Zynga and the Rise of the New Gamer

[Dogstile]

But how can you defend them against real gaming devs, with real gamers voting for them?

That slightly bothers me, because you can't define a real gamer. You can define a hardcore gamer, but just a gamer in general? Hell naw

Uh, yes. Someone who plays video games.
Zynga's "games" are in fact, applications, a blatant rip off of another at that.

A "casual" gamer would play video games casualy, or stick to wii titles, the sims, what have you. But that still makes them a gamer, they play video games.

Playing Mafia Wars does not make you a gamer. At all.

Really? Does that mean people who use the Iphone to play their phonegames not gamers? Even though alot of them clearly put in time and effort?

If someone sat around and played nothing but Iphone? No I wouldn't consider them to be a gamer. Are there browser based games? Yes. Are there cellphone games? yes.

Zynga is a spreadsheet with some Microsoft paint colors. It is in no way a video game.

If you say so. There's no way to convince and to be honest I don't care anymore

 

[Nick Wong]

Valve would be dominating if they pulled the same shit Zynga is. The creators of Steam, Counter Strike: Source and Team Fortress 2 and Left 4 Dead not to mention all their other games amazing games that still all have dedicated communities. If they had a little icon that said: Go vote for us! on those programs, Zynga wouldn't stand a chance.

They put it into the Steam launcher, does that count?

Hm, are they offering items to their users [http://img22.imageshack.us/img22/242/facebookqd.png] for getting them a win?

Edit: the source of this image is admittedly not confirmed, as it isnt mine.

It's fake. Zynga is not offering items in exchange for votes. We checked. And then we checked again.

Offering items for votes is strictly against the rules. If Zynga did that, they would immediately be disqualified. It's pretty clear that they want to win, so they're not going to be so stupid as to break the one rule the developers are given regarding appealing to their audiences.

Wrong post

 

[Deviluk]

I think the Wii, DS, and games like MW2 have done a fair bit to integrate the untouched markets. If they made a truly good CoD on the Wii, you'd hook them for life, and start them on the path to buying the more complicated games. Although I can't even imagine gaming being complicated!

 

[Nick Wong]

There was something said about Zynga catering to people who "aren't already gamers", which is only partially true. I can guarantee - I can let you cut off my hand if I'm wrong - that they aren't catering to people who "aren't already gamers", but rather people who "never will be gamers" in the first place. Yes, sure, a few percent will, but that's it. I can guarantee you that.

That isn't to say we aren't interested in these things intellectually, in the same way we might be interested in new treatments for cancer or the progress of peace in Iraq. However, neither the cultural significance of their development and popularity nor the means by which they achieved them make Zynga a relevant or significant player in video games. In the same way, we could be interested in the explosion of Texas Hold'Em online Casino games and their impact socially or legally, and perhaps how they ruined someones life. Or perhaps the proliferation of video trivia at bars and wings restaurants. We might even be interested in the history of "hit the monkey" banner ads. However, no video gamer would really care about any of these things, because none of these things are what any discerning individual would call a video game.

How can you say that they're irrelevant to the industry when the Zynga VP is giving the keynote at GDC Canada, and the current at GDC Prime was basically "Whoa, look at Zynga?"

You don't feel they're relevant, and that's fine. Developers do.

Developers only feel they're relevant because Zynga made a ton of money from people who can't use Paint properly. Also, I can understand you editors trying to be neutral everywhere, but really, what do you honestly feel?

Also, since I'm not a game developer, I wouldn't be including game developers when I say "We" statement. If game developers want to learn something from Zynga's business practices, or if they want to let them speak at a keynote, that has absolutely no bearing on my or other gamers interest in their products.

When I say Zynga is not a significant player in the game industry, I mean, I don't come home wracked with indecision on playing Famville or Mafia Wars. I have to decide between Final Fantasy XIII, God of War III, and World of Warcraft. This is because I play video games and Zynga doesn't make video games.

 

[jmoore4ska]

It's fake. Zynga is not offering items in exchange for votes. We checked. And then we checked again.

Offering items for votes is strictly against the rules. If Zynga did that, they would immediately be disqualified. It's pretty clear that they want to win, so they're not going to be so stupid as to break the one rule the developers are given regarding appealing to their audiences.

Dang shops. Although from the looks of the farmville forums, i bet their fans wish forum spamming by the developers was against the rules as well, heh.

Love your stuff, by the way.

 

[Squirrelwarrior]

I thought the article made a lot of very good points, but it omitted the other barrier: the "hardcore" gamers that look down their noses at the "casual" gamers. Here's a tip: just because you don't think it's fun doesn't mean that it's awful, not a game, or that other people can't find it fun.

 

[Supp]

Farmville is popular because its actually a form of robotic mind control:

http://www.cracked.com/article_18461_5-creepy-ways-video-games-are-trying-to-get-you-addicted.html

 

[Abriael]

Misleading marketing, shady business practices, mindless spam, malware and spyware wherever possible. There's very little praise to be put on Zynga and it's equivalents (like Evony for instance).

The people that play Zynga games simply have no idea of what else there's around, and Zynga does whatever they can to keep them hooked so that they don't go around looking.

I do find amusing the attempts of some writers to find ways to "praise" those kind of shady and shoddy businesses (I refrain from naming them "developers", because they don't really "develop" much, they mainly rehash) in order to appear "open minded" and somewhat hip.

This kind of games only feed themselves and have absolutely no bridging or connections with any other kind of gaming (even less core gaming, the metropolitan legend that they can lead to other forms of gaming is just that, a largely unproven legend that some people like to cuddle. Developers like Zynga try their very hardest so that it doesn't happen, because as soon as it does, they lose business).

Luckily zynga's been brutally kicked out of MM, that way people will stop talking about them and their half cooked pastimes sold as games for a while.

 

[jak1165]

I have to disagree with the point about the "high cost of entry". Yeah, maybe to a first time gamer, hitting the thumbstick for R3 might not be immediately obvious. But old school games were simple and straightforward, yet they didn't appeal to the average, non-gaming person.

Companies like Zynga and Popcap just came along at the right time.

 

[DTWolfwood]

Amen Shamus AMEN!

 

[Jarskaaja]

Mafia Wars is just addicting. I don't even know why I play it, but seeing numbers go up can get addictive... that's why people play grindy Korean MMOs.

The biggest flaw in MW (and probably other Zynga games) is its reliance on your friend count. You need 501 Facebook friends playing Mafia Wars to even have a chance at fighting the strongest players. It makes people create fake facebook accounts only to add other fake accounts playing Mafia Wars as friends, which is taking away the whole point of Facebook. Friends should still be able to help you, of course, but you shouldn't be required to have a fake account full of playing fake friends to be competitive.

 

[johnman]

Most Zynga players are not interested in playing games properly going by what I've seen on the forums, they think we are a bunch of violence obessed shutins who obessively polish our guns in our sleep then take them to work the next day.

 

[Wolfiesden]

I have no intention to berate anyone who plays Farmville or whatever they want on facebook. If that sort of game trips your anchor, then have fun! Play it all you want and I will support your right to do so.

On the other hand, what I DO want to remind people about is how Zynga got where they are and how they got the money to do what they are currently doing. They have outright copied other games Mob Wars->Mafia Wars [http://techcrunch.com/2009/02/14/mob-wars-creator-sues-zynga-for-copyright-infringement/] for example. Others may include Restaurant City->Cafe World, Farm Town->FarmVille. Zynga is surrounded by advertising [http://www.ft.com/cms/s/058f5260-d92c-11de-b2d5-00144feabdc0,Authorised=false.html?_i_location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ft.com%2Fcms%2Fs%2F0%2F058f5260-d92c-11de-b2d5-00144feabdc0.html&_i_referer=http%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FZynga] scams [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/facebook/6653354/Facebook-facing-legal-action-over-unauthorised-payments.html] out the wazoo and the defendant in a class action law suit (over cell phone charges) [http://www.usatoday.com/tech/gaming/2009-12-07-games07_ST_N.htm]. They also used company logos and trademarks illegally. They were threatened by Nissan [http://forums.zynga.com/showthread.php?t=195814] over illegal use of Nissan trademarks.

Yall need to wake up and realize EXACTLY what sort of company Zynga was (or may currently be). Zynga went out of its way [http://techcrunch.com/2009/11/06/zynga-scamville-mark-pinkus-faceboo/] to delve into the advertising and scam world and clearly has stolen game ideas. Whether it continues to do so is a question the industry needs to keep asking. Its not easy to turn away from this revenue stream once you have seen the profits it can yield. Zynga says they are moving away from this sort of behavior but do you trust a grizzly bear who says he only wants the chocolate bar in your pocket or do you cast a wary eye on him? Personally, I don't trust the bear (Zynga) until time proves him trustworthy.

All I am asking is you read the facts, read the history and KNOW the type of company Zynga is before you opt-in to the fanboy banter.

 

[Wolfiesden]

I have to disagree with the point about the "high cost of entry". Yeah, maybe to a first time gamer, hitting the thumbstick for R3 might not be immediately obvious. But old school games were simple and straightforward, yet they didn't appeal to the average, non-gaming person.

Companies like Zynga and Popcap just came along at the right time.

Do NOT under ANY CIRCUMSTANCES lump PopCap with Zynga. PopCap is and always has been an above board company. Zynga has not been an above board company and has used ad scams to garner revenue.

 

[GLo Jones]

you have to pay in FarmVille cash, which is worth as ordinary cash after it has been accidentally dropped in a volcano)

"Found a golden chicken? Post it on Facebook to Alienate Your Friends."

OT: As much as I resent Farmville, it may well serve to bring more people into the fold of gaming. It's quite an easy transition, and it could easily help to remove some of the stigma surrounding games at the moment.

 

[Eldarion]

I'm sorry, but the only reason Zynga is even a known name is Facebook. Without Facebook we wouldn't be talking about them right now. Without Facebook they would have 0 votes in March Mayhem. This isn't a case of passionate gamers rising up to vote for their game. This is the case of Zynga spamming all of Facebook for votes. This is NOT "the rise of a new gamer". This is a the rise of people who already spend hours looking at pictures on Facebook who decide to spend some time clicking stuff on a Facebook application. Zynga games are games the same way Reality TV is real.

I'm all for the Wii and companies like PopCap bringing the rise of GOOD casual gaming and introducing games to non gamers, but the last thing we need is to hold up a company to praise who steals peoples ideas, scams their own customers, and their only claim to success is being lucky and riding on the backs of the latest "it" social networking site.

^This is exactly what I was thinking. So much truth in this post.

 

[Macha]

I have to disagree with the point about the "high cost of entry". Yeah, maybe to a first time gamer, hitting the thumbstick for R3 might not be immediately obvious. But old school games were simple and straightforward, yet they didn't appeal to the average, non-gaming person.

Companies like Zynga and Popcap just came along at the right time.

Do NOT under ANY CIRCUMSTANCES lump PopCap with Zynga. PopCap is and always has been an above board company. Zynga has not been an above board company and has used ad scams to garner revenue.

On top of that, what PopCap makes are games. They are designed to be fun, to earn revenue. Zynga's are designed to be addictive, to earn revenue.

In fact, it's probably the demise of "real" casual or beginner genres, like the platformer (you need the jump button + arrows) and shooters (not FPSes, you need the fire button + arrows), that opened the door for companies like Zynga and Evony.