though -- bizarrely enough -- profits are almost 54 percent lower than they were this time last year. Revenue isn't the only thing that's on the rise, either. The company reports 152 million unique monthly players, compared to the 151 million the company reported in June. The average number of daily players, however, dropped from 59 million to 54 million. At any rate, the company seems to be going strong, with new titles such as the recently announced (supposed MMO) CastleVille just on the horizon.
Zynga's CastleVille hopes to enter MMO territory
Zynga, maker of social games FarmVille and CityVille, has declared its intention to take the plunge into the MMO market with a new game: CastleVille. "Zynga is bringing massively multiplayer role-playing games to the mass market," creative director Bill Jackson announced from Zynga's San Francisco HQ. What game mechanics justify calling the game an MMO? According to Jackson: You can build your castle, show it to your friends, and craft things like potions or armor. You can follow the game's story and its characters. You can trade and barter with friends by visiting their towns. And you have to defend your town against beasts who are outside the walls. The game has more personalized storytelling; players explore the world around them. You meet characters and make them happy and unlock new characters as you progress. Chief executive Mark Pincus echoed his company's bold plans: "We want to give you more of a World of Warcraft feeling, but packaged up in something you can understand in three clicks and five or 15 minutes."
Oh god, they're probably making a Farmville movie
Never before have our hearts received news with such confusion: In a recent interview with IGN, Toy Story writers Alec Sokolow and Joel Cohen hinted at their next project: A movie adaptation of Zynga's Farmville franchise. "We're in conversations with Zynga to do something with one of their brands," they teased. "Can't really say too much on that front yet, but 'Old MacDonald' didn't have a factory, if you get our drift." We do not get your drift. Your drift makes us sad. We trust the two to craft a compelling story, but we worry there's not enough rich source material for them to base it on. All we know is we're not looking forward to receiving a hundred daily invitations to go to the movie from our distant, distant cousins and fourth grade math teachers.
MMObility: Glitch makes you wish you were as cool as it is
If you have kept up with my columns for a while, you know what a fan of Glitch I am. I have to admit that I've been terribly angry at the developer, Tiny Speck, for not bringing the game into a final phase yet. I wanted my little Glitch to stay as he was when I logged out; I didn't want to see him wiped over and over again after those pesky tests that help assure quality and playability. So I've been avoiding the testing phase for the most part. Isn't that just a perfect example of how mania drives gamers? We will do anything to avoid playing a favorite upcoming game for fear of becoming attached to our little digital selves or spoiling the fun of discovering new quests. Well, we'll wait no more! As of today, the game and world is finally open to anyone. That means you get to jump in, nibble pigs, massage butterflies, collect random items you find on the floor, and generally exist in the imagination of a giant. Sounds cool? It is cool. In fact, I need to explain just how cool it is. Click past the cut!
Real-world political campaigning headed to Farmville
You can tell a lot about a person based on their agricultural lot in Farmville: For instance, one look at our fertile lands, and you'll know we're firm supporters of firm arugula, well-fed livestock and laying out pumpkin patches in the shapes of genitalia. Also, if you check back in a few months, you'll be able to tell how much we love ex-New York gubernatorial candidate and Rent is Too Damn High Party founder Jimmy McMillan, because we'll have his campaign signs plastered all over our farmgrounds. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, political marketing consultant Michael Hendrix says Farmville will allow players to post candidate signage and do door-to-door campaigning later this year. Hendrix works for the Michelle Bachmann presidential campaign, and didn't specify whether users could campaign for any other candidates. We've contacted Zynga to find out the specifics. Also, we should be more specific: We're talking about campaigning for real-life political positions. Not the mayor of Farmville, a position we'd still probably vote to fill with Jimmy McMillan. (Come on, that facial hair? How could we not?)
Daily iPhone App: DragonVale
DragonVale is the newest game from Backflip Studios, a company we've covered in detail here on the site before. It represents kind of a new direction for the company, too -- so far, CEO Julian Farrior and his team have gone after mostly ad views, selling cheap or even free apps to lots and lots of people, and then using ads to monetize them. And Farrior has always said that he's open to monetizing apps in all kinds of ways, so here's another: DragonVale is Backflip's take on the popular freemium model going around lately. The idea is that you're raising a farm of dragons, more or less, and all of the standard "Farmville" style rules apply: hatch dragons into habitats which earn you money, enabling you to build more dragons and habitats all the way up the chain. And DragonVale isn't a bad example of this game -- it builds up nicely, the art is colorful and fun (Backflip actually hired a former Insomniac Games artist who previously worked on the Ratchet and Clank series), and everything runs quite smoothly. If you're a fan of the genre (or want an easy and comfortable way to see what it's all about), DragonVale is worth checking out. It'll be interesting to see how this goes for Backflip as well -- as I said, generally the company has depended on larger audiences to support its games, and a title like this definitely could use a big audience, but even moreso requires that dedicated group of players willing to commit a few bucks (or more) to buying the in-game currency. If this all goes well for Backflip, we might see lots more of this from them in the future.
The Daily Grind: Have you ever hooked your parents on an MMO?
MMOs may be intended for kids of all ages, but that doesn't mean kids of all ages are actually playing. While we've all read about that great-grandma guild leader and the eight-year-old boy who raids alongside his father, in practice those cases seem like outliers. The stereotype, at least, is that gamers can barely keep their older relatives on the cutting edge of technology, nevermind get their parents to indulge in online gaming. My mother may have pwned my kid brother and me at Seaquest back in the '80s, but nowadays I just can't convince her to look past FarmVille for her gaming fix. So what about you, Massively readers? You seem to be an age-diverse group. Have you had any success getting your parents -- or any older relatives -- into your MMOs of choice? And how did you pull it off? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
MMObility: What makes a good mobile game to me
Over the time I have been exploring mobile gaming, especially since I have been writing this column, I've discovered exactly what I like and dislike about the genre. Mobile MMOs are the tiniest niche within the greater world of MMOs. Some would say that MMOs are even a tiny corner of gaming in general. While I don't quite agree, I would say that explaining my column to random game shop employees or curious friends is quite the challenge. "You write about games... on your phone?" "Yes, massively multiplayer games." "Huh?" Luckily there are many new ones that offer a much more robust gaming experience. I can proudly show people examples of games like Order and Chaos Online, Star Legends or Illyriad. Of course, I sift through many poor examples before I get to the good ones. So let's take this opportunity to discuss what I think makes for a good game. Click past the cut and feel free to add your ideas in the comments section!
GDC Europe 2011: Richard Garriott says mobile and social titles are 'the future of games'
Delivering the final keynote address at this year's GDC Europe, Richard Garriott said that the industry is rapidly moving away from MMOs as we know them and toward mobile and social gaming -- and that companies need to hop on board, lest they be left behind. Garriott used his iPhone as an example of this new direction: "I am now much more of a gamer than I ever been in my whole life, but the vast majority of the gaming I have played has been on this machine. I'm a devout believer that this is the current and near-term future of games." He defines this "new era" of gaming by having cheap games that are simple to use and connect you with real-world friends. While he thinks earlier social games like FarmVille were too simple and unappealing, Garriott says that they're evolving quickly. During the speech, Garriott expressed regret that his team didn't stick by the original vision for Tabula Rasa, and he urged fellow developers not to trade in their dreams in order to follow the company line. His new company Portalarium plans to "reinvent roleplaying yet again" by releasing a series of products that will capitalize on social gaming and retrain players to think beyond mere combat to a wider experience.
Facebook changing games service, probably (not) unrelated to Google Plus games
Sean Ryan, Facebook's director of games partnerships, is bringing some big changes to the social network's games service, including individual game recommendations a la Netflix, improving relationships with developers and focusing on quality of games instead of quantity. Game growth has slowed since Facebook got rid of game-notification spamming last year, Ryan said, stagnating at 200 million users, but it remains a focus for the company. Facebook's announcement of coming innovation coincides suspiciously with Google Plus' rollout of its own games service, which is only taking 5 percent commission on its games (compared to Facebook's 30 percent) and has a separate tab for games updates, meaning no wall spam. It should be interesting to see which aspects of each other's services Facebook and Google Plus steal. What won't be interesting is how similar their games sections will be in the end.
Zynga's Pioneer Trail is like The Oregon Trail without the typhoid
Zynga has finally released The Pioneer Trail, the long promised sequel to FrontierVille on Facebook. Those familiar with The Oregon Trail will be right at home here but there's no indication as yet that you can die of dysentery. The game abandons many of Zynga's social gaming trademarks; rather than doing anything related to farming, players must instead journey across one of three maps. The creators claim that each one of these maps is five times larger than any of the outfit's previous games. Significantly, you can only play the game with three friends, as each player is awarded specific skills necessary to reach "Fort Courage" at the finish. The company hopes that by forcing four players together it will create "intimate gaming" experiences (translation: you can't give up if you get bored, friends are relying on you). Each map is said to take three weeks of hard pioneerin' to complete and if that still leaves you cold, remember: there's always that history textbook waiting in your app queue.
World Wide Web turns 20, finally shakes that acne problem
Happy birthday, World Wide Web! Hard to believe you're turning 20 already. It seems like just yesterday we were hearing the pitter patter of little dial-up, delighting at the words "you got mail," and getting frustrated when calling our friends and receiving that dreaded busy signal. You're all grown up now, helping people learn how to farm and become overnight pop sensations. What, we wonder, will the next 20 years bring? At the very least, you'll eventually have to move out of your parents' basement, get a real job, and settle down. It's hard to pay attention to that kind of stuff, though, when you've got another year of sneaking beers ahead of you. So go ahead, World Wide Web, enjoy yourself tonight -- just make sure to be home by midnight.
Lawsuit filed against Zynga over Farmville source code
California-based web developer SocialApps has become the latest company to file suit against social-gaming powerhouse Zynga, seeking damages for alleged "copyright infringement, violation of trade secrets, breach of written contract, breach of implied-in-fact contract, and breach of confidence." The argument is that SocialApps entered into an agreement with Zynga, wherein Zynga would receive access to the source code for SocialApps' Facebook game MyFarm in exchange for some form of compensation. According to the suit, Zynga was given the code, at which point they fled into the night, never to be seen or heard from again. SocialApps claims that MyFarm's source code provided the foundation for Farmville, as well as its many derivatives. They are seeking a permanent injunction, damages, attorney's fees, as well as any of Zynga's profits or gains which can be attributed to Farmville. While theft from other developers has been implied in previous lawsuits, this is the first out-and-out accusation of theft lodged against the company. In related news, Zynga's legal department has constructed an olympic-sized swimming pool on the Moon, and filled it with real pirate treasure.
Report: Zynga filing for IPO in the next two weeks
Alright, we're gonna get all of the boring business stuff out of the way up front: FarmVille creator Zynga is reportedly "poised to file" for its IPO (Initial Public Offering), effectively going from a private company to a public one. Financial firm Goldman Sachs is said to be "among the lead bankers" heading up the offering, which is expected as early as this week or "next week at the latest." Still with us? We know -- that was just as exhausting for us as it was for you. So why should you care? Because the company could rival -- or handily best -- publishing contemporaries like Activision, EA, and Take-Two. The social game publisher's last valuation pegged it at a cool $10 billion, a number All Things D's Kara Swisher believes could climb even higher for an IPO. For comparison's sake, the largest public game publisher, Activision Blizzard, is valued at $13.07 billion as of mid-day today ... and that includes the Call of Duty series and World of Warcraft. With a $10 billion IPO, Zynga would become the second largest game publisher in North America, eclipsing EA's current valuation of $7.81 billion. Zynga reps declined to comment.
You may now enter GagaVille (if that's your kinda thing)
Zynga has kicked off its latest cross-promotion, teaming up with the eccentric Lady Gaga for the launch of her latest album, "Born This Way." They've created a Gaga-themed farm in the enormously popular social game, FarmVille. Rather than rearing funky livestock, though, players will have a chance to listen to a handful of tracks from the album before launch on May 23. And if that tickles your fancy, you'll be glad to know that Gaga's farm is currently live on Facebook, anxiously awaiting your arrival. Beyond early access to her next album, the promotion extends to Zynga's game cards as well, with folks purchasing $25 cards via Best Buy stores (online and off) -- between now and June 11 -- receiving a free digital copy of "Born This Way."%Gallery-123814%
Massively Exclusive: Free Realms' Referee Ruby goes farming
"This is my farm. It's not so great yet," Referee Ruby says wistfully. "Someday..." In the first of this exclusive video series, Free Realms' infamous in-game support character comes alive to show us the joys of the farming system. If you've ever liked FarmVille -- or even hoped there would be a better version of it out there -- then you're going to love working the soil here to bear the fruits of your efforts. And zucchinis. And eggplants. As in real life, Free Realms' farming takes an attentive hand and some hard work. Weeds must be pulled and boulders blown up to make room for tilling, and plants have to be watched so that you can harvest them when the time is ripe. The payoff is worth it, however; crops can be sold to the market for a fair bit of cash. Farms can be leveled up over time, opening access to more plants and tools so that you can shape the land to your whims. One of the best ways to do this is to talk to Farmer Chug, who has a few quests to speed you on your way. Bask in the full glory of Referee Ruby as she goes Green Acres on us in the video after the jump, and make sure to check out the new farming for yourself as the game is back up and running!
Zynga crowns Lady Gaga as FarmVille's newest cash cow
What better way to market a game that isn't really a game than with an artist who isn't really an artist? Such was the rationale, apparently, behind Zynga's recent decision to partner with Lady Gaga, the freshly anointed face of FarmVille. As of May 17th, FarmVille users will be able to take a much-needed break from wasting their lives and visit GagaVille -- a neighboring but equally fake farm full of unicorns, crystals and terrible life decisions. There, visitors will be able to listen to unreleased tracks from Gaga's forthcoming album, Born This Way, which they can also download for "free," once they've dropped $25 of their parents' hard-earned cash on a Zynga gift card. The campaign will mercifully come to an end on May 26th, but not before Diet Madonna extends her corporate leviathan to every corner of Zynga's gaming universe, including Words With Friends, Mafia Wars and anything else your pre-teen cousin spends far too much time playing. Gaga will win. Zynga will win. The human race, on balance, will lose. If you haven't slit your wrists yet, the PR after the break should do the trick.
Zynga and Lady Gaga partnering up once more, opening GagaVille
Back in March, the ridiculously named pair of Lady Gaga and Zynga formed a union to donate funds for Japanese disaster relief; a goal they accomplished to the tune of $3 million. Yesterday, they announced a new partnership to raise money for Lady Gaga and Zynga, which entails the May 17 opening of "GagaVille" -- a neighboring region to FarmVille that features unicorns, crystals and an early chance to listen to unreleased tracks from the stylish songstylist's upcoming album, "Born this Way." Other promotions include a free download voucher for the album included with every $25 Zynga gift card sold at Best Buy, a Words with Friends contest to snag Gaga merch, and a handful of Gaga-themed items added to the RewardVille storefront. Now, if you don't mind, we're going to print off this article, throw it in a time capsule and bury it in our yard, because in 50 years we're pretty sure most of the words we've used so far are going to be hilariously nonsensical.
