Games.com Blog: “FarmVille wins Best New Social/Online Game at the Game Developer Choice Awards” plus 19 more |  |
- FarmVille wins Best New Social/Online Game at the Game Developer Choice Awards
- YoVille's whimsical month: new Items, new hair & disappearing costume
- Tiki Farm will soon offer sweet loot that won't cost a dime (find out how)
- Restaurant City does fans a cool favor with free ice-cream
- Beachcombing -- a new source of income in Tiki Farm
- New 500k Bejeweled Blitz medals dressed up for St. Patrick's Day
- 10 PetVille Cash to watch a Sony vid and answer Yellowbook survey
- Cafe World offers 2 free Cafe Cash for business survey
- PetVille wants you to free the mysterious creature within
- Cafe World offers instant free prizes with "Scratch Lotto"
- YoVille wishes players a Happy St. Patrick's Day!
- New YoVille Collectible is out!
- Metroid creator's only-in-Japan social game: Tomodachi Collection
- Happy Aquarium releases St. Patrick's Day Props
- Wild Ones stocks up on Lasers and Shuriken Bombs
- Wild Ones' Scatter MIRV offers more bang per buck
- Big Fish launches My Tribe for Facebook: Build a tribe, make it grow
- FarmVille Kelly Green Calf
- Pet Society Review: Piano & Lamp
- FarmVille unreleased Dog Wood & Magnolia Tree
| FarmVille wins Best New Social/Online Game at the Game Developer Choice Awards Posted: 11 Mar 2010 02:49 PM PST  At the 2010 Game Developer Choice Awards, FarmVille wins the award for the Best New Social/Online game. The farming game from Zynga has 83 million monthly active players and has more than double the players than the second most popular Facebook game -- also by Zynga -- Cafe World. This was the first year for this category, which is a testament to how big Facebook and other online playable games have grown over the past year. "It's funny that we're at this part of the show, and we feel big and established, but two years ago we were sitting around in a crappy little room," says Mark Skaggs, FarmVille General Manager as he accepted the award. FarmVille was pretty much a shoe-in for this award (though we thought Bejeweled Blitz from PopCap would have a fighting chance). Which game would you have voted as the best new social/online game? Vote in our exclusive poll below!
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| YoVille's whimsical month: new Items, new hair & disappearing costume Posted: 11 Mar 2010 02:47 PM PST Yoville released new whimsical bath items like bathroom sinks and mirrors for 6yc and 4yc each. Twisted toilet paper holder is just for 785 coins, and many other matching accessories are for coins too.  Also to mention, new Ally in Yoland hair is in Salon starting at 2yc. This article originally appeared on YoVille Lounge.
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| Tiki Farm will soon offer sweet loot that won't cost a dime (find out how) Posted: 11 Mar 2010 01:01 PM PST  Tiki Farm will soon offer a new way to get sweet loot -- by simply watching an ad from a big-name company and when it's done, you're rewarded with .Playdom has partnered with Wild Tangent to give players a new way to acquire premium items without paying for it, without signing up for credit cards or anything else requiring giving up any personal information. In this case, you'll be able to acquire an item for your island in exchange for a minute of your time. Wild Tangent says they chose Playdom's Tiki Farm because it was a good 'demographic' fit, though the details of this implementation -- what item will be sponsored by what specific company -- is still a few weeks away. These types of ad deals have been implemented in other online games, such as Outspark and several games on OMGPOP. Considering the recent Nielsen survey shows that over 85% of gamers would prefer to not pay for their digital content, this might be a compelling new (scam-free) way to get loot without spending a dime. What do you think?
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| Restaurant City does fans a cool favor with free ice-cream Posted: 11 Mar 2010 12:50 PM PST 
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| Beachcombing -- a new source of income in Tiki Farm Posted: 11 Mar 2010 12:45 PM PST  We all know the saying that one's man trash is another man's treasure, but social games have really put that adage into practice. Now in Tiki Farm, you can pick up objects on the ground to earn money and XP. Stuff you'll find include treasure chests, driftwood, spare change, and vines that were washed ashore your island. The silly thing is that each item you pick up does that annoying loading bar that mimics FarmVille. It'd be nice if both games can cut down the load time. Picking up a piece of trash shouldn't take as long as it does to harvest your crops.
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| New 500k Bejeweled Blitz medals dressed up for St. Patrick's Day Posted: 11 Mar 2010 12:30 PM PST  Anyway, each holiday, the game dresses up the medals in silly costumes and seasonally appropriate designs. Well, these 500k medals now add a festive Irish air to your bragging rights!
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| 10 PetVille Cash to watch a Sony vid and answer Yellowbook survey Posted: 11 Mar 2010 12:00 PM PST  Each task gets you 5 PV Cash. That's a total of 10 PV Cash in all. You'll find this sweet opportunity on the PetVille "Get Pet Coins & Cash" tab in the game window.
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| Cafe World offers 2 free Cafe Cash for business survey Posted: 11 Mar 2010 11:30 AM PST  If you need help, Cafe World has even posted a tutorial video to run you through the process on their official Facebook fan page, so this is completely legit! Note: Yellowbook.com would like you to know that answering this survey will also mean "You are now eligible to win a $500 American Express Gift Card in our weekly sweepstakes and the $10,000 Grand Prize packages."
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| PetVille wants you to free the mysterious creature within Posted: 11 Mar 2010 11:00 AM PST     
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| Cafe World offers instant free prizes with "Scratch Lotto" Posted: 11 Mar 2010 10:30 AM PST  So how do you get the "Scratch Lotto", and what does it do? Right now, every time you gain a level, it'll trigger a window prompt offering you a Lotto card. Scratch any of the three images to win something random. Prizes can be coins to decorations, and even valuable CAFE CASH! You'll also get the option to send a stack of cards to your friends. In a world of social gaming structured around scheduled tasks, there's nothing as refreshing as some instant in-game gratification for a job well done!
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| YoVille wishes players a Happy St. Patrick's Day! Posted: 11 Mar 2010 09:47 AM PST  The YoVille St. Patrick item's are finally here, but only have a 7 day timer on them. They vary from leprechaun's, clover's, rug's, pot's of gold and many more, these item's cost from 500 coin's upward's and YoCash too. These are just a few of the many themed YoVille items released for the occasion.  Happy St. Patrick's Day! This article originally appeared on YoVille Lounge.
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| New YoVille Collectible is out! Posted: 11 Mar 2010 09:44 AM PST  The new YoVille collectible is out, they have only released one this time, it's the Whimsical Sand Timer, which also when turned the sand pours out. It cost 19,000 coins and is in store for 12 days, so get saving YoVillians for this stunning Whimsical Sand Timer! This article originally appeared on YoVille Lounge.
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| Metroid creator's only-in-Japan social game: Tomodachi Collection Posted: 11 Mar 2010 08:15 AM PST  The Nintendo DS game -- known as Tomo-kore in Japanese shorthand and literally translated as "Friend Collection" -- uses the same Mii characters that are already familiar to millions of Wii owners. In fact, the game was the original inspiration behind the now-familiar Wii character editor. As Sakamoto explained at a panel today at the Game Developers Conference, Nintendo President Satoru Iwata actually borrowed Sakamoto's development team to work on the Mii Channel after seeing how good the editor was at copying irregular faces (like Sakamoto's, shown above). Even though you don't interact with real world friends directly in Tomodachi Collection, the game shares many of the characteristics of social games popular in America. Using the Mii creator, you can create versions of people you know and place them into goofy situations to your heart's content. A short video prepared by Sakamoto showed characters proposing everlasting love, fighting as giant, Godzilla style monsters, singing karaoke, throwing food and garbage at each other, and participating in "compatibility tests" much like those on Facebook. It reminded me a bit of inviting friends' avatars to work as waiters in Restaurant City, even though you're the only one actually playing. "It's a little like playing house with the Miis you create on the Wii, and using them to play dolls," Sakamoto said. "Think of it as playing make believe." Though the gameplay isn't social in the traditional, online sense, Sakamoto said the game was designed to draw friends in virally. It seems to be succeeding in that, as the title has already sold over 3 million copies since being released in Japan just under a year ago "Tomo-kore is a game that, in addition to the player having fun, the players friends can't help but be drawn in as well," Sakamoto said. Hopefully, American players will get to be drawn in soon.
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| Happy Aquarium releases St. Patrick's Day Props Posted: 11 Mar 2010 07:50 AM PST
Facebook games like FarmVille, PetVille, and Tiki Farm have already rolled out their St. Patrick's Day goodies; now it's time for Happy Aquarium to do the same. In celebration of the holiday, Happy Aquarium encourages players to add a little Irish festivity to their tanks. Four themed items are available: - Irish Castle (340 Coins) - Crystal Shamrock (10 Facebook Credits or 12 Pearls) - Leprechaun Hat (65 Coins) - Shamrock Flag (10 Facebook Credits or 12 Pearls) Despite falling short of FarmVille's extensive St. Patrick's Day exclusives, items, and offers; Happy Aquarium gives us four solid items. This more modest approach sacrifices grandeur for simplicity. FarmVille seems to use any event it can to put out new items and deals. Happy Aquarium's items acknowledge St. Patrick's Day without the bells and whistles. Even so, I must admit I would have liked to see shamrock themed fish food.
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| Wild Ones stocks up on Lasers and Shuriken Bombs Posted: 11 Mar 2010 07:21 AM PST  Last week Wild Ones surprised fans by releasing the Ninjitsu Mesh for those who wanted to create animal ninjas. This week, the follow up came in the form of Shuriken Bombs and Shuriken Headbands, two must-have items for any self proclaimed Wild Ones ninjas.The name 'Shuriken Bomb' should immediately tell you: maximum danger. These guys have a very high damage rating. Players can use 2 per game similar to items like the Beehive Launcher and Teleporter. Shuriken Bombs can be found in the weapons section of the shop; 20 can be bought for 11 Treats so make sure you're set on your decision before buying. Also released this week, the Shuriken Headband increases walk speed similar to the Ninjitsu Mesh. Found in the accessories tab of the shop, the headband comes in two colors with slightly different emblems. Unfortunately, the headband also costs 11 Treats forcing those who are interested to throw down some real money. Perhaps more exciting to some, there is a new opportunity for fans to get their mitts on one of those powerful Laser Cannons.  The Wild Ones Laser Cannon is a weapon you definitely do not want to be at the receiving end of. The beastly weapon does 400 damage and fires straight making it hard to miss.  Until now, players could get their hands on just two Laser Cannons. Now Wild Ones is offering Laser Cannons to anyone who simply plays Wild Ones four days in a row (pictured above). That sounds easy enough to us. Jump on Wild Ones yourself and start working your way to that Laser.
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| Wild Ones' Scatter MIRV offers more bang per buck Posted: 11 Mar 2010 06:44 AM PST
Wild Ones is offering an enhanced version of their MIRV weapon for a limited time only! The Scatter MIRV explodes into nine destructive missiles, more than the Original MIRV. They can be found in the shop under the weapons tab. Twenty Scatter MIRVs costs 11 Treats and you can fire it once per game. We're not sure if Wild Ones can really call this a 'sale', but nonetheless, the deal ends this evening, nine hours from now. If you're a dedicated Wild Ones fan, this item is one you don't want to miss.
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| Big Fish launches My Tribe for Facebook: Build a tribe, make it grow Posted: 11 Mar 2010 06:00 AM PST  Now that millions are flocking to Facebook games like FarmVille and Pet Society, we're also seeing another big trend -- established game publishers translating their existing games into something a little more social. We've seen this with Bejeweled Blitz from PopCap (with much success) and more recently with Faunasphere from Big Fish Games.  Looks like Big Fish plans to keep socializing its existing games, with today's launch of My Tribe, the casual gaming company's second Facebook game. The tribe-building game plays similarly to the downloadable version of the game, and the goal is to turn a small community into a thriving civilization by putting tribe members to work, erecting buildings and increasing the population, while collecting resources, crafting items and discovering new scientific advancements. My Tribe also comes with the trappings of a typical social game -- virtual currency in the form of pearls, which are used to buy upgrades for your tribe and a gifting system for your friends. You'll also be able to visit your friends' tribes and collect items which can be used in other parts of the game.  The one big noticeable difference between My Tribe and other social games is sheer number of activities in the game. In FarmVille, you basically plant, harvest, decorate and accept gifts -- it's a relatively simple 'snack' sized game experience that you can do while waiting for dinner to cook or during a commercial break. My Tribe requires more management and strategic thinking -- assigning specific tasks to villagers, managing the population growth, collecting items and them to craft other useful items takes a little more work. This new layer of complexity might be a welcome change for some, but for FarmVille-ians who prefer to click and be done with it -- My Tribe might be too complex to recreate the magic that has turned millions of gamers and non-gamers -- almost overnight -- into purveyors of seed and soil. Of course, you'll have to judge that for yourself. Check out My Tribe on Facebook and let us know what you think in the comments area below.
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| Posted: 11 Mar 2010 05:43 AM PST  FarmVille introduced a Kelly Green Cow yesterday and in no time it was already yielding Kelly Green Calfs. If you place your Kelly Green Cow in the Dairy Farm you will have the chances of producing a Kelly Green Calf to share with your FarmVille neighbors. Kelly Green Cows can be purchased in the FarmVille Market for 14 FV$.    This article originally appeared on FarmVille Freak.
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| Pet Society Review: Piano & Lamp Posted: 11 Mar 2010 05:01 AM PST  This week's new items at the Pet Society Gadget Shop include a Pink Country Lamp (500 coins) that's advertised as "Glow in the Dark." As you can see, the first word of that ad is misleading. You're just left in the dark. A slightly better purchase is the piano in the Luxury Shop. There's a brown one (2200 coins) and a white one (2800). But if you want to hear some music, you're out of luck. As Ariel says, "It's only a fancy seat. Again." She gives the piano-chair 3 paws.  This article originally appeared on Pet Society Anonymous.
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| FarmVille unreleased Dog Wood & Magnolia Tree Posted: 11 Mar 2010 04:45 AM PST
Thank you to FarmVille Freak Lisa for uncovering these unreleased Dog Wood and Magnolia Trees! Sources: - FarmVille Dog Wood Tree- Zynga FarmVille - FarmVille Magnolia Tree - Zynga FarmVille This article originally appeared on FarmVille Freak.
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