I hope you had your fill of the Farm theme in CityVille, as another theme has swooped in to steal the spotlight. To be specific, this new theme has to do with Sports, and there are tons of items available (some for coins, which is a plus) to allow your citizens to spend time in the great outdoors, living a fit and healthy lifestyle. As usual, we're here to give a complete look at what these items are, and (more importantly) how much they cost, so that you can be better prepared the next time you take on your role as Mayor.
Sports Hall of Fame (Community Building)
* Costs: 60 City Cash
* Raises Maximum Population Cap by 1800 citizens
* Available for: 6 Days
Kid on Unicycle (Decoration)
* Costs: 5,000 coins
* Payout Bonus: 1% to residences and businesses; extra 1% to Sports themed items
* Available for: 6 Days
Dodge Ball (Decoration)
* Costs: 27 City Cash
* Payout Bonus: 27% to residences and businesses; extra 27% to Sports theme
* Available for: 6 Days
Win Water Sports Drink (Crop)
* Costs: 4 City Cash per square
* Harvest Time: Instant
* Supplies: 360 Goods per square
* First Star of Mastery: 3 Harvests
* Available for: 6 Days
Archery Store (Business)
* Costs: 350,000 coins
* Requires: 335 Goods
* Earnings: 1781 coins
* Available for: 6 Days
Birdie Manor (Home)
* Costs: 30,000 coins
* Population: 170-320
* Rent: 19 coins every five minutes
* Available for: 6 Days
Healthy Home (Home)
* Costs: 10,000 coins
* Population: 130-250
* Rent: 231 coins every day
* Available for: 5 Days
Red Card Residence (Home)
* Costs: 65 City Cash
* Population: 1850-3650
* Rent: 461 coins every day
* Available for: 6 Days
Half-Pipe House (Home)
* Costs: 75 City Cash
* Population: 2350-4350
* Rent: 240 coins every eight hours
* Available for: 6 Days
Trophy Store (Business)
* Costs: 20,000 coins
* Requires: 260 Goods
* Earnings: 1445 coins
* Available for: 5 Days
Big Play Brewery (Business)
* Costs: 46 City Cash
* Requires: 335 Goods
* Earnings: 1781 coins
* Available for: 5 Days
Trampoline (Decoration)
* Costs: 11 City Cash
* Payout Bonus: 11% to businesses and residences; extra 11% to Sports theme
* Available for: 5 Days
Monkey Golf (Decoration)
* Costs: 120,000 coins
* Payout Bonus: 12% to businesses and residences; extra 12% to Sports theme
* Available for: 5 Days
Holland Hole in One (Decoration)
* Costs: 135,000 coins
* Payout Bonus: 12% to businesses and residences; extra 12% to Sports theme
* Available for: 5 Days
Pirate Putt Putt (Decoration)
* Costs: 27 City Cash
* Payout Bonus: 27% to businesses and residences; extra 27% to Sports theme
* Available for: 5 Days
Fencing School (Community Building)
* Costs: 55 City Cash
* Raises Maximum Population Cap by 1700 citizens
* Available for: 5 Days
On top of all of these items, there's also a Sports Mystery Crate available for 45 City Cash. If you purchase one, you'll be guaranteed one of four items: the Half-Pipe House, Red Card Residence, Fencing School or Big Play Brewery. This Mystery Crate will only be available for five days, so you'll need to decide fairly quickly if you want to risk receiving duplicates by purchasing multiple boxes, or if you'll purchase the four items individually.
As you can see, all of these items will be disappearing from the game rather quickly, so if you have any desire for them whatsoever, your best bet would be to purchase them now (even if it's just a few coin decorations), rather than waiting. Why? Well, there are few things worse than forgetting... and then regretting.
Will you purchase any of these Sports themed items before they expire from the store? What sort of theme of items do you hope Zynga releases next? Sound off in the comments.
Thứ Sáu, 23 tháng 9, 2011
Thứ Ba, 20 tháng 9, 2011
CityVille Back to School Goals: Everything you need to know
What better way to celebrate the launch of another school year in the real world than to... play CityVille on Facebook? Ok, so maybe I'm grasping at straws with that one, but Zynga has done it too! Just look at these new goals! There are four new goals to complete in all, in a Back to School series that will see you ultimately rewarded with a Football Field, among other prizes. Without further ado (as we all know there's homework to be done), here's a guide to finishing these four goals off.
Too Cool For School / Brain Food
* Ask for 5 Pocket Protectors
* Visit 10 Neighbors
* Harvest 20 Wheat
The Pocket Protectors are earned through a general news post, rather than individual requests to friends. While you're waiting for those to arrive, you can plant your wheat, which takes a whopping 2.1 days to grow. For finishing this first goal, you'll receive just 35 XP.
Show & Tell
* Ask for 8 Text Books
* Collect from 20 Businesses
* Collect from Burger Joint 4 Times
For this goal, it looks as though you can collect from the same Burger Joint four times in a row, or collect from four individual Burger Joints, so keep that in mind if you happen to have more than one in your town. For finishing this second goal, you'll receive 960 coins.
Study Hall of Fame
* Upgrade a Library
* Collect from any Library 2 Times
* Have a Crossing Guard in your City
Back at the end of July, Zynga released the ability to upgrade your Library, and you can find our complete guide to doing so right here. For finishing this goal, you'll earn 480 Goods.
Playing Hooky
* Have 2 Pairs of High Heels from the Designer Collection
* Collect from Flower Kiosk 10 Times
* Collect from Diner 8 Times
The High Heels are available from the Shoe Store, Handbag Store, Sunglasses Store or Watch Shop, so just keep supplying and collecting from those businesses and you should get lucky (if you're impatient, you can also ask your friends to send you some extras from their own collections). For finishing this final goal, you'll receive the Football Field, which is a 6x4 decorative item that gives you a 30% bonus to surrounding businesses and residences. It is currently only available through this goal series, so make sure to keep track of them if you are interested in adding one to your town.
What do you think of these new CityVille Back to School goals? Is it too late for back-to-school fun, or will you do anything for exclusive new decorations? Sound off in the comments.
Too Cool For School / Brain Food
* Ask for 5 Pocket Protectors
* Visit 10 Neighbors
* Harvest 20 Wheat
The Pocket Protectors are earned through a general news post, rather than individual requests to friends. While you're waiting for those to arrive, you can plant your wheat, which takes a whopping 2.1 days to grow. For finishing this first goal, you'll receive just 35 XP.
Show & Tell
* Ask for 8 Text Books
* Collect from 20 Businesses
* Collect from Burger Joint 4 Times
For this goal, it looks as though you can collect from the same Burger Joint four times in a row, or collect from four individual Burger Joints, so keep that in mind if you happen to have more than one in your town. For finishing this second goal, you'll receive 960 coins.
Study Hall of Fame
* Upgrade a Library
* Collect from any Library 2 Times
* Have a Crossing Guard in your City
Back at the end of July, Zynga released the ability to upgrade your Library, and you can find our complete guide to doing so right here. For finishing this goal, you'll earn 480 Goods.
Playing Hooky
* Have 2 Pairs of High Heels from the Designer Collection
* Collect from Flower Kiosk 10 Times
* Collect from Diner 8 Times
The High Heels are available from the Shoe Store, Handbag Store, Sunglasses Store or Watch Shop, so just keep supplying and collecting from those businesses and you should get lucky (if you're impatient, you can also ask your friends to send you some extras from their own collections). For finishing this final goal, you'll receive the Football Field, which is a 6x4 decorative item that gives you a 30% bonus to surrounding businesses and residences. It is currently only available through this goal series, so make sure to keep track of them if you are interested in adding one to your town.
What do you think of these new CityVille Back to School goals? Is it too late for back-to-school fun, or will you do anything for exclusive new decorations? Sound off in the comments.
FarmVille Lighthouse Cove loading screen gives us more to speculate about
Now that we know the official name of the third farm in FarmVille--that being Lighthouse Cove--new details are releasing all of the time. First, we were given just a sample image of what looks to be a dolphin-filled cove, and now we have a full loading screen that shows off a bit more, including the third farm's logo.
For one, we're given an overall theme for this new farm: Fall. That's fitting, as the farm will likely officially launch sometime this fall, and it looks like we'll see a set of appropriately colored trees released to go along with that (along with what looks to be some Autumn Ginkgo trees, which is also fitting). We also see some crop squares in this loading screen, though they are muted in the bottom-left corner of the screen. As an educated guess, I'd say those are American Cranberries, which is one of the crops we expect to launch in this new farm.
As for the rest of the screen, we see a dock, boat and mermaid, with the boat likely being our ride in and out of Lighthouse Cove. As for the mermaid, perhaps she'll be a part of a goal series, or will perhaps let us communicate with the dolphin and whale that appear in the water. Of course, we're completely speculating on that front, but it's a fun idea to keep in mind either way. Along with all of this, we see some new animals, and what looks to be a new garage (perhaps a boat garage?), making this an incredibly in-depth farm, if all of these items are interactive, and not just for show.
Regardless of how much of our speculation ends up being true, we'll make sure to keep you up to date with all of the details concerning Lighthouse Cove, including when you can expect it to release. Keep checking back with us for more.
What do you think of this new loading screen? Are there any particular details you're looking forward to more than others? Are you saving up your Farm Cash to take a fast trip to the Lighthouse Cove, or will you wait before jumping into a third farm? Sound off in the comments.
For one, we're given an overall theme for this new farm: Fall. That's fitting, as the farm will likely officially launch sometime this fall, and it looks like we'll see a set of appropriately colored trees released to go along with that (along with what looks to be some Autumn Ginkgo trees, which is also fitting). We also see some crop squares in this loading screen, though they are muted in the bottom-left corner of the screen. As an educated guess, I'd say those are American Cranberries, which is one of the crops we expect to launch in this new farm.
As for the rest of the screen, we see a dock, boat and mermaid, with the boat likely being our ride in and out of Lighthouse Cove. As for the mermaid, perhaps she'll be a part of a goal series, or will perhaps let us communicate with the dolphin and whale that appear in the water. Of course, we're completely speculating on that front, but it's a fun idea to keep in mind either way. Along with all of this, we see some new animals, and what looks to be a new garage (perhaps a boat garage?), making this an incredibly in-depth farm, if all of these items are interactive, and not just for show.
Regardless of how much of our speculation ends up being true, we'll make sure to keep you up to date with all of the details concerning Lighthouse Cove, including when you can expect it to release. Keep checking back with us for more.
What do you think of this new loading screen? Are there any particular details you're looking forward to more than others? Are you saving up your Farm Cash to take a fast trip to the Lighthouse Cove, or will you wait before jumping into a third farm? Sound off in the comments.
SuperPoke! Pets creator 'working out the details' on post-closure access
To say even that SuperPoke! Pets fans are "pissed" is an understatement. (Seriously, just look at the comments on our first post regarding the sad news.) SuperPoke Pets and SPP Ranch players' rage at Slide's shuttering at the hand of Google has made headlines of nearly every major news outlet, and finally some details regarding Slide's response have come to light.
Namely, CNN reports that Slide and Google representatives have responded to complaints concerning players' hard-earned cash pumped into the now-defunct game. "One thing you can't do [with virtual goods] is bring them home and keep them forever," Slide's communications team wrote on the SuperPoke! Pets forums in response to complaints.
While Slide did say that it's "working out the details" on how to make some of the games' content and items available outside of the game, it also compared digital pets purchased with real cash to Halloween costumes, according to CNN. "You purchase it to dress up and enjoy the experience, but likely don't wear that costume day in and day out, or for every Halloween thereafter," the team wrote. (Um, was I the only kid who had to wear the same costume for a few Halloweens?)
Net Jacobsson, a former Facebook executive and adviser to companies like CrowdStar, told CNN that refunding players with their hard-earned, spent digital cash is far from simple. "The accounting issues can be massively complicated," Jacobsson told CNN. "They've already counted it as revenue. They've taxed it. Refunding $20 would cost more than $20, not to mention the man-hours involved in dealing with it."
CNN recalls that, when games like Pirates Ahoy! and Gangster City shut down, creator Playfish allowed players to take their earned currency into a new Playfish game and offered free incentives for the games' fans to enjoy new Playfish games. However, players wouldn't exactly have any other Slide games to go to. So, why not herd the disgruntled players into one of those shiny new Google+ Games with either some free in-game cash or other incentives? Or, here's just a thought: Bring the games into Google+ Games already.
How do you think Slide and Google should handle the unfortunate situation? Sound off in the comments. 35 Comments
Namely, CNN reports that Slide and Google representatives have responded to complaints concerning players' hard-earned cash pumped into the now-defunct game. "One thing you can't do [with virtual goods] is bring them home and keep them forever," Slide's communications team wrote on the SuperPoke! Pets forums in response to complaints.
While Slide did say that it's "working out the details" on how to make some of the games' content and items available outside of the game, it also compared digital pets purchased with real cash to Halloween costumes, according to CNN. "You purchase it to dress up and enjoy the experience, but likely don't wear that costume day in and day out, or for every Halloween thereafter," the team wrote. (Um, was I the only kid who had to wear the same costume for a few Halloweens?)
Net Jacobsson, a former Facebook executive and adviser to companies like CrowdStar, told CNN that refunding players with their hard-earned, spent digital cash is far from simple. "The accounting issues can be massively complicated," Jacobsson told CNN. "They've already counted it as revenue. They've taxed it. Refunding $20 would cost more than $20, not to mention the man-hours involved in dealing with it."
CNN recalls that, when games like Pirates Ahoy! and Gangster City shut down, creator Playfish allowed players to take their earned currency into a new Playfish game and offered free incentives for the games' fans to enjoy new Playfish games. However, players wouldn't exactly have any other Slide games to go to. So, why not herd the disgruntled players into one of those shiny new Google+ Games with either some free in-game cash or other incentives? Or, here's just a thought: Bring the games into Google+ Games already.
How do you think Slide and Google should handle the unfortunate situation? Sound off in the comments. 35 Comments
Top 25 Facebook Games - September 2011: Rise of The Sims Social
Will Zynga finally be dethroned? August saw one of the biggest upsets in Facebook gaming history, as EA and Playfish released The Sims Social. Short after its shoddy release in the middle of the month, the game has skyrocketed to third place this month with over 7.5 million daily players and fifth place on the monthly player charts with over 24 million players. While CityVille, Empires & Allies, Zynga Poker and FarmVille are on top of the charts yet again, all four games have suffered declines.
If this doesn't stir the pot a bit in the Facebook gaming world, nothing will. But The Sims Social isn't the only new game to upset the charts and displace a few hit games. Zynga's The Pioneer Trail expansion hit the monthly chart just under The Sims Social in sixth place at a healthy 19.7 million players. Words with Friends, the Facebook version of the popular mobile game, released in August to over 11.5 million monthly players, while Ubisoft set The Smurfs and Co. loose to over 8.6 million rabid fans and hit 16th place.
The casualties for this month include August's last five spot holders: Treasure Isle, Zombie Lane, Happy Aquarium, Mall World and Crime City. These games weren't just displaced because of the influx of new games hitting top spots, but all five were already on a decline. This allowed new additions like the Bubble and Ninja Sagas in the 21 and 22 spots at 6.6 million and 6.2 million monthly players, respectively.
Top 25 Facebook Games September
But look more closely at this month's chart, and you'll notice that each and every one of these brand new games to upset the charts is backed by a massive, recognizable brand. Perhaps this is what it takes to disrupt the status quo in Facebook games. And with ambitious branded games like Dexter Slice of Life on the way, our guess is that you'll be seeing a lot more from where The Sims Social and The Smurfs and Co. came from.
[Source and Image Credit: Inside Social Games]
What do you think of the charts this month? Do you think these branded games will continue to upset the Facebook games world? Sound off in the comments. 1 Comment
If this doesn't stir the pot a bit in the Facebook gaming world, nothing will. But The Sims Social isn't the only new game to upset the charts and displace a few hit games. Zynga's The Pioneer Trail expansion hit the monthly chart just under The Sims Social in sixth place at a healthy 19.7 million players. Words with Friends, the Facebook version of the popular mobile game, released in August to over 11.5 million monthly players, while Ubisoft set The Smurfs and Co. loose to over 8.6 million rabid fans and hit 16th place.
The casualties for this month include August's last five spot holders: Treasure Isle, Zombie Lane, Happy Aquarium, Mall World and Crime City. These games weren't just displaced because of the influx of new games hitting top spots, but all five were already on a decline. This allowed new additions like the Bubble and Ninja Sagas in the 21 and 22 spots at 6.6 million and 6.2 million monthly players, respectively.
Top 25 Facebook Games September
But look more closely at this month's chart, and you'll notice that each and every one of these brand new games to upset the charts is backed by a massive, recognizable brand. Perhaps this is what it takes to disrupt the status quo in Facebook games. And with ambitious branded games like Dexter Slice of Life on the way, our guess is that you'll be seeing a lot more from where The Sims Social and The Smurfs and Co. came from.
[Source and Image Credit: Inside Social Games]
What do you think of the charts this month? Do you think these branded games will continue to upset the Facebook games world? Sound off in the comments. 1 Comment
Facebook Credits enter Asia, but what about Zynga Game Cards?
Now, it will be even easier for folks in southern Asia to waste money on buy virtual items in their favorite Facebook games. Facebook Credits, the platform's dominant currency, will enter several Asian markets through MOL, Asia's Internet services payment provider with over 600,000 locations.
The strategic partnership allows Asian Facebook gamers to purchase Facebook Credits online through MOLPoints, or what becomes of users' money when purchased, through a new MOLPoints application on Facebook. "MOL is committed to ensure that our consumers are able to acquire virtual currency for their digital lifestyle with safety and ease and we believe that this strong partnership with Facebook will continue MOL's momentum to provide highly effective monetization solutions for the social web." said MOL CEO Ganesh Kumar Bangah in a statement.
MOL says that it puts no surcharges on its MOLPoint transactions, which are conducted over a secure payment gateway. That's all well and good, but didn't Zynga just enter the same territory a few months back with the exact same company? Indeed, so what could this mean for the company's Game Cards? Judging from the wording in MOL's release (and the step-by-step guide on its website), this service will be online only.
This means that Zynga Game Cards would still be the go-to option for low-income families in Asia that can only buy in-game content with cash. Regardless, the news speaks volumes to the fact that Facebook gaming is huge in more places than just the U.S., Europe and Japan. And the social gaming scene can only grow from here.
Do you think southern Asia could become a power player in the social games world? And who do you think will gain dominance in the region: Zynga, DeNA, Gree ... or someone else? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment.
The strategic partnership allows Asian Facebook gamers to purchase Facebook Credits online through MOLPoints, or what becomes of users' money when purchased, through a new MOLPoints application on Facebook. "MOL is committed to ensure that our consumers are able to acquire virtual currency for their digital lifestyle with safety and ease and we believe that this strong partnership with Facebook will continue MOL's momentum to provide highly effective monetization solutions for the social web." said MOL CEO Ganesh Kumar Bangah in a statement.
MOL says that it puts no surcharges on its MOLPoint transactions, which are conducted over a secure payment gateway. That's all well and good, but didn't Zynga just enter the same territory a few months back with the exact same company? Indeed, so what could this mean for the company's Game Cards? Judging from the wording in MOL's release (and the step-by-step guide on its website), this service will be online only.
This means that Zynga Game Cards would still be the go-to option for low-income families in Asia that can only buy in-game content with cash. Regardless, the news speaks volumes to the fact that Facebook gaming is huge in more places than just the U.S., Europe and Japan. And the social gaming scene can only grow from here.
Do you think southern Asia could become a power player in the social games world? And who do you think will gain dominance in the region: Zynga, DeNA, Gree ... or someone else? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment.
Thứ Năm, 15 tháng 9, 2011
Vostu snags MP Game Studio, access to brands like Coca-Cola with it
Perhaps Vostu's sticky legal dispute with Zynga isn't so bad, after all. The Brazilian social game creator announced that it has acquired Buenos Aires, Argentina-based MP Game Studio for an undisclosed amount. MP Games has created social games for major (like, huge) brands including Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, Coca-Cola, Microsoft and National Geographic.
As part of the deal, MP Game Studio will become fully integrated into Vostu, with its employees to relocate to the new Vostu headquarters that just so happens to be located in Buenos Aires, too. And Vostu will hit the ground running with this buyout, expecting to release its first game from the deal over the next few weeks.
"Vostu is committed to creating entertaining social games for our growing user base of over 42 million registered users," Vostu COO Matias Recchia said in a release. "MP has been on the cutting edge of development of online games, working with the most well-known well respected companies and brands and we are excited to add them to our team of more than 550 dedicated, talented and passionate programmers, game designers and artists."
If you hadn't noticed, Vostu is pretty darn excited about not only the talent in MP, but the brands it works with. While it's certainly not our wildest guess, we're confident that Vostu will get into branded social games, thanks to this acquisition. Now, if Vostu has access to that particularly lucrative Coca-Cola license, can we finally get game with those adorable polar bears on Facebook?
Do you think this buyout will help Vostu compete even better in the global big leagues of social games? What brands do you hope Vostu takes advantage of as part of this purchase? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
As part of the deal, MP Game Studio will become fully integrated into Vostu, with its employees to relocate to the new Vostu headquarters that just so happens to be located in Buenos Aires, too. And Vostu will hit the ground running with this buyout, expecting to release its first game from the deal over the next few weeks.
"Vostu is committed to creating entertaining social games for our growing user base of over 42 million registered users," Vostu COO Matias Recchia said in a release. "MP has been on the cutting edge of development of online games, working with the most well-known well respected companies and brands and we are excited to add them to our team of more than 550 dedicated, talented and passionate programmers, game designers and artists."
If you hadn't noticed, Vostu is pretty darn excited about not only the talent in MP, but the brands it works with. While it's certainly not our wildest guess, we're confident that Vostu will get into branded social games, thanks to this acquisition. Now, if Vostu has access to that particularly lucrative Coca-Cola license, can we finally get game with those adorable polar bears on Facebook?
Do you think this buyout will help Vostu compete even better in the global big leagues of social games? What brands do you hope Vostu takes advantage of as part of this purchase? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
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