Games.com Blog: “Facebook game blackout causes Twitter panic” plus 16 more |  |
- Facebook game blackout causes Twitter panic
- Breaking news! Facebook has massive game outage
- Pet Society: Decorating Easter Eggs
- FishVille Wish List: Everything you need to know
- The Future of Farmville: What will social games look like in 2015?
- Mafia Wars "Dark Horse" seahorse appears in FishVille
- FarmVille Freak Z00gr's Cloned Farmer Video
- Restaurant City: Free Kiwi, Raisins and Sugar ingredients
- Cafe World Is Expanding!!! signs spotted in game
- Cafe World 10,000 Servings Gifts Bug
- Get 5 Free Godfather Points in Mafia Wars!
- (Lil) Farm Life Cheats and Tips: Getting Started Guide
- Tips for Playfish Hotel City
- Review of Pet Society Bonsai Trees
- Pet Society: The Incredible Shrinking Petling - Continued
- Social City: Eiffel Tower clone and other new buildings, c'est arrive!
- Nintendo DSi XL buzz begins with a Facebook game (and giant sandwiches)
| Facebook game blackout causes Twitter panic Posted: 22 Mar 2010 12:45 PM PDT There was a big upset in the world of Facebook gaming today and panic ensued on Twitter as lost players asked, "Where the *($% are my Facebook games?' Check out some of the tweets we spotted during what we're calling the "Great Facebook Game Blackout of March 22, 2010."       By the way, if anyone was wondering if these games are addictive -- this seems like a resounding 'yes!' We were also in a panic wondering what to do without FarmVille, so we decided to wait it out by writing about the lack of FarmVille instead. In the few hours of forced time off from playing FarmVille, Mafia Wars, Pet Society, Social City -- what did you do instead?
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| Breaking news! Facebook has massive game outage Posted: 22 Mar 2010 11:00 AM PDT UPDATE: 7:29 p.m. EST -- Looks like all Facebook games are back back to normal. Breathing a sigh of relief... Will report back on any official word from Facebook. ______________________________________________________________________________________________ OFFICIAL UPDATE FROM FACEBOOK @ 7:07 p.m.: "We're currently investigating issues that are causing some applications on Facebook to not load. This issue is not specific to games. We expect to have this fixed shortly and I will update you when the matter is solved." If you want to get your FarmVille fix -- head to farmville.com If you need your Mafia Wars fix -- head to mafiawars.com ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Facebook seems to be having a massive game outage this afternoon -- instead of loading, all games come up as a blank page. We also found these notifications from Zynga and Playdom below.    Still need to get your FarmVille fix? Looks like FarmVille.com is still up and running. We've contacted both Zynga and Facebook for more information. Stay tuned. UPDATE: From FishVille moderator MerMolly: "Facebook is having some problems today loading your games. Please do not worry, we will make sure your fish are kept fed and well taken care of until the issue is resolved." UPDATE: From Pet Society official forums 
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| Pet Society: Decorating Easter Eggs Posted: 22 Mar 2010 10:00 AM PDT  These eggs, which make up the third set for Easter in Pet Society, can be found in the Furniture Shop for 200-400 coins each. Optional pastel-colored holders go for 100 coins. The decoration from the Easter Mystery Eggs cost more at 400 coins each. While we like the eggs themselves, we didn't think the decorations were so hot. The light-blue ribbon looks like something from a used car dealership, and the ghostly smiley face feels out of place on the egg. We thought the smiley face was better as a prop for a play. 
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| FishVille Wish List: Everything you need to know Posted: 22 Mar 2010 09:30 AM PDT   Zynga has launched a new Wish list feature within their aquarium simulation game FishVille. While FarmVille also recently adopted a wishlist feature of sorts, the system in FishVille is more akin to that in another of Zynga's games: Mafia Wars. The wish list appears as a genie's lamp (Get it? Genies grant wishes!) on the right side of the FishVille gameplay window. When you click on it, you'll be able to edit your wish list by adding five items from the game's free gifts page to it (that is, you can't make a wish for an item that's only found in the game's store).You'll need to add five things to your wish list in order to be able to publish it to friends. Your wish list will then show up as a post on your news feed that you friends can click on to help you out. Head over to your tank to start taking advantage of this new feature.  [Via Brandy Shaul of Frisky Mongoose]
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| The Future of Farmville: What will social games look like in 2015? Posted: 22 Mar 2010 09:00 AM PDT  Right now, Facebook gaming, aka 'social' gaming, has attracted millions (and continues to grow), but skeptics still say this form of snack-sized gaming is nothing more than a fad. Social game publisher, LOLapps, responsible for creating a handful of games including Yakuza Lords, Diva Life and video game tie-in app Dante's Inferno, says that not only is this relatively new form of entertainment not a fad, but -- in five years -- it'll be a serious competitor to Microsoft's Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. LOLapps looked into their crystal balls and conjured five ways social gaming will change in next five years -- some obvious, e.g. social gaming will have better production values, and some less so. Read all five of them, with some extra analysis, below. 1. Facebook games will emerge as a strong competitor to Xbox and PlayStation in the battle to expand user base and share of wallet and find the best game developers. - Social gaming companies have talent console game makers want - Electronic Arts' acquisition of Playfish is an indicator of things to come. - Nine out of the 10 top developers and apps on Facebook are in gaming - game dynamic experts, UI design pros and droves of talented developers are considering social gaming as a new outlet. - Social games are quicker, easier and less expensive to build than console games - developers will jump at the chance to stay agile and develop multiple titles with the potential for fast revenue. 2. Government will regulate virtual currency and attempt to attach its value to real currency. - In late 2009, South Korean courts ruled that virtual currency should be hit with the 10 percent VAT tax and, this month, that virtual money can be exchanged for real currency (source: Korean Times). - China recently ruled to tax virtual goods and currency (source: CNET). - As more money is made, more government regulation will be imposed and those invested in any platform that allows you to take money out will demand market stability through a touch point into real-world currency fluctuations. 3. The tables will turn again with some well-capitalized social gaming companies acquiring cash-strapped traditional console and MMO players. - The logical progression of the industry is vertical integration - players looking to capture a larger portion of a user's wallet and time will take this approach. With the ability to test out themes and design appeals to users, gaming companies will use social platforms to gather data about whether or not an immersive console game will sell. In essence, reducing the financial risk associated with the hit based model of traditional games. 4. Social games will continue to improve in production quality. - Browsers like Chrome allow for more robust and engaging applications. Bandwidth speeds and widespread access will allow for social games to continually move up the quality chain. New platforms, like Unity, continue to push what's possible within the browser. All the while, social games will become more complex and harder to clone, bringing more diversity to the space. - Consumer adoption of the best games will create a tastemaker's culture online - driving away bad games quickly. The long tail of social games will continue to flourish as the cost of distribution on a social network is far cheaper - Good games will surface quickly via viral channels. - Expectations will rise and it will be harder for small development teams to compete with established companies. A few games/developers will dominate the majority of users but there will be a vibrant long tail of niche developers that continue to attract rabid fans. - Failed attempts to market a brand or product via social games will not stop marketers looking to take advantage of this new format - and many will miss the mark due based on lack of understanding of the Facebook ecosystem and gamer desires. - People will experience overload on low-quality, poorly executed corporate-branded social games. 5. The Facebook ecosystem will come into its own - people won't just play social games because they are on Facebook, they will stay on Facebook to play games - and as part of this, social gaming companies will try to foray successful titles into traditional entertainment offerings. - Social games already alter the way people use Facebook - they stick around longer, use more of their online time on Facebook and log in more regularly. - Facebook Connect will become even more pervasive. - Vertical integration between social and console game offerings will allow players to capture a larger chunk of the profit. Do you agree with LOLapps' predictions? Or do you have others of your own?
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| Mafia Wars "Dark Horse" seahorse appears in FishVille Posted: 22 Mar 2010 07:30 AM PDT  Something badass is swimming into FishVille and that's this handsome red-and-black "Dark Horse" seahorse from Mafia Wars. To unlock the "Dark Horse" in FishVille, you'll have reach Level 10 in Mafia Wars. Once that's done, you can buy it from the FishVille store for 60,000 Coins (or 54,000 Coins if you're subscribed as a Club Member to the FishVille newsletter). It's also available for 15 Sand Dollars (or 14, if you're a Club Member). The "Dark Horse" counts as a decoration, not an item, so it won't take up your fish limit. It can also be sold back to the store for 5,000 Coins.
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| FarmVille Freak Z00gr's Cloned Farmer Video Posted: 22 Mar 2010 07:15 AM PDT Thank you to FarmVille Freak Merito for finding this very interesting video of a Cloned FarmVille Farmer! This article originally appeared on FarmVille Freak.
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| Restaurant City: Free Kiwi, Raisins and Sugar ingredients Posted: 22 Mar 2010 07:00 AM PDT  Note: Each of these links will launch the game. FREE Kiwi link here: http://playfi.sh/cpV0b3 FREE Raisins link here: http://playfi.sh/cov6dv FREE Sugar link here: http://playfi.sh/bdKrsR Restaurant City would also like to remind all players that all the St. Patrick's Day items are disappearing tomorrow! That means you won't see them until next year. And remember, the only way you can get these is through the gifts page, so you'll need to poke your friends to send them to you before they're taken down.
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| Cafe World Is Expanding!!! signs spotted in game Posted: 22 Mar 2010 06:45 AM PDT  As you can see in the image above, the sign reads "Cafe World is... EXPANDING!!!" and it shows a construction site there. 1. Larger Cafe sizes are being prepared for the game 2. We'll be allowed to own more than one Cafe in Cafe World - and this seems to be the most plausible possibility, since Restaurant City already introduced this option and players are really satisfied with it. Not to mention the fact that simply increasing the size of our actual cafes, this would make the game load a lot slower and some people might lose interest in the game because of its sluggishness. So what do you think this "Cafe World Is Expanding" mystery sign means? This article originally appeared on Social Games Help.
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| Cafe World 10,000 Servings Gifts Bug Posted: 22 Mar 2010 06:30 AM PDT My heart almost popped out of my chest when I saw today two of my most recent Cafe World gift request, pictured below:  As you can see, I received 10,000 servings of Fettucini Alfredo and 10,000 servings of Edamame as a gift from my Cafe World neighbors. This means tons of money! Unfortunately, this Cafe World bug doesn't really give you 10,000 servings of each dish as a gift from your neighbors. Instead, I received 10 Fettucini servings and 75 Edamame. Which is still nice, but certainly doesn't beat 10,000. However, this leaves me wondering: might Zynga be working on an increase of giftable servings? Or is 200 enough already? What do you think? This article originally appeared on Social Games Help.
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| Get 5 Free Godfather Points in Mafia Wars! Posted: 22 Mar 2010 06:00 AM PDT In celebration of the Grand Opening of the Marketplace in Mafia Wars (once again), you can get 5 free reward points which will certainly help you get some extra, cool items for you character. In order to receive your freebies, simply click this link and enjoy! This article originally appeared on Social Games Help.
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| (Lil) Farm Life Cheats and Tips: Getting Started Guide Posted: 22 Mar 2010 06:00 AM PDT  (Lil) Farm Life is a game on Facebook where players can create their own farms, harvest crops, buy buildings and decorations and put friends to work. As you play (Lil) Farm Life, the goal is to earn coins and experience points in order to level up and unlock new items. The major difference between (Lil) Farm Life and FarmVille on Facebook is that in (Lil) Farm Life, you can chat with friends and hire them to 'work' for you. If you want to learn how to have the best (Lil) Farm Life and earn experience points and coins quickly, keep reading for some great cheats and tips. Harvesting Crops and Selling (Lil) Farm Life players start with 2,000 coins. To begin earning coins, use the Plant/Harvest tool to collect the fully grown clovers in the starter farm. The harvested crops can later be sold at the barn. Occasionally a 'bonus' can be found when harvesting. Keep in mind that each time you plow a block of fallow land, you earn one experience point but spend 20 coins. After collecting all the fully grown crops, players can then earn coins by selling the crops they have collected. To do this, click on the red Barn icon located at the bottom right hand corner of the page. A pop-up box will appear and will show you exactly which items you have and how many of each item you have acquired. You can choose to sell the crops individually, sell a few of each item or sell all the items in your inventory at once. When you first start playing, the value of the crops collected should be about 650 coins -- trust us, this is more than enough to get started. Taking Care of Animals Another surefire way to earn coins is by feeding your farm animals. When this game was first released, the animals were just for decoration. Recently, this has changed. When a player first starts playing (Lil) Farm Life, they will have a few chickens, a dog and a cow. Though the dog and chickens are still purely for decoration, the new Holstien cows can be fed and milked for both coins and experience points. Planting Seeds To plant seeds, simply click on the plowed plot of land. This will bring you to the Shop where you can buy Flowers and Seeds. The cheapest option available when you begin playing is the Clover seeds at 15 coins. These can be harvested in 4 hours and will be worth 40 coins when mature. If you're not planning on playing again in four hours, you might want to try planting potatoes. These seeds can be purchased for 40 coins and sold for 89 coins in 20 hours. The most expensive seed available to new players are the Peppers. They cost 50 coins, are ready in 40 hours and are worth 126 when fully grown. As you level-up in the game, new crops like Passion Fruit and Color Peppers will become available. Each time you plant a seed you earn 2 experience points and the cost of the seed will be deducted from your total coin amount. How to Level Up The beginners farm in (Lil) Farm Life has everything you'll need to get started, earn coins, experience points and level up. As long as you harvest all the 'free' Clovers, feed your cow, plow the fallow plots of ground and plant seeds to the majority of your starter plots, you'll make it to level 2 quickly. Once this first level is unlocked, you'll be able to buy new items including veggies, decorations and trees. You'll also unlock new gift items as you level up. Visit Friends and Neighbors & Get Harvest Help In (Lil) Farm Life, players can have their friends harvest their trees and plots. Unless you joined the game by accepting another player's invite, the bottom of your game-play screen will have empty boxes that say "Add Neighbor". To add neighbors, click on the icon along the left hand side of the screen towards the top that says "Add Neighbors." From here you can send (Lil) Farm Life requests to your friends on Facebook. If they accept your invite, they will become your Neighbors. Each time you visit a neighbor's farm and complete tasks you'll be rewarded with both experience points and coins. The more friends and neighbors that you have, the more you'll be able to earn. If you have fully grown crops on your farm that are ready to be harvested, you will see a pop-up box that allows you to ask your friends to help. If you ask for help, the (Lil) Farm Life will post to your Facebook wall announcing that you want help in your farm. If your friends respond, both you and your friend will earn more coins and experience points compared to if you harvested your own crops. Have any additional (Lil) Farm Life tips or are just looking for other people to play the game with as well? Leave a note in the comments below.
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| Posted: 22 Mar 2010 05:50 AM PDT If you can tear yourself away from your pet, Hotel City, Playfish's latest game which was released on March 17, is worth checking out. The new game, which is centered around building and designing a hotel, is a delight for someone who enjoys the decorating aspects of Pet Society. The game's straightforward tutorial will get you started right away. However, I'm including a couple of screenshots here for additional tips. Get a load of these yummy wallpaper patterns! I sure hope Playfish brings them into Pet Society.    This article originally appeared on Pet Society Anonymous.
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| Review of Pet Society Bonsai Trees Posted: 22 Mar 2010 05:45 AM PDT   
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| Pet Society: The Incredible Shrinking Petling - Continued Posted: 22 Mar 2010 05:30 AM PDT  After I posted the story yesterday about the shrinking petlings, one reader, Sarah reported that her petling is so small now that it's about the size of her pet's eye. She's not kidding! This is even smaller than the petling after its first feeding. We wonder if the shrinkage has something to do with the new option for the trees, because it looks like the petlings have been bonsai'd! While some players are in no hurry for the petlings to grow back, others are worried that their little ones will disappear altogether. The miniature petlings are apparently on the Rachel Zoe diet as they've stopped asking for food completely. This article originally appeared on Pet Society Anonymous.
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| Social City: Eiffel Tower clone and other new buildings, c'est arrive! Posted: 22 Mar 2010 05:00 AM PDT  If you've been one of the millions flocking to Playdom's Social City, you'll probably be pleased to learn that you can now add a touch of France to your city with a new Eiffel Tower clone, aka the "Trifle Tower." The tower is considered a 'leisure' building and will unlock at level 10. Owning one of these beauties will bump up the town's happiness level by 20,000 points and experience points by 1,022XP. Other nifty new buildings include the Daily News (unlocked at level 19), Ferris Wheel, Royal Casino, Luxury Condos. A few new gifts were released as well.  Which new Social City building do you want the most?
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| Nintendo DSi XL buzz begins with a Facebook game (and giant sandwiches) Posted: 22 Mar 2010 05:00 AM PDT  On March 28, Nintendo will be releasing a larger version of its handheld gaming system -- the DSi XL. The XL refers to size of the screens in this new gaming gadget, which are 93% bigger than the screen on the current DSi. To build buzz around this new system, Nintendo went straight to Facebook, launching a mildly amusing Facebook app called "What Would You Like 93% Bigger?" The app shows the new DSi XL, offers a little sales pitch on the device and then asks 'What other stuff could use some sizing up?' You're presented with 10 choices of things you'd like supersized, including trees, coffee cups, speakers, pools, hands, hair... Once you make your selection (and give the application permission to access your info), it will post on your Facebook wall. Also, Nintendo is working to build buzz through the press by sending over two ginormous (and i mean ginormous) sandwiches to the AOL offices in New York. Those things were attracting our co-workers like flies to, well, you know what we mean. How could we resist taking a picture of these mega sandwiches and sharing them here (see below)? You win again, Nintendo.  Look for the Nintendo DSi XL in stores this coming Sunday for $189.99.
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