About ten days ago FarmVille was quietly pulled from MSN Games, as reported by Inside Social Games.
In a partnership between Zynga and MSN dating back to February, FarmVille was made available to play via MSN Games. The idea was that having FarmVille accessible through other portals besides FaceBook, would drive hits for both MSN and increase exposure for Zynga. It is unsure how successful this partnership was and whether or not it was worth it for Zynga’s investment.
So why did Zynga leave? While Zynga has failed to make an official statement concerning the end of farming on MSN, it is no secret that Zynga recently entered into a partnership with MSN competitor Google, who has invested millions in the social gaming company. Could this partnership have something to do with it? According to Inside Social Gaming, ” Zynga didn’t find the traffic MSN produced meaningful enough to continue running FarmVille on the Microsoft platform”.
As access portals other than FaceBook seem to be of particular interest to social gaming companies like Zynga, “Zynga’s departure suggests the traffic other social developers are hoping to find off of Facebook may be more difficult to find than expected”. Despite FarmVille’s “lackluster performance” on MSN, Zynga continues to seek other avenues of social expansion, including investments in mobile apps, like FarmVille for iPhone as well as seeking access for its games in international markets such as Japan and China. With investments like Google’s in Zynga, rumored to be of up to $200 million, the future of Zynga games in the US market seems to be more than hopeful especially with the launch of the much anticipated Google Games. For now, the big question remains unanswered. . . do social gaming companies like Zynga need FaceBook or does FaceBook need them?
What do you think? What does the future of Zynga’s games like FarmVille outside the realm of FaceBook?
Zynga, the developers of FarmVille, launched their version of Texas Hold ‘Em game titled Zynga Poker across Asia for Asian FaceBook users today.
The game will be available in Mandarin. While the game will be accessible in Taiwan and Hong Kong tomorrow, residents living in mainland China will be left out because of the Chinese government’s ban and censorship on FaceBook.
Zynga Poker has over “25 million players monthly”reaching users world wide. Since the “number eight is considered to be lucky in Chinese culture,” Zynga has customized Zynga Poker for its Asian audience by making jackpots “$880,000, and any player signing up for a new account will start with $8,888″. Even today’s launch date of 8/18 was calculated by Zynga.
This week’s FarmVille Freak of the Week goes to a very dedicated farmer and Piglet enthusiast, FarmVille Freak Kelly!
FarmVille Freak Kelly shared with us her adorable FarmVille Piglet that her boyfriend Rob tattooed on her!
FarmVille Freak Piglet Tattoo (Click to Enlarge)
Thank you for sharing and remember if you are a FarmVille Freak, let us know why and send us your pictures or proof to farmgoddess@farmvillefreak.com and we may feature them on FarmVille Freak.
Japan’s wireless carrier company, Softbank, has invested 150 million in a business arrangement with Zynga, the developers of FarmVille.
The investment will serve as a base for Zynga to develop and provide social games in Japan. Softbank CEO, Masayoshi Son, has visions of working together with Zynga and creating a “social game powerhouse” he said ,”Zynga is a leader in social games and I am delighted to partner with them to introduce their social games to Japan…We share the same vision as Zynga.”
Mark Pincus, Zynga CEO and founder said of the new partnership, “We’re excited to partner with Softbank to bring Zynga’s social games to Japan and gain insights from the Japanese market… As one of the most innovative technology companies in the world, Softbank is bringing the mobile Internet to consumers making the social Web more accessible to people everywhere.”
The New York Times featured an interesting article about the future of Zynga. The article questions if Zynga will become the next “Google” of Games. In other words, Zynga founders and current C.E.O, Mark Pincus, would like to see the future of Zynga Games become what Google is for searching.
Mark Pincus recently told Zynga employees in a pep talk earlier this month that, “he had set out to build an enduring Internet icon, one that was synonymous with fun.”
In 2007, Mr. Pincus was quoted as saying, “…this can’t be all that the Internet is meant to be,” there has to be more than a garage sale, a bookstore, a search engine and a portal,” jokingly referring to internet giants, eBay, Amazon, Google, and Yahoo. It is very clear as to which company he would like to see Zynga match, as he said, “the opportunity to build an online entertainment empire was like search before Google came along.”
Whatever the case, the future for ZyngFor now, Zynga remains a privately owned company whose revenue for this year is estimated to be around the 500 million mark.
FarmVille has another new exciting feature: Lighting Collections. These new Collections, such as the Gemstone Collection, can only be found when planting crops on your farm. Players will also have the option of purchasing the items in the collection for $FV.
FarmVille Lighting Collections Explained
Note: Lightning Collections are not yet in full release. If you do receive a Gemstone, use it at your own risk it may be lost.
FarmVille will be partnering with Cascadian Farm and, for the first time ever, will be introducing a sponsored branded in-game crop that will also be available to all farmers.
Cascadian Farm, originating in 1972, is one of the country’s leading brands of organic foods, offering more than 80 products from ready-to-eat cereals and granola bars to frozen fruits and vegetables, juice concentrates and fruit spreads. People have enjoyed our great-tasting and convenient organic foods for more than 35 years. The Cascadian Home Farm is nestled in the foothills of the breathtaking North Cascades mountain range in western Washington’s Upper Skagit Valley.
The upcoming FarmVille and Cascadian Farm cross promotional event will take place the week of
July 19th through July 26th
*Dates are subject to change without notice.
FarmVille Organic Cascadian Blueberries Promo
Cascadian Farm, “a pioneer in the organic food industry” teams up with FarmVille as a week-long integration, that “will offer players the chance to purchase Organic Blueberriesfor their farms. In addition, players will receive a variety of other benefits, including coupon offers, organic and green living tips, and the opportunity to build their farm at a rapid speed.”
Key Features of the FarmVille & Cascadian Promotion:
Organic Blueberries will be the highest Coin and Experience Point (XP) Crop of the Week- During this week-long integration, the Cascadian Farm branded crop will be the most profitable FarmVille crop offered in the game. It will also be available to purchase for all beginner (Level 1) and experienced players. Rumor has it that the Organic Blueberries crop will have Crop Mastery, as there are images of Organic Blueberries Crop Mastery signs.
Real-Life Farm Goes Virtual- The brand will recreate the real Cascadian Farm, located in the Upper Skagit Valley of Washington’s North Cascade Mountains, as a virtual farm in FarmVille. Users can request to be the farm’s neighbor by “friend-ing” Farmer Joe Cascadian online at Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/farmerjoecascadian and by using the FarmVille application to become his neighbor in-game.
Marketing Manager of Cascadian Farm, Tim Goldsmid, explains “Given our heritage of engaging consumers to increase awareness and support for organic farming and the organic lifestyle, partnering with FarmVille was a natural fit for Cascadian Farm. We’re excited to have the opportunity to partner with a leader in the online gaming world and offer unique ways for new and existing consumers to become involved with the brand.”
Vish Makhijani, Zynga’s Senior Vice President of Business Operations said, “When deciding on our first branded crop integration, we wanted to offer our users a unique opportunity that would benefit their gaming experience and add value to their lives both on and offline. Cascadian Farm perfectly aligned with our vision and what the FarmVille game represents.”
As we learn more details about this upcoming promotion we will be sure to share with you on FarmVille Freak!
Are you excited about this FarmVille-Cascadian Farm collaboration? Will you participate?
Tonight a new promotion became available sponsored by Disney’s The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, completing a mini game will earn you 2 Free $FV!
FarmVille Freak Sponsered Link: The Sorcerer's Apprentice Notice
First you will be asked a question to which you can answer anything you like, “If you could have any magical power, what would it be?”
FarmVille Sponsered Link: The Sorcerer's Apprentice Video
You will then perform 3 magical tricks, which are quite hilarious, such as levitate a pig by using a plasma bolt.
Note: This is only in the mini game, not in your actual FarmVille game.
FarmVille Sponsered Link: The Sorcerer's Apprentice Farm
FarmVille Sponsered Link: The Sorcerer's Apprentice FarmVille Minigame
After completing three magical tasks in the Sorcerer’s Apprentice mini game, you are finished! You will have the option to find the closest screening to you and ‘Like’ the new Disney Movie on Facebook. The next time you reload your farm you should have 2 Free $FV
FarmVille Sponsered Link: The Sorcerer's Apprentice Finished
There have been quite a few promotions for 2 Free $FV over the past few months, will you be taking advantage of this new one? Are you going to see Disney’s new movie The Sorcerers Apprentice?
FarmVille Freak Moderator Kayyy was harvesting her fertilized Pasole Corn when she received the notices pictured above, letting her know that she had harvested a “Super Harvest”.
As of July 12th, “Super Crops” were introduced as a way to notify you when you gain extra XP for harvesting your crops. Previously, you just received a “+ 1 or + 2 XP” notice at the upper portion of the in-game screen.
You can harvest Super Crops in two ways:
You harvest a crop that has been fertilized by a FarmVille neighbor.
You harvest a crop that you have already Mastered and that you also have used a Bushel on.
Have you ever gotten a notice for a FarmVille Super Harvest? If so, when did you get it and what were you harvesting?
According to TechCrunch, Google secretly invested more than 100 million dollars in Zynga. There is a larger partnership in the works that may secure Zynga as a prominent fixture with the release of Google Games.
A partnership with Google and Zynga would mean that Google Games would provide another alternative route to access Zynga games including FarmVille, FrontierVille, Mafia Wars and other popular titles. Google Games would allow you to log into Google Games and gain access to play your favorite Zynga game. Google Games is expected to launch later this year.
Not only will Google provide another method for accessing FarmVille, it will also give Google the perk of players using Google Checkout instead of PayPal. Farm Cash and other Zynga virtual currency must be purchased with credit card or PayPal. Some sources such as TechCrunch say that Zynga is one of PayPal’s best customers, “Zynga is supposedly PayPal’s biggest single customer”. It is likely that we will see Google Checkout offered as another payment option, especially through the Google Games platform.
Zynga continues to gain massive monetary profit, so it is not surprising that huge companies such as MSN, Yahoo! and now Google become interested and seek partnerships. While Zynga benefits from the exposure and increase in accessibility that Google and Yahoo provide, their partners are able to secure a piece of the social network pie that is largely controlled by social network giant, FaceBook. A partnership with Zynga means that you have tapped into the market of the most popular social game developer and the millions of people that play their games. As TechCrunch explained, “For whatever reason people love to play these games and get passionately addicted to them, coming back day after day. That’s helped Facebook become what it is today. Google, Yahoo and others want some of that magic to rub off on them, too.”
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