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What is Zynga doing to that sheep? Brian Reynolds on the power of innuendo
During a presentation at SXSW Interactive yesterday, Zynga chief designer Brian Reynolds shared an emergent game feature that the team discovered when making Frontierville, one designed to appeal to juvenility. The "tutorial" mission in Frontierville involves finding a lost sheep and bringing it back, he explained. Because it's a Facebook game, you get the option to post when you've done so, which shares a little blurb about your achievement and a picture of a cartoony character struggling to pull a stubborn sheep. But that's not what players' friends saw. "What is she doing to that sheep?" was a common refrain from people who saw that post, Reynolds said. "The look on the sheep's face kind of sells it." But this wasn't a problem, as it turned out. That pseudo-scandalous sheep image "has our highest post rate and our highest clickthrough rate," he explained, with many more replies to those posts creating increased visibility, and thus inadvertently promoting Frontierville. And so Zynga went forward with innuendo-laden status messages, more examples of which you can see above. At the end of the presentation, Reynolds answered a question about his reaction to Satoru Iwata's GDC keynote, during which Iwata pretty clearly denounced social and mobile games in general. "I don't understand why they'd feel threatened," he said, suggesting that social games and console games can coexist. "Maybe that person thinks a lot about console games," but not about mobile games.
Report: Zynga worth $7-9 billion
The Wall Street Journal says that, with its $250 million in new funding, social gaming company Zynga could be worth as much as $7 to 9 billion -- that's "billion" with a B. An astounding number for the company behind the extraordinarily popular Facebook game Farmville. Zynga has a number of interests in the iOS space, including a Farmville app as well as the recent purchases of iPhone developers Newtoy and the studio behind Drop7. Of course, that number is only an estimate of the company's value, not actual money it's earned. But investors do expect the company to go public within the next few years, and given that Farmville has attracted an audience (and appears to have nailed down a way to make a significant amount of money from an all-new gaming audience), there's no question that Zynga is a huge relatively new force in the gaming space. Zynga is likely not done growing -- the company has picked up one developer per month over the past nine months, and I'll bet that we haven't heard of the last iPhone developer being acquired by them just yet. The iOS platform isn't the only reason for Zynga's huge valuation, but it certainly seems destined to play a part in its future. [via Mashable]
Super Meat Boy postmortem, Angry Birds and Zynga talks announced for GDC 2011
In case you didn't know, it's the 25th anniversary of the Game Developers Conference this year, and that means a load of extra special presentations. Beyond the head of Nintendo keynoting, the laundry list of legendary developers giving "classic" postmortems, and various announcements, it was revealed today that Super Meat Boy devs Edmund McMillen and Tommy Refenes ("Team Meat") will be giving a postmortem of their own. And hey, we think they're pretty extra special. Additionally, Zynga VP of product development Mark Skaggs will be discussing his company's evolution, framed around the release of FarmVille and the push towards CityVille over the last year -- we'd suggest fledgling Facebook millionaires not be late. And finally, rounding out today's announcement is news of an Angry Birds talk from Rovio's Peter Vesterbacka (self-claimed "Head Eagle" at the studio). We'll be on hand at GDC bringing you all the meaty, free-to-play, bird-flinging news as it breaks.
The Lawbringer: Hacking and valuing virtual currency
Pop law abounds in The Lawbringer, your weekly dose of WoW, the law, video games and the MMO genre. Running parallel to the games we love and enjoy is a world full of rules, regulations, pitfalls and traps. How about you hang out with us as we discuss some of the more esoteric aspects of the games we love to play? I can't stop talking about virtual currency! As virtual worlds and economies penetrate every aspect of our lives, we are faced with the new and daunting challenge of identifying the seedy criminal element present in every human venture. There will always be someone breaking the rules, skimming off the top, or finding a way to steal their way up the ladder. Generally, as a society, we accept this as part of the process and make our rules accordingly to punish and dissuade against future criminals and all that jazz. This week, we read about a very interesting virtual theft over Zynga poker chips, in which a 29-year-old British IT businessman named Ashley Mitchell pleaded (or pled, depending on your colloquial acceptance) guilty to stealing $12 million worth of the virtual currency. You know what Zynga is -- it is responsible for FarmVille, Mafia Wars, Zynga Texas HoldEm Poker, and about 8,000 other social networking entities. The company is ubiquitous. It also sells an ungodly amount of virtual currency online and offline for its games. Zynga poker chips, however, cannot be bought offline.
Facebook game Blingville gets cease and desist from Zynga
There's an immense power struggle happening right now, in the deep, deep folds of the social gaming universe -- a struggle over ownership of an extremely lucrative word fragment. Zynga recently sent a cease and desist letter to Blingville LLC, the creators of an upcoming Facebook game that shares the name of their company. According to Zynga, the use of "ville" in the game and company's moniker infringes on its own collection of social gaming trademarks. Blingville, not a-feared of Zynga's assumedly massive litigatory army, has filed a letter to the West Virginia U.S. District Court, seeking a declaration from the court that their game doesn't actually infringe on Zynga's trademarks. The studio also hopes to have Zynga foot the bill for any legal fees potentially accrued during a legal battle. We'll keep you updated on how this turns out -- but until it gets settled, we'd suggest developers and city planners alike avoid using the suffix. (Hear that, Louisville? You're officially on notice.)
CityVille overtakes FarmVille's monthly active user count
Much like the offspring of real-life rural families yearn for a slice of that big city livin', the world of Zynga's Facebook-based social game CityVille has passed up the monthly active user count posted by former genre leader, FarmVille. In December -- the game's release month, no less -- the urban development sim pulled in 84.2 million active users, slightly edging out FarmVille's record of 83.7 million users set in March 2010. However, CityVille hasn't had the daily active user retention that FarmVille managed to maintain at the height of its popularity. At the end of its release month, CityVille was pulling in around 20 percent of its monthly user base every day, slightly less than the 30 percent DAU retention FarmVille regularly boasts. Then again, is it that surprising that country folk are more dependable than city slickers? They clean up animal excrement like, every day, and they never even complain.
World of Warcraft will reign for another 20 years according to industry analysts
With all of the recent focus on World of Warcraft following its latest expansion, it's no surprise that the industry leader is at the center of another round of "What will topple WoW?" discussions. In an article on Eurogamer, industry analysts and developers lend their thoughts as to what made World of Warcraft so dang popular to begin with, and what it will take -- if anything -- for another game to beat its popularity, subscription numbers and cultural footprint. Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter declared that nothing will top the title for at least 20 years due to an insurmountable lead, although this became debated by the other participants. Cryptic's Jack Emmert thinks WoW will be "chipped away at" instead of toppled. Age of Conan's Craig Morrison thinks that nobody can consciously plan to overcome WoW's lead saying, "You don't topple a cultural phenomenon. But you can join one." GamersFirst's Bjorn Book-Larsson doesn't think there's a need for WoW to be toppled due to the size of the market. Codemasters' Dave Solari imagines that the winning formula "would have mass market appeal, with instant accessibility, would work on all platforms, particularly mobile, be incredibly viral and social -- like a feature-rich FarmVille." Undead Labs' Jeff Strain thinks that MMO studios should be looking at it a different way: "They should instead be striving to achieve the same level of success with their own game ideas." Some even speculate that Blizzard is the only studio capable of besting its own game, perhaps with its second MMO that's due to be announced in 2012. Head on over to Eurogamer for the full discussion.
Zynga and Playdom hug it out, trade secret lawsuit settled
Zynga and Disney-owned Playdom have reportedly reached a settlement in their 2009 legal dispute over an alleged conspiracy by Playdom to hire Zynga employees and retrieve Zynga's "playbook" -- a book Zynga described as "the company's key and collective efforts to develop and fit games to the social networking platform in the most successful manner ... It is a 'how-to' manual that belongs to Zynga." Next-Gen.biz confirmed the settlement with Zynga, though neither Disney nor Zynga provided details of the arrangement. Zynga did, however, issue a statement stating that it's "extremely pleased with the final resolution of its trade secret suit against Playdom and various individuals." The company added, "The settlement reflects the very serious nature of the conduct involved, as reflected by the preliminary injunction, restraining orders, and contempt order issued by the Santa Clara Superior Court. We have great respect for Disney and are thankful that following its acquisition of Playdom, Disney resolved the matter to our satisfaction." We have to imagine Disney sent over at least five or six Mickey Mouse hats to really seal the deal.
Facebook game roundup: Games.com Blog's Week in Review
When it comes to Facebook game news, features and tips, Joystiq sister site Games.com - The Blog! has you covered. Whether you're looking for info on the hottest new Facebook game, or you're just curious about your regulars, you'll find it at GDC-TB. Check out our biggest features of the week: Dragon Age Legends: BioWare's epic role-player goes social In order to tide you Dragon Age lovers over until the sequel arrives in March, BioWare plans to release a Facebook game a few months beforehand. Play it to unlock items in Dragon Age 2 and, once again, take on Darkspawn and other creatures you wouldn't want to meet in a dark alley. Or even a brightly lit alley. Mafia Wars Atlantic City swings onto iPhone Mafia Wars Atlantic City arrives on the iPhone, something totally separate from the regular iPhone version of the game. The game runs pretty smoothly, and we hope this serves as a sign that Zynga's getting closer to launching a fully-realized Mafia Wars companion app for iOS. Simply Hospital: The cure for the common Facebook game If you ever played any hospital tycoon game on PC, then this is the Facebook version of that same game. For social gamers who've been inundated with farming and pet simulation games, Simply Hospital makes for a welcome change of pace. Bonus for boys: The nurses have some real eye-popping assets.
Zynga passes EA in estimated worth rankings
Like a horde of unstoppable zombies, social titles are devouring the domestic and worldwide gaming industry at an alarming rate. The latest example of the brain-sucking apocalypse comes courtesy of a Bloomberg report on Farmville-maker Zynga's estimated worth. It clocks in at $5.51 billion, placing it squarely in front of industry titan Electronic Arts ($5.22 billion). Despite potential hits like BioWare's Star Wars: The Old Republic waiting in the wings, EA seems to be losing ground in the war for your online entertainment dollar. Since March 1st, EA's shares have declined 6.3 percent, while Zynga's estimated value has more than doubled in the same period. That said, while Zynga has leap-frogged EA, they still have a ways to go to catch Activision ($13.9 billion estimated worth), as well as China's Tencent Holdings ($43 billion).
Zynga estimated to be worth more than EA
We can't help but be kept awake at night, a constant state of worry hanging over our heads, wondering whether Zynga is financially surpassing the EAs and Activisions of the world. According to a Business Week report, it seems that Zynga recently did just that -- finally -- with SharesPost Inc. reporting Zynga's stock value at $5.51 billion, a full $290 million above EA's NASDAQ valuation of $5.22 billion. ThinkEquity LLC analyst Atul Bagga told BW that Zynga's valuation "is not that crazy, given what's going on in the market," noting that growth prospects over the next three years help add value to the still nascent social game company. Bagga estimates Zynga's virtual goods profits will rise from approximately $1.6 billion this year to $3.6 billion by 2013, making Zynga a riskier, but potentially more lucrative investment. That is, of course, if people keep buying ... whatever it is they buy in Facebook games.
Zynga sued over Facebook privacy breaches
Zynga and its stable of Facebook games have never exactly won the hearts of MMO fans, but they've managed to avoid a lawsuit up until now. Unfortunately for them, a class-action lawsuit has been filed today seeking monetary relief for the unwarranted and undesirable release of private information. Filed by Nancy Graf of St. Paul, MN, the suit also seeks an injunction to prevent a similar incident from occurring in the future, in a direct response to Monday's news that several games and applications have been leaking private information. Although Zynga was listed among the companies sending out private information, the company is claiming that the lawsuit is wholly without merit and will be fought accordingly. The full details on the suit are available from Gamasutra, with the security breaches still apparently being labeled as unintentional results as they were on Monday. We'll have more on the story as it develops, although it seems to be a definite black eye for one of the largest social gaming companies on the web.
Zynga hit with class action lawsuit over alleged FarmVille privacy leaks
We're not sure why people place so much value on their own privacy -- after all, we spend our days pouring out our hearts on this here public website -- but apparently, it's enough to warrant a class action lawsuit over Zynga's alleged leaks of Facebook users' private info. According to a press release from law firm Edelson McGuire, the suit, filed in a San Francisco federal court by St. Paul, Minn. resident Nancy Graf, seeks "monetary relief for those whose data was wrongly shared, and injunctive relief to prevent continued privacy abuses." No specific amount was mentioned regarding the extent of the aforementioned "monetary relief," but seeing as how the announcement claims the leaks affected 218 million Facebook users, we're guessing the damages sought will be ... significant.
Facebook games transmitting your info to third parties
Our friends at Joystiq have turned us on to a Wall Street Journal article that concludes your privacy is at risk if you play Facebook games. The Journal discovered that each of the top 10 Facebook applications transmits user IDs, which may be shared with unauthorized third parties. We know, it's not exactly new or shocking information, but continued user ignorance -- or apathy -- regarding online habits is a troubling trend that bears examining. WSJ authors Emily Steel and Geoffrey A. Fowler did just that and turned up all manner up interesting findings including a data-mining firm called RapLeaf Inc. that linked Facebook user IDs to its database of internet users. RapLeaf didn't stop there, as it then transmitted the user IDs to a dozen other firms, an express violation of Facebook policy. Though RapLeaf vice president of business development Joel Jewitt said "we didn't do it on purpose," Facebook is nonetheless trotting out the damage control PR. "We have taken immediate action to disable all applications that violate our terms," said a company spokeman.
Facebook apps (including Farmville!) leaking private info to third parties
Like you didn't see this one coming. According to some sleuthing by the Wall Street Journal, many popular Facebook apps – including titles from omnipresent game dev Zynga – are sharing your user ID with unauthorized third parties. The Journal found that "all 10 of the top Facebook apps transmitted user's IDs" – six of those apps, including Farmville at numero uno, are created by Zynga. In addition, the Journal reports that "three of the top 10 apps, including FarmVille, also have been transmitting personal information about a user's friends to outside companies." Of course, your user ID is publicly available and is, by itself, just a number; however, this data can be (and, as the Journal reports is being) shared with other parties, specifically "at least 25 advertising and data firms." The Journal says that many devs may not have realized they were exposing that information – the referring page includes the user's ID in the URL. Whoops! Facebook, for its part, says that mere knowledge of an ID "does not permit access to anyone's private information on Facebook" though some firms will pair IDs to whatever personal information is stored in a user's public Facebook profile. The company also says it will work to "contain the problem." A Zynga spokesperson said, "Zynga has a strict policy of not passing personally identifiable information to any third parties" and pledged to work with Facebook to "refine how web technologies work to keep people in control of their information." The way we see it, you've got two choices: 1) Stop using Facebook apps or 2) Resign yourself to a dystopian future wherein the entire world knows you play Farmville. How humiliating!
WSJ: Facebook apps and games are dishing out your user ID to unauthorized third parties
So you thought tweaking your privacy settings could actually keep you private on Facebook? The Wall Street Journal has some sobering news for you and everyone else playing Farmville on the 'book: your favorite apps are transmitting your user ID to advertisers and other third parties, and there's pretty much nothing you can do about it. According to the WSJ, even users who set their privacy sliders to the most hermit-like setting are exposed to having their unique Facebook identifier served up to data collection and advertising agencies, who in turn have been connecting that ID with your name (and anything else you've set to "share with everyone" on your profile) and snowballing it into their archive on your habits and tastes. Even more unsettling, three of the top 10 most used apps, including Farmville, have been found to have dished out the IDs of their users' friends. For its part, the company that Mark Z built says it's "committed to addressing" the issue and a number of the offending apps have been noted as becoming unavailable following the WSJ report. Farmville is of course not among them, it'd be madness to ever yank that cash cow, but whatever happens, you should have already got the message: the internet and privacy don't mix well.
GDCO 2010: Panel and interview roundup
As you may have noticed if you're following our GDC Online 2010 coverage, we were there in full force. Karen Bryan, blogger and podcaster extraordinaire, covered the event along with our own Beau Hindman. As a wrapup to her interview articles, Karen gives this final impressions piece on the panels of GDC Online 2010. I had a busy week at GDC Online, seeing some great panels and speaking with some enthusiastic developers. Since not all of you could attend this Austin, Texas event, we've done our best to bring you the highlights. Follow along after the jump for a quick rundown of what I saw, as well as the big takeaway from each.
The Game Archaeologist and the Girdle of Anarchy: A chat with Colin Cragg
When I declared September to be "Anarchy Online month" I had no idea how far it would go. I mean, sure, I expected an outpouring of fond memories from players and perhaps a statue erected in my honor, but for the UN to pass a resolution for a worldwide celebration of Funcom's brainchild is quite above and beyond. So really, it's been a wild ride thus far. That's what we game archaeologists prepared for when we attended MMO U (go Fightin' N00bs!) and dusted off old copies of Neverwinter Nights. Be flexible, be enthusiastic, and always be ready for an older title to sweep you off your feet -- these are the sage words of my instructors. Because of this, I didn't find myself tongue-tied when Anarchy Online's Colin Cragg agreed to an interview. I might have blushed and stared at my feet so that I wouldn't become lost in his wizened, sage eyes, but I marched forward nonetheless. So what did AO's head honcho have to say about working on a mature MMO? Click the link and wonder no longer!
15 Minutes of Fame: Cory Doctorow on gold farming
From Hollywood celebrities to the guy next door, millions of people have made World of Warcraft a part of their lives. How do you play WoW? We're giving each approach its own 15 Minutes of Fame. digg_url = 'http://wow.joystiq.com/2010/08/04/15-minutes-of-fame-cory-doctorow-on-gold-farming/'; A conversation with Cory Doctorow plunges into the matter at hand so quickly that it's almost impossible not to imagine yourself falling through an internet-era rabbit hole of pop culture and technology. Doctorow is all about synthesizing ideas and spitting them out in as accessible a fashion as possible, and the ground he manages to cover in a single stride can be mind-boggling; he's a science fiction author, activist, journalist and blogger, father, gamer ... A former WoW player and husband of gaming standout Alice Taylor (also previously profiled here in 15 Minutes of Fame), he's widely known as the co-editor of Boing Boing and author of the bestselling young adult novel Little Brother. Doctorow's latest young adult novel, For the Win, pries open the seams of the shady scene behind MMO gold farming. Its young protagonists are gold farmers and gamers themselves. Doctorow has woven his own experience and sensibilities with focused research to outline a world of gold farming that sprawls far beyond the lines of cartoon-image gold farmers that most of us have painted in our heads. We chatted by phone with Doctorow for this lengthy conversation on gold farming and game economies, plus a companion piece at our sister publication Massively.com on gaming culture and his recent fiction.
Breakfast Topic: Casualties of casual gaming
The other day over dinner, my wife and I were talking about a new game on Facebook and how easy it would be for us to game the system. My brother-in-law stopped us mid-conversation and asked, "What the hell happened to you two? You used to be hardcore raiders! Now you're talking about min-maxing a Facebook game!" My wife and I looked sheepishly at each other and hung our heads in shame. This is what it had come to. While we're committed to playing together come Cataclysm, we had now been reduced to the most casual of casual gamers -- playing browser-based games with no real, complex story or engaging gameplay. At least, nothing as complex or engaging as the World of Warcraft. But the reality is that casual gaming is a bigger phenomenon than we can imagine. Zynga's Farmville has over 61.6 million active users -- that's almost six times WoW's 11.5 million subscriber base. Never mind that World of Warcraft is subscription-based and that not all of Farmville's players are paying customers. Forget about revenue for a moment. That's 61.6 million gamers playing one game.