Games.com Blog: “FarmVille brings back Sweet Yams for Haiti” plus 19 more | |
- FarmVille brings back Sweet Yams for Haiti
- FarmVille 5/4 Teal & Pink Mystery Box (Spoilers)
- Happy Pets Fountain of Youth makes adult pets young again
- Oui oui, PetVille goes to Paris with new French themed items
- Cafe World gets hip and modern with new decor
- Mafia Wars Turkey Vulture is, indeed, an 'awesome animal'
- FarmVille offers 25 free farm cash for Zynga account sign up
- Sony launches The Agency: Covert Ops on Facebook
- Happy Pets and Pro Flowers deal offers 220 Facebook Credits
- PetVille: Earn 200 Pet Cash by using Pro Flowers for Mother's Day
- 7-Eleven FarmVille, Mafia Wars, YoVille promotion kicks off May 17
- Mother's Day in Facebook games: FarmVille, PetVille, Pet Society, etc.
- Is Zynga Leaving Facebook?
- Cafe World teams up with PayPal to offer discounted premium cash
- PetVille: Log in and get 2 free Pet Cash every day this week!
- FishVille: Free dancing King Crab for fans
- Hotel City introduces the most awesome virtual item ever -- a taco lamp
- Cinco de Mayo festivities hit FarmVille, Pet Society, Restaurant City, and more
- YoVille Sale Alert: 20% Off Beach Clothing
- YoVille: Cinco De Mayo Plush Toys Arrive For One Day Only
| FarmVille brings back Sweet Yams for Haiti Posted: 04 May 2010 08:10 PM PDT Today, FarmVille has just brought back a limited time promotion in which players can purchase yam seeds and 50% of the profit will be donated to relief efforts in Haiti. To participate, open up the Market in FarmVille and click on the Seeds tab. The first item shown should be the Sweet Yams. A purchase of these Yam seeds enables you to plant them as many times as you want for one full week, and they will never wither. When you attempt to purchase these seeds, you are allowed to choose to donate either 25, 55, or 240 Farm Cash, and the amount of Yams you receive will be the same. The idea is that you can donate more to Haiti if you wish. While Zynga have been under scrutiny in the past for this promotion and charity effort, they have an extensive page available that shows how much they have helped with relief efforts in Haiti through FarmVille donations. The money will be going to help build a K-12 school in Mirebalais, Haiti. If you were planning to harvest and plant anyway, why not make a charitable donation to help others? Have you helped Haiti in FarmVille yet? Why or why not?
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| FarmVille 5/4 Teal & Pink Mystery Box (Spoilers) Posted: 04 May 2010 07:49 PM PDT FarmVille have released a brand new Teal & Pink Mystery Box tonight with six different random items available inside. The Mystery Box costs 17 Farm Cash as usual, and these are limited time items that are only available through mystery boxes. This particular box will only be available for the next 7 days, so you'll have to buy them quickly! So far, the most popular item in this set is the Wildflower Falls, a beautiful flowered waterfall. Take a peek at the items: Pleasant Crow Flower Stand Teal Victorian Wildflower Falls Angora Rabbit Rabbit Knoll Do you have more pictures of these new mystery box items? Leave links to your images in the comments.
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| Happy Pets Fountain of Youth makes adult pets young again Posted: 04 May 2010 07:26 PM PDT Happy Pets are currently offering a limited time Fountain of Youth idol, and it costs a whopping 88 Facebook credits, or $8.80. This is not the first expensive item Crowdstar has released in Happy Pets lately, there has been the Iron Cats that also cost 88 Facebook Credits, the two idols that both cost over $40 each, and the Famous Dogs set for just under $7 each. They must be seeing some success with these pricier items, because we keep seeing new items priced at more than a buck each. The Fountain of Youth is a permanent item that will not ever go away, even after the sale ends. You can move the prop to any room or yard, and it will temporarily change any of your adult pets into a youth pet once they walk into the fountain. The fountain can be turned on and off by clicking it using the hand icon. This fountain will not affect breeding - once you breed a pet it will go back to the adult growth stage. At this point it is unclear if the item will be leaving the store after today, or if the price will just raise. We'll definitely check it out and see whether this item was a short time availability prop, or whether it will be sticking around at a higher price tomorrow. Would you pay almost $9.00 for an item in a Facebook game? Let us know.
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| Oui oui, PetVille goes to Paris with new French themed items Posted: 04 May 2010 06:52 PM PDT PetVille has just released another new theme today - Pets in Paris. This makes for their second massive theme in under a week, with the gorgeous Japanese Sakura items still available. These adorable items bring a touch of French elegance and glamour to your pet and your pet's home, and the best part is that they are not limited edition! If you don't have the coins saved up to purchase these new items, or if you want to hold off to buy Pet Cash you can still obtain all of these Parisian items in time. Read below to see the full list of new Petville Pets in Paris items in the store: Hanging Plant Assortment - 15 Pet CashLa Belle Vie de Paris - 40 Pet Cash Charlemaine Cellist - 50 Pet Cash Wild Waltzers - 50 Pet Cash Victor Violist - 50 Pet Cash Henriette Harpist - 50 Pet Cash La Table Grande - 23 Pet Cash Elastic Ficus in Porcelain Pot - 7 Pet Cash La Bibliotheque - 20 Pet Cash Umbrella Tree in Porcelain Pot - 7 Pet Cash Gilded Gothique Candleabra - 3,000 coins Pets in Paris Wallpaper - 3,500 coins Cupid's Porcelain Fountain - 9 Pet Cash Table Chere Royale (Green or Black) - 5 Pet Cash Strawberry Sponge Cake - 1,500 coins Seven Layer Cake - 3,000 coins Les Fruits et Le Vase - 4,000 coins Sofa Chere Royale (Green or Black) - 16 Pet Cash Gilded Gothique Sconce - 5,000 coins La Petite Swinger Oil Painting - 4,000 coins Sterling Silver Tea Set - 4,000 coins Nightstand Chere Royale (Green or Black) - 7 Pet Cash Chaise Chere Royale (Green or Black) - 30 neighbors/9,000 coins or 13 Pet Cash Exotic Fern in Porcelain Pot - 5 Pet Cash Tower of Treats - 2,500 coins Dresser Chere Royale (Green or Black) - 9 Pet Cash Still Life with Fruit Painting - 5,000 coins Bed Chere Royale (Green or Black) - 13 Pet Cash Strawberry Creme Cake - 2,500 coins La Petite Tour Eiffel - 2,000 coins Sofa Chere Royale (Green or Black) - 16 Pet Cash Petpari Oil Painting - 4,000 coins Antique Adelaide Rug (Black) - 15 Pet Cash Gilded Jewelry Box - 5 Pet Cash Le Troy Chaise Noire (Black or Green) - 13 Pet Cash Cupid Table Statue - 5,000 coins What is your favorite item of the bunch? Let us know in the comments.
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| Cafe World gets hip and modern with new decor Posted: 04 May 2010 06:03 PM PDT Zynga's popular restaurant game, Cafe World, has just released a large set of new hip and modern decorations. These decorations range from fountains, interior design, fish tanks, and statues. Honestly not all of the items seem all that modern. It almost feels like a random collection of decorations that didn't quite fit with any other theme. Either way, some of the items are rather attractive. Here is the list of new hip & modern decor: Purple Tube Pillar - 2 Cafe Cash Crystal Clear Speaker - 6 Cafe Cash Cheerful Cup Cleaner - 13 Cafe Cash Masterful Mix Maker - 13 Cafe Cash Bongo Beater - 14 Cafe Cash Borderline Bassist - 14 Cafe Cash Om Bowls Waterfall - 15 Cafe Cash Waterfall Divider - 15 Cafe Cash Baby Grand Piano - 16 Cafe Cash More Modern Fishtank - 22 Cafe Cash Modern Menu - 20,000 coins Golden Abstract Statue - 80,000 coins Welcome Hostess - 100,000 coins Sensual Singer - 150,000 coins See what we mean by random? We're not sure how a hostess is modern, but hey - we're sure someone will buy it! Most of these items are Cafe Cash though, and the coins items are very expensive. What do you think of the new Cafe World decorations? Will you be buying any?
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| Mafia Wars Turkey Vulture is, indeed, an 'awesome animal' Posted: 04 May 2010 04:00 PM PDT Mafia Wars continues to delve out the sweet loot this week -- for the next 24 hours (or a the time of this posting 21 hours), you'll be able to send up to 50 mafia members this Turkey Vulture with a single click. This Turkey Vulture, like the Rogue Agent and the Death Dealer Minigun from earlier this week, has some impressive stats, boasting 62 Attack and 50 Defense. In short, this attack bird ain't no turkey. Like the other One-Click gifts, you can only own five total. Any extras will be converted into energy points, which can -- of course -- be used to complete jobs. Which Mafia Wars limited edition gimme is best -- CIA Agent, Turkey Vulture or Death Dealer?
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| FarmVille offers 25 free farm cash for Zynga account sign up Posted: 04 May 2010 01:52 PM PDT Farmers can receive 25 free farm cash when purchasing any amount of farm cash via PayPal and registering for a Zynga account. You can then use your Zynga account to purchase farm cash for FarmVille or currency for other Zynga games. The free farm cash can be found in your Gift Box, after clicking on the link provided in Zynga's confirmation email. While some farmers are reporting problems with receiving the additional free 25 farm cash, this offer is not a scam. It is an offer provided by Zynga for FarmVille. For clarification, the offer requires you to: -Have a PayPal account. -Purchase any amount of farm cash via PayPal only. Minimum amount is $5 for 25 farm cash. -Create a new Zynga account (different from FarmVille), existing Zynga accounts do not qualify for this offer. -Confirm email from Zynga to receive additional free 25 farm cash. Due to the specific nature, we cannot post a direct link to this offer. To complete the offer, follow these steps: 1. Go to FarmVille "Add Farm Coins & Cash Page". 2. Choose to purchase farm cash with PayPal. 3. Login to PayPal. 4. Complete transaction for farm cash via PayPal. 5. After completing purchase, you will receive a pop-up message asking you to sign up for a Zynga account to receive 25 free farm cash. 6. Register for a Zynga account with a valid email address. 7. Check your email for a confirmation email from Zynga and click on link provided to redeem your free farm cash. 8. After confirming email, the free farm cash should appear in your FarmVille Gift Box.
Will you sign up for a Zynga account?
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| Sony launches The Agency: Covert Ops on Facebook Posted: 04 May 2010 12:07 PM PDT Sony Online Entertainment, well known for popular MMO titles EverQuest, EverQuest II, and Star Wars Galaxies, has just released their second Facebook game. The Agency: Covert Ops is a Mafia-Wars style game where you lead the life of a secret agent, unlocking locations, playing mini-games, engaging in battles, and customizing your avatar. This game ties in with SOE's upcoming and anticipated Playstation 3 and PC game, The Agency. What really sets The Agency: Covert Ops is the combat. Instead of simply clicking a button to fight an opponent, you actually engage in tactical battles. Your character has special abilities that enable you to do things like increase your critical strike chance for the next three moves, and do more damage. You can actually use strategy in fights, instead of everything being random and level based. This is where The Agency will absolutely shine.While Covert Ops is essentially a re-skinned version of Mafia Wars and Vampire Wars with a different theme, don't get us wrong, this game has extreme potential. It has a beautiful aesthetic to it, a high level of polish that you can expect a large game developer to be able to create, absolutely fantastic and immersive music, and feels great to play. You create your spy and pick a specialized class for him or her, and then complete missions and go to different areas. The objective is to do as much as you can with the "cover points" that you have (similar to energy in other games), raise your level, unlock new weapons, and defeat enemies. Another feature that sets Covert Ops apart are the minigames. Missions are not just locked by collecting certain items, you also have to complete various mini-games, similar to Treasure Madness. The first one we tried was an encoder game where you had to crack a code by unscrambling the letters. It made you really feel like a spy, instead of just clicking buttons and having random math happen in the background that determines your outcome. The social features of the game are not immediately apparent in the tutorial, but they're actually impressive. Every player gets their own HQ to decorate, and you can visit your friends' headquarters. Any Facebook friend of yours who is already playing is added to your agents list automatically, so there is no need to invite. You can share your achievements and progress to your wall and invite friends if you wish. We suspect that this game will spread quickly. The new user experience is a streamlined, easy to understand unveiling process that clearly demonstrates and instructs players about the features. As anyone who has just gotten started with other similar games like Mafia Wars, Big City Life, or Sorority Life knows, these games are overwhelming to start. Covert Ops slowly releases new features to you and walks you through each one in a very guided experience that will lead to better customer retention over time. Overall, we are impressed with this game and think it will do quite well. It combines that major developer polish with gameplay that is intriguing, clever, and a heck of a lot of fun. While the underlying mechanics are not new, The Agency: Covert Ops is a great combination of the things we love about our favorite Facebook games in an exciting package. Watch the Games.com blog for the latest news about this exciting new release. You can log in and play the game on Facebook, or view more information on the Covert Ops official website. View the trailer below! Have you tried The Agency: Covert Ops yet? What do you think? Let us know in the comments.
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| Happy Pets and Pro Flowers deal offers 220 Facebook Credits Posted: 04 May 2010 11:25 AM PDT But this deal with ProFlowers is way sweeter than those of FarmVille and PetVille, because this one involves 220 Facebook Credits! Facebook Credits are meant to be a virtual currency standard within the games and the offerings of the social network itself. Whereas Farm Cash ties you down to FarmVille-only purchases, and Pet Cash ties you into PetVille-only purchases, Facebook Credits doesn't have that limitation.
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| PetVille: Earn 200 Pet Cash by using Pro Flowers for Mother's Day Posted: 04 May 2010 11:05 AM PDT In order to access this offer, you need to look to the bottom of your PetVille game and click on the sponsored link of the Pro Flowers ad (see image on right).
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| 7-Eleven FarmVille, Mafia Wars, YoVille promotion kicks off May 17 Posted: 04 May 2010 11:00 AM PDT We've been hearing talk that Zynga and 7-Eleven have partnered up for a big, first-of-its-kind promotion, and this Web site seems to confirm those rumors. The site, discovered by FarmVille Freak, doesn't have much on it other than lthis art, links to the games on Facebook and a message that reads: 'Oh, you're early,' and "7-Eleven has teamed up with your favorite Zynga games to offer exclusive gifts with purchase for the players of FarmVille, Mafia Wars and YoVille. We'll see you at 12 a.m. on May 17 to start redeeming codes for virtual Zynga items. We suspect those redeemable codes will be tied in with in-store promotional items such as branded Slurpie/Big Gulp cups and Seven Select (7-Eleven store-brand) candy, chips and other foods -- and then traded in for branded virtual items, such as this 7-Eleven tower. Read more (unconfirmed) details about what could be the biggest real-world social game marketing push ever.
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| Mother's Day in Facebook games: FarmVille, PetVille, Pet Society, etc. Posted: 04 May 2010 10:00 AM PDT In the landscape of Facebook games, stores have all opened up new sections devoted to motherly themed presents -- virtual goodies such as cakes, balloons, teddy bears, and flowers are not unlike those you'd find in the real world. And then you've got games affiliating themselves with real world goods, such as FarmVille with Pro Flowers. Pro Flowers is no stranger to using the popularity of Facebook games as a means to advertise. Right around the time that Restaurant City installed a billboard outside of players' restaurants, Pro Flowers jumped at the opportunity for an in-game promotion. And it seems that Pro Flowers hasn't limited itself to FarmVille. It's on most of the Zynga gamse and some of the Crowdstar's as well. FarmVille - FarmVille partners with Pro Flowers for Mother's Day promotion - FarmVille Unreleased Mother's Day Decorations: Best Mom Sign & Balloons - FarmVille Sponsored RedEnvelope Link: Send Mother's Day Gifts, Get 100 Farm Cash - FarmVille Mother's Day items arrive: Balloon Bouquet & World's Best Mom PetVille - PetVille releases Mother's Day clothing and furniture - PetVille: Earn 200 Pet Cash by using Pro Flowers for Mother's Day Happy Pets - Happy Pets and Pro Flowers deal offers 220 Facebook Credits Pet Society - Pet Society: Mother's Day Mystery Box Sorority Life - Send flowers, gain 100 brownie points in Sorority Life SPP! Ranch - SPP! Ranch debuts Mother's Day and Cinco de Mayo items
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| Posted: 04 May 2010 09:00 AM PDT It's an open secret that the marriage between Zynga and Facebook has been on the rocks for some time. On the one hand, Zynga is Facebook's number one games partner and advertiser and Facebook is Zynga's number one distribution channel. They should be the best of friends. However, this symbiotic relationship makes each company's business vulnerable to each other. When Facebook changed the rules of the game, removing all game notifications from its update feeds and announcing Facebook Credits, whereby Facebook will take 30% of all transactions, it made the relationship -- in the words of Business Week -- complicated. Ever since Facebook announced these changes, Zynga has slowly yet surely been working to make itself less dependent on Facebook. Last year, Zynga launched FarmVille.com (whereby users can play the game from its web site) and announced a deal with MSN to enable users to log into Farmville from MSN's portal. Recently, however, these changes have been added at a fast and furious pace: * April 25, 2010: Zynga added in-game gifting to FarmVille, allowing players to send and receive gifts from within the game screen (as reported in FarmVille Freak). * April 29, 2010: Zynga started to require players for their games on Facebook such as Farmville, Mafia Wars, Café World and Treasure Isle to provide their emails to Zynga in order to keep playing their games (as reported in AOL's Games.com Blog). * May 1, 2010: Zynga added two new features to in-game gifting in FarmVille - the ability to send a thank you gift in return from within the game screen and ability to receive gifts without reloading your farm (as reported in FarmVille Freak). Separately, these changes suggest Zynga is continuously adding features to better communicate directly with its players and improve the in game play experience. When you add all these changes together and put it in context with the changes happening at Facebook, it appears that Zynga is preparing for the day when you can play Zynga games completely off of Facebook. Zynga is creating a huge email list to send direct email notifications to its users and adding in-game communication features. One reason why this may be happening so quickly is that Facebook just suggested that it will be mandatory for all games to use Facebook Credits to sell micro-transactions within games. Facebook will take 30% off of each transaction. This is actually reasonable in the context of casual games. Apple takes a 30% cut off of each game sale in iTunes and with Downloads, some portals take up to 70% of the transaction. Still, if Zynga is projected to earn $450 million in revenues off of micro-transactions in 2010, giving up 30% to Facebook is a good chunk of change. To this casual observer, the break between Zynga and Facebook may not be a matter of "if" but more a question of "when." My guess is that it'll be later rather than sooner (no one walks away from money) but in the dynamic world of social games, anything goes! This column originally appeared on Gamezebo.
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| Cafe World teams up with PayPal to offer discounted premium cash Posted: 04 May 2010 08:30 AM PDT
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| PetVille: Log in and get 2 free Pet Cash every day this week! Posted: 04 May 2010 07:30 AM PDT But yeah, starting today and lasting for a week, each day players log into PetVille will earn them 2 free Pet Cash. This week is also No Pound Fees Week, which means your your pet won't be confiscated and you won't have to pay to get it released from the pound if you forget to feed it. Basically, the game is setting up a week where it rewards players for checking in, but also doesn't penalize those who aren't coming back. So whether you're coming back or staying away, if you're a PetVille fan, there's something in it for you.
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| FishVille: Free dancing King Crab for fans Posted: 04 May 2010 07:05 AM PDT
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| Hotel City introduces the most awesome virtual item ever -- a taco lamp Posted: 04 May 2010 07:00 AM PDT Hotel City on Facebook puts you in the manager's seat of a small hotel and your goal is to turn it into a luxurious place for the hoi polloi to catch a few winks. The game, from the creators of Pet Society, launched in mid March and has since gathered over 13 million players, according to AppData. Anyway, the hotel sim has been slowly ramping up, adding new features, including what might possibly the most awesome Free Gift that we've ever seen in a social game -- a taco lamp. A Taco Taco Lamp to be exact. This crispy virtual lamp arrives alongside a slew of other colorful Mexican-themed decor in honor of Cinco de Mayo, including a Mexican Mural (7K coins), Beautiful Arch (12K coins), Bed Rancho (3100 coins), Smiling Sun Couch (7K coins), Poncho (4K coins), Cactus hanger upper (9,500 coins). If you have some extra Playfish Cash to spare, you can buy Chilli Fairy lights for 2 PC or a Pinata Donkey for 4 PF. Have you procured a Taco Lamp yet?
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| Cinco de Mayo festivities hit FarmVille, Pet Society, Restaurant City, and more Posted: 04 May 2010 06:30 AM PDT Cinco de Mayo is also not Mexico's Independence Day, which is on September 16th. But hey, "¡Viva México!", right? In the real world, it's an excuse to party and sip tequilas. And in the land of Facebook games, it's an opportunity to roll out Mexican freebies and holiday decor. (Surprisingly, FarmVille has been pretty sparse with their items release, but that's probably because they decided to approach the holiday laterally, by focusing on a Southwestern theme instead -- and that rollout, has been pretty extensive.) FarmVille - FarmVille Celebrates Cinco De Mayo with Limited Edition Decorations: Pinata, Prickly Pear & Tomatillo Pet Society - Celebrate Cinco de Mayo in Pet Society - Pet Society Maraca Fish swims into pond for Cinco de Mayo Restaurant City - Restaurant City: 50% Music Player Sale of The Fiesta Brothers - Restaurant City: Viva Mexico! Mexican Taquerias are here - Restaurant City: Free Chocolate and Chili to fans SPP! Ranch - SPP! Ranch debuts Mother's Day and Cinco de Mayo items YoVille - YoVille: Cinco De Mayo Plush Toys Arrive For One Day Only Hotel City - Hotel City introduces the most awesome virtual item ever -- a Taco Taco Lamp Stay tuned for more links as the holiday doesn't kick in 'til tomorrow.
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| YoVille Sale Alert: 20% Off Beach Clothing Posted: 04 May 2010 05:00 AM PDT Head to the clothing boutique now and get that swimming suit you wanted to buy! Thank you Mr. Y for the tip. This article originally appeared on YoVille Lounge.
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| YoVille: Cinco De Mayo Plush Toys Arrive For One Day Only Posted: 04 May 2010 04:45 AM PDT Anyway, you need to hurry because these items will be available for one day only. Thank you Mr. Y for the tip. This article originally appeared on YoVille Lounge.
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