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Atari and Zynga team up to reboot Breakout in 'Super Bunny Breakout' on iOS
Atari may be little more than a vestige of its former self, but that isn't stopping the publisher from crafting new versions of its classic games. "Super Bunny Breakout," for example, is a project created with Ville-crafter Zynga, and it's a new spin on Atari classic Breakout. Not to be outdone, Zynga's added its own Zynga-esque flavor to the game, which means ... in-app purchases. Yes indeed, rather than a regular ol' ball bouncing around a stage, Super Bunny Breakout has players bouncing "a daredevil rabbit with an appetite for revenge -- sadly, that rabbit (and his friends) have seasonal affective disorder (or something) and can't help but lose energy. How to replenish that energy? You'll "collect or purchase coins via in-app purchase," apparently. Despite the stink of in-game purchases, Super Bunny Breakout costs $0.99 and is currently available on iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch through iTunes.
Zynga's business valued at 'nothing'; CityVille 2 'coming soon'
With the walls closing in, Zynga announced CityVille 2 is in closed beta. The company couldn't share any info but to say it "delivers a truly social and visually rich city building experience." It will launch soon. Not that investors seem to currently care.As the LA Times notes, Zynga's combined cash, securities and real estate assets are currently worth about $2.46 a share, according to analysts. But, its stock is currently trading below that price (as of this writing: $2.43), which means the company's games business is essentially worth "nothing."These dark tidings come as brothers Paul and David Bettner, known for Words with Friends, leave Zynga. This is on top of so many high-profile departures we'd be bombarding you every other day with a post, but let's just close this off by saying some milestone moments were the departures of chief creative officer Mike Verdu, chief operating officer John Schappert and Draw Something studio OMGPOP's Wilson Kriegel.Forbes points out Zynga's stock is down 74 percent this year, making it one of the worst-performing stocks among U.S. companies with market caps over a billion dollars. And, to think, when Zynga went public last December everything looked like it was going to be sunshine and lollipops... oh, wait, no it didn't.
Zynga with Friends' Paul and David Bettner leave Zynga
Brothers Paul and David Bettner, best known for coming up with Words with Friends, have left Zynga. The duo are the latest high-profile departures from Zynga following vacancies left by CCO Mike Verdu and COO John Schappert."We are still very excited about the future and feel like we are at the beginning," Paul Bettner told Gamesbeat during a phone interview. Neither would comment on why they chose to leave Zynga nor would they comment on their time at the company.The duo originally came on board with Zynga when the company purchased their Texas-based studio Newtoy, effectively rebranding it Zynga With Friends. Before the Zynga acquisition, the Bettners had previously helped ship Halo Wars at developer Ensemble Studios before its closure.
Hasbro's Zynga board games now available, paradoxical
Lest you hadn't heard, Hasbro and Zynga recently teamed up to create board game versions of its popular video games. That includes a CityVille-themed version of Monopoly, a weird mash-up of FarmVille and Hungry Hungry Hippos, and Draw Something (the board game mechanics of which should be self-explanatory).Bizarrely, the collection also includes a board game version of Words with Friends. Words with Friends is often cited as being very similar – practically to the point of infringement – to Scrabble, the classic word game published by ... Hasbro. Just to reiterate: this is the board game version of a video game version of a different board game published by a company that should be, in theory, a competitor.Try not to let your head explode.
Words with Friends charity game pits Edward Norton vs Snoop Lion
Edward Norton, Snoop Lion (formerly Dogg), Kristen Bell and five other really popular people are taking part in the Words with Friends Celebrity Challenge, which will give $500,000 to a charity chosen by the winning celebrity. The Celebrity Challenge begins tomorrow at 2 p.m. ET with a Words with Friends match between Snoop Lion and Jonah Hill, streaming live with commentary.Participating famous people are Kristen Bell, Sophia Bush, Jonah Hill, John Legend, Snoop Lion, Eva Longoria, Edward Norton and Paul Pierce. Anyone can join any of these "teams" and be entered for a chance to play a game against that celebrity.For what it's worth, Edward Norton is supremely confident that he'll win for his charity, the Maasai Wilderness Conservation Fund. His first round is against Paul Pierce, captain of the Boston Celtics, who is playing for his own charity, The Truth Fund."I think it's great that he has a cause he supports, and I hope the amount he gets from just the first round is going to make him happy because I don't think it's going to go past there," Norton tells The AP. Norton is most concerned about playing against Snoop Lion, citing his experience with wordplay. Norton also lived and worked in Osaka, Japan, after graduating Yale University in 1991, since you seem interested.
Report: Zynga paid over $20M for A Bit Lucky; Draw Something executive leaves
Zynga reportedly paid between $20-$25 million for "mid-core" developer A Bit Lucky, a pair of sources familiar with the deal tell Bloomberg. Zynga announced the acquisition of the developer a couple days ago, part of an initiative by the publisher to create deeper gameplay experiences that are attractive to a wide range of players, but can also be enjoyed by core gamers.Also revealed in the past 24 hours: Wilson Kriegel, former chief revenue officer of Draw Something studio OMGPOP, has left the company. Zynga acquired the studio only a half year ago for $200 million.
Zynga acquires 'mid-core' developer A Bit Lucky
Zynga announced today it has acquired A Bit Lucky, a "mid-core" game developer, according to the company blog. The studio previously created Lucky Train and Lucky Space, but is currently working on a multiplayer, multiplatform game called Solstice Arena.The company's mid-core initiative is explained as seeking deeper gameplay experiences that are attractive to a wide range of players and enjoyed by core gamers. Examples of hires to fit this initiative include Mortal Kombat co-creator John Tobias, joining Mark Turmell at Zynga San Diego as creative director. The company also has Spore and Civilization 4 designer Soren Johnson working on a game at Zynga East in Baltimore.The company wouldn't comment on whether this is the beginning of a chain of acquisitions to change its current perception with investors, following a string of recent bad news that included lawsuits, scandals, high-profile departures and an ever-hurting stock price.
Zynga files counterclaim against EA, EA calls it 'predictable subterfuge'
Zynga has officially responded to EA's recent lawsuit over its claims of a "clear violation" of copyright regarding The Ville. General Counsel for Zynga Reggie Davis issued the following statement:"Today we responded to EA's claims which we believe have no merit. We also filed a counterclaim which addresses actions by EA we believe to be anticompetitive and unlawful business practices, including legal threats and demands for no-hire agreements. We look forward to getting back to focusing all our efforts on delighting our players."Reached for comment, EA spokesman John Reseburg told Joystiq, "This is a predictable subterfuge aimed at diverting attention from Zynga's persistent plagiarism of other artists and studios. Zynga would be better served trying to hold onto the shrinking number of employees they've got, rather than suing to acquire more."
Visualized: what Zynga workers do when they're not playing FarmVille
Zynga's staffers might have had a laser-like focus on releasing FarmVille 2 this week, but that doesn't mean the company has forgotten how to take a break. One employee (thankfully, also a Reddit member) has revealed that the developer's San Francisco headquarters has a giant, 16-screen video wall for gaming in the cafeteria -- and yes, they're playing Halo in that photo rather than some future, first-person version of Mafia Wars. It's no surprise that the employees aren't playing their own games all the time; we're pretty sure that even the most avid Facebook gamers would burn out if they did. Nonetheless, it's hard not to smile at the thought that the same people urging us to buy new crops are sticking plasma grenades in their spare time.
Garriott's Portalarium partnering with Zynga for Ultimate Collector
Former Ultima Online guru Richard Garriott is joining forces with Zynga, the social gaming behemoth that has been hemorraging users and executives in recent months. Garriott's Portalarium company will use the Zynga Platform to launch its Ultimate Collector game, which is currently undergoing a limited Facebook beta. "Ultimate Collector is really three games in one," Garriott says via press release. "It's a collecting game where players go on a major hunt for collectibles ranging from toys, gadgets, historical weapons, novelties and famous art and display those collections in their homes. It's a shopping game where players can visit shops and stores in our game, some of them from national retailers, to purchase items and add to their collections. And it's a world building game that allows players to outfit a home, show off their collections to their friends, sell virtual items to other collectors and make in-game money to upgrade their house and grow it even larger."
FarmVille 2 updates Zynga's cow-clicker (but not too much)
FarmVille. Just the name likely conjures up some vivid thoughts and opinions in the minds of gamers everywhere. As the flagship casual social game for both Facebook and Zynga, FarmVille can't help but be a lightning rod for debates about gaming's audiences, game design, and the role that video games can and do play in our daily lives. Time labeled the game one of the "fifty worst inventions" of all time, but that hasn't stopped over 80 million people from logging on and doing some cow and crop clicking.And now Zynga (which itself has attracted plenty of controversy recently) is going to try and recreate the game's success with a brand new version called, simply, FarmVille 2. Director of Design Wright Bagwell showed Joystiq what the future of FarmVille's crops and farm animals looks like, how the game will reach out (but not too far) toward a more hardcore audience, and how Zynga plans to take the world's most popular and oft-hated casual and social game and make it even more casual and social.%Gallery-164312%
You've gotta catch 'em all in Zynga's Montopia
Zynga has now launched its "monster battle RPG," Montopia, in the Canadian iTunes store. The app is also available in English via Google Play, though apparently it's still not available to US Android users. Given the game's arrival in Canada, it probably won't be too long before it hits the rest of North America as well. The game originally launched in Japan this past February.Montopia casts players in the role of a "monster trainer" as they venture through the countryside, collect monsters (over 400 of them) from treasure chests and send them into battle. Monsters each have an elemental affinity – fire, water, wood – and can be fused together to increase their stats and also to breed new monsters. As Games.com notes, both health points and energy are used to "limit a single gameplay session," in traditional Zynga style. In-game cash is also available for purchase with real cash.Maybe it's getting redundant to say this about Zynga games, but we'd be remiss in our duties if we didn't mention that Montopia looks just a little familiar. Check out a trailer from the game's Japanese release above.
Zynga CCO Mike Verdu departs to start new company
Mike Verdu has given up his gig as chief creative officer at Zynga to start up a new company. Verdu seems to have left on amicable terms, with AllThingsD revealing that Zynga will be an investor in his new venture and also act as publisher. The new studio's games will be available on the Zynga Platform.Verdu's departure follows another recent high-profile exit, namely chief operating officer John Schappert. "I personally don't want to add to the noise level," Verdu told AllThingsD. "I think this will be a good thing for me and for Zynga." He added that while he's "concerned about how this might be viewed with what else is going on," it's more to get back to being an entrepreneur than "anything else going on at the company."In his goodbye address, Verdu thanked his colleagues and friends at Zynga for his three years there. "After a lot of soul-searching, I have decided to go back to my roots and start a new company," Verdu said. Before his time at Zynga, he spent several years at EA and Atari.
The Soapbox: The trouble with Kickstarter
Disclaimer: The Soapbox column is entirely the opinion of this week's writer and does not necessarily reflect the views of Massively as a whole. If you're afraid of opinions other than your own, you might want to skip this column. It was right around the time that the Shadowrun Online Kickstarter went live that I started to wonder whether Kickstarter was doing some nasty things to the development practices of MMOs. This isn't a commentary on Shadowrun Online itself, exactly. The game asked for players to put up $500,000 to fund development, and while that's an awful lot of money to ask from the pockets of fans, it still doesn't qualify as being high-budget by the standards of the industry. But in some ways, it's the apotheosis of something that started with several other games being funded on Kickstarter -- this sense that Kickstarter is the path of the future, that it's the ultimate litmus test of whether or not your MMO is worth developing and a great way to draw in venture capitalists for more funding. I'm not convinced that this is a good thing for the health of MMO development. You can look at it as a way for strange niche titles to get their funding without convincing outside sources that it's worth the effort, but as we're ramping up to seeing the fruits of these projects (or lack thereof), I'm wondering whether it just allows ideas to get further along before they self-destruct.
PSA: Horn sounds the alarm on iOS today
The first Zynga Partners for Mobile game has launched on iOS today. Phosphor Games' action adventure game Horn is now available on the iTunes App store, a $6.99 universal download optimized for iPad 2 and 3, and iPhone 4S.Horn focuses on a young blacksmith's apprentice named Horn who wakes to find his world is overrun with monsters – it's loosely based on the 13th-century English tale of King Horn. Phosphor Games says Horn will launch on Tegra-powered Android devices "soon."%Gallery-162401%
Konami is No. 2 social games publisher behind Zynga
Konami has recently received a massive bump to its financial report from its social gaming division: In the first nine months of fiscal 2012, Konami reported its year-on-year gain was driven by social gaming, which generated $348 million in revenue, up $127 million from 2011. Without context, these numbers can seem impressive, but meaningless.Fortunately, Careen Yapp provided a background for Konami's finances during an "ask these publishers anything" panel at Gamescom: Last year estimates put Konami as the second-most-prolific social games publisher behind Zynga.Zynga, the market giant, posted $1.14 billion in revenue for 2011 from social gaming, with $1.07 billion of that in microtransactions alone. This actually translated to a net loss of $404.3 million for Zynga, and its stock continues to remain far below original estimates, along with public perception of the company.Being No. 2 to Zynga and being in a position to create products other than social games isn't such a bad spot for Konami to be in.
Horn blows in a trailer, will toot in August
Phosphor Games, developers of The Dark Meadow, will launch Horn this August. The iOS title looks like it'll have plenty of action to immerse one to the point they miss their bus or subway stop.
Zynga passing out stock to keep employees
The hits keep coming for Zynga, and we aren't talking about blockbuster game launches. The latest is from a Bloomberg source, who says Zynga gave out equity grants to all full-time employees in late July to prevent an exodus, following the tides of fortune turning.Bloomberg reports although the company routinely gives options and cash bonuses to employees, this was the first time equity awards were given to all staff.This all went down on July 25 and company news has been nuts since, with an insider trading lawsuit, then another lawsuit from Electronic Arts, and the departure of the company's chief operating officer. Looks like Zynga's gonna need to find some more of that $3 stock to pass around like chiclets.
Zynga COO John Schappert resigns
Zynga's chief operations officer John Schappert has resigned, according to Fortune. This announcement comes just barely one week after Schappert's responsibilities at the developer were revised to no longer include the oversight of game development. Schappert's departure is effective immediately."John has made significant contributions to the games industry throughout his career and we appreciate all that he has done for Zynga," CEO Mark Pincus told Fortune. "John leaves as a friend of the company and we wish him all the best."Prior to working at Zynga, Schappert served as Corporate Vice President of Live at Microsoft, as well as COO of Electronic Arts -- a company that happens to be suing Zynga as we speak.
Zynga and Hasbro make CityVille Monopoly, more, for when you're board
Pretty soon your mom won't need the computer to get her Words with Friends fix. The Zynga and Hasbro partnership will bear its first fruit this fall, when board game adaptations of CityVille, Words with Friends, Farmville and Draw Something hit retail, ABC reports.CityVille Monopoly will be available in October for $24.99. It's a version of the Hasbro classic where players are tasked with building skycrapers instead of houses and hotels, and the first player to build four skyscrapers wins. Hungry Hungry Herd also releases in October, for $22.99, and is Hasbro's interpretation of FarmVille – it's just Hungry Hungry Hippos without the hippos.Words with Friends will be available in two flavors this October and will play exactly the same as the online game, in the standard, $19.99 edition and a deluxe $39.99 edition with a rotating board. Not much is known on the fourth and final game, an adaptation of OMGPOP's Draw Something, which Zynga acquired for $200 million back in March. The board game adaptation of Draw Something is planned for late October/early November and will likely play a lot like Pictionary.
