For a brand whose logo is a dog, Zynga should have expected that putting down its PetVille social game would have raised howls of protest from some 60,000 daily active users (of more than one million registered users and 7.5 million likes) on Facebook.

Animal lovers and social gamers are mourning the loss of the game, along with ten other Zynga titles that blurred the lines between virtual and real-world games. Online reactions from players to the closure, as the San Franciso Chronicle notes, “expressed a particular emotional attachment to the game, and thus a greater sense of abandonment. Many saw their virtual pets as substitutes for companions they, for one reason or another, couldn't have in real life.”

Other Zynga Facebook games shuttered as part of the move include Mafia Wars 2, (the original Mafia Wars has survived due to its larger player/fan base) FishVille, Vampire Wars, Treasure Isle, Mafia Wars Shakedown, Indiana Jones Adventure World, ForestVille, Montopia, Mojitomo and World Scramble Challenge. The key factor is lack of sufficient manpower to keep them up and running — and, of course, the fact that these games weren't profitable.Continue reading...

Back in 2008 it made sense for Zynga to piggyback with Facebook and offer a games portal for the social newcomer on the desktop. But as gaming machines got more powerful and home consoles proliferated, simple click-click games gave way to those more complicated, more easily replicable by other game developers, and clicks got more costly.

Now games like Farmville and Cityville, once Zynga’s bread and butter, are being left in the digital dust as droves of players spend more time on smartphones than on social gaming and paying gamers now comprise less than 5% of Zynga’s user base. 

The billion-lapping Facebook garnered 14% of its revenue in the first six months of 2012 from Zynga, but according to CNBC, analysts are warning that “social gaming on mobile devices is growing at the expense of desktop, which is where FB derives the majority of its payments revenue.”

Its stock price has fallen more than 70 percent this year from its December IPO price of $10, and it's seeing executives such as its head of poker games, CMO, COO and Chief Creative Officer exiting for greener pastures. Is it Game Over for Zynga?Continue reading...

Zynga today released FarmVille 2 on its website and Facebook, described as "Zynga's next-generation social game that delivers a brand new farming experience through stunning visuals, beautiful animations and new ways to visit and interact with friends. FarmVille 2 allows players to create a beautiful farm and express themselves in a world that feels alive and reacts to every touch." More details in the video below.Continue reading...

Amazon has launched its games studio and its first major release: Living Classics, a "moving object game" for Facebook that gets back to the brand's roots as an online bookseller:

In the game, a family of foxes have wandered into vibrant, animated illustrations from their favorite books including Alice in Wonderland, The Wizard of Oz, and King Arthur. Players help to reunite the foxes by exploring beautifully illustrated scenes and spotting moving objects. You can visit friends, share rewards you’ve earned, rediscover famous stories, and reunite fox families.

Its blog post continues: "Why is Amazon making social games, you ask? Good question! We know that many Amazon customers enjoy playing games – including free-to-play social games – and thanks to Amazon's know-how, we believe we can deliver a great, accessible gaming experience that gamers and our customers can play any time." Get the Facebook app here and watch the trailer below.Continue reading...

The generational divide is in the Weeds, as digital gamers and baby boomers can now engage via a virtual haze of ganja gone Facebook.

According to a Bloomberg Businessweek report, urban fashion designer Marc Ecko and Lionsgate Films have joined forces for Weeds Social Club, a Facebook social game to coincide with the June 27th return of Lionsgate's hit original series for Showtime, Weeds, which this season brings pot-dealing soccer mom Mary-Louise Parker to the Big Apple.Continue reading...

The NBA and its Players Association are getting ready for major contractual standoff this summer that could end up putting them right where the NFL is right now: With owners locking out players and the fans growing increasingly annoyed by their backroom maneuverings.

If it gets to the point where actual games are missed because of the wrangling, fans will at least have one place to turn: video games.Continue reading...

We're not in FarmVille any more. An exclusive-to-Facebook game is hoping to take social games, online collaboration and political issues to a new level of web gaming with an innovative 12-week event. Since launching on April 5th, America 2049 has attracted more than 11,000 players who are “networking for freedom” in a transmedia experience that explores the choices we make and how they affect our future.

Players solve puzzles via videos, voiceovers, graphics and micro-sites while confronting human rights issues of immigration, sexual orientation, trafficking, and labor. The project has attracted some serious talent in actors Harold Perrineau (Lost), Victor Garber (Alias), Cherry Jones (24), Anthony Rapp (Rent) and comedian Margaret Cho — that's them in character, above.Continue reading...

Every brand and their dog has a Facebook page these days. Realizing the competition's stiff to stand out, NESCAFÉ is launching its FB US page debut with a game.

Its “Play With Your Coffee” app is a multi-feature campaign that mirrors the single-serve coffee system’s options which include 15 bar internal pressure, user-controlled coffee strength, temperature and milk content – all for the serious home barista.

“Latte Yourself” riffs on the beverage's distinctive swirly design — creating a caffeinated, foamy portrait that can be tweeted, posted to users' Facebook walls, or downloaded for a “mochafied” portrait. (Don't believe there's an art to coffee? Click here for a coffee artist who's riffing on the Royal Wedding in her latest work — come to think of it, the portrait above does resemble Kate Middleton...)Continue reading...