Zynga revamps hit 'Words With Friends' game

SAN FRANCISCO - Pioneering social games maker Zynga on Thursday launched a new version of "Words With Friends" as the company strives to regain its footing in the mobile device age.

The revamped application, marking the game's fifth anniversary, has several new features including solo play offline and a dictionary for learning words, Zynga said in a statement.

The game, which is akin to Scrabble, has become the top free game of all time at Apple's online App Store, Zynga said, and the title is billed as the world's most popular mobile word puzzle, with some 55 million matches happening at any time.

The "Words With Friends" upgrade comes as Zynga's new chief executive Don Mattrick tries to revive the company that leapt to stardom with games tailored for Facebook but was knocked off stride by a shift to play on mobile devices.

Zynga in August vowed to perform better, as its reported losses widened and revenues sank in the second quarter.

The loss for the quarter deepened to $62.5 million, compared with a deficit of $15.8 million in the same period a year ago.

Revenues dropped sharply to $153 million in the three months ending June 30, from $230 million a year earlier.

The San Francisco company recently announced a new line of sports games under the brand "Zynga Sports 365."

Zynga said it signed a licensing deal with the National Football League and NFL Players Inc. to use real NFL teams and athletes, as well as a multi-year partnership with Tiger Woods for golf-themed games expected to debut on mobile devices in 2015.

Zynga has also announced a deal with Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment to license the Looney Tunes brand for mobile games, expected to be launched later this year.

"We are further diversifying our product portfolio in order to reach more consumers and widen our demographic across more entertainment genres," Mattrick said during an earnings call.

More than 7.7 billion "Words With Friends" games have been played, with the top five scoring cities listed as Makati, Philippines; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Kingston, Jamaica; Singapore, and the Northern California coastal city of Santa Cruz.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Zynga seeks new harvest with mobile FarmVille

SAN FRANCISCO -- Social games pioneer Zynga on Thursday released a version of the hit "FarmVille" tailored for smartphones and tablets in the hope of reaping a bumper crop of players.

The San Francisco-based game maker set on its heels by a shift away from desktop computers is out to regain momentum with the mobile-format "Farmville 2: Country Escape" for iPhone, iPad and Android devices.

"Just as the original 'FarmVille' created a global phenomena when it launched, we expect the same from 'Country Escape,'" game general manager Jamie Davies told AFP while providing an early glimpse at the title.

The original "FarmVille" will mark its fifth anniversary in June. More than 400 million people around the world have played the game, which has brought in more than a billion dollars in revenue for Zynga.

"FarmVille really put social gaming on the map," Davies said. "It has stood the test of time."

The new mobile version of the game was released globally in more than dozen languages.

Since tens of millions of people still play "FarmVille" with friends at Facebook, the mobile version connects back to the leading social network.

It also connects with Facebook rival Google+.

However, the mobile version of the game gives people the option of playing FarmVille without friends for the first time in the franchise, according to Zynga vice president of games Jonathan Knight.

FarmVille is essentially what it sounds like, in that players feed livestock, nurture crops, craft goods and virtually tend to other aspects of country life.

In the mobile version, "we've added more ways for players to team up together, help each other out and even compete," Davies said.

Bite-sized play

Zynga has made a priority of adapting games for lifestyles increasingly centered on smartphones and tablets. The new game takes advantage of touch-screen controls and play made bite-size to pop into spare moments in daily routines.

"We know people like to pull their phone out while in line at grocery store and fire up the game, quickly accomplish a goal and put the phone away again," Knight said.

Zynga in January bought mobile game and animation firm NaturalMotion for $527 million in a fresh reboot effort for the struggling social games pioneer.

Chief executive Don Mattrick said at the time that Zynga had in place a solid foundation for growth and was "excited" about playing competitively in the mobile arena.

Mattrick, who took over last year from co-founder Mark Pincus, said the company's Casino program with real-money gaming, and its Words With Friends game, were starting to deliver results.

Zynga rose to stardom by tailoring games for Facebook, but the two firms have grown apart as Facebook develops new revenue streams and Zynga seeks new consumers.

"We are really focused on growth and creating new hits on mobile," Davies said.

The new game is free to play, but people can spend money to speed up progress or for special farm items. Players can also form virtual co-ops and help one another out.

"People will always love growing and nurturing and taking care of virtual living things," Davies said of the enduring appeal of FarmVille.

"The game is designed to be a place were our players can escape to for ever if they want to."

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com