Games Get Real, BaZynga!
Anytime I can drop a reference to the show The Big Bang Theory, I will. That shouldn’t surprise you. However, you might find it surprising that Zynga, the cyber parent of Farmville, is worth $4 billion.
Zynga took over the social media scene like an uninvited relative, both unexpectedly and annoying at times. Wherever we went on Facebook, there it was. Many of us have since moved on from Farmville, and Zynga knows it. That’s why they’ve launched Frontierville, the electronic lovechild of Farmville and Oregon Trail. You know this type of game, it’s the kind where you can play at your leisure and have moderate entertainment, but are too embarrassed to tell anyone you use it.
With the arrival Frontierville, we can finally put Farmville to rest…or at least think we can. Zynga is answering the drop in Farmville (252 MM to 216 MM in two months) by releasing Frontierville. The company’s large reach, which was built by Farmville, is responsible for the recent success. That is, the launch of Frontierville has been the most successful of social media gaming to date. When you get down to the basics, Frontierville is essentially the same game.
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