Joystiq http://www.joystiq.com Joystiq http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/http://www.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif Joystiq http://www.joystiq.com en-us Copyright 2013 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[Zynga with Friends' Paul and David Bettner leave Zynga]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2012/10/05/zynga-with-friends-paul-and-david-bettner-leave-zynga/http://www.joystiq.com/2012/10/05/zynga-with-friends-paul-and-david-bettner-leave-zynga/http://www.joystiq.com/2012/10/05/zynga-with-friends-paul-and-david-bettner-leave-zynga/#comments Words with Friends' Paul and David Bettner leave ZyngaBrothers Paul and David Bettner, best known for coming up with Words with Friends, have left Zynga. The duo are the latest high-profile departures from Zynga following vacancies left by CCO Mike Verdu and COO John Schappert.

"We are still very excited about the future and feel like we are at the beginning," Paul Bettner told Gamesbeat during a phone interview. Neither would comment on why they chose to leave Zynga nor would they comment on their time at the company.

The duo originally came on board with Zynga when the company purchased their Texas-based studio Newtoy, effectively rebranding it Zynga With Friends. Before the Zynga acquisition, the Bettners had previously helped ship Halo Wars at developer Ensemble Studios before its closure.

JoystiqZynga with Friends' Paul and David Bettner leave Zynga originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 05 Oct 2012 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>androidchess-with-friendsdavid-bettnerhanging-with-friendsiosipadiphonemacmobilepaul-bettnerpcwords-with-friendszyngazynga-with-friendsFri, 05 Oct 2012 13:30:00 EST<![CDATA[Hasbro's Zynga board games now available, paradoxical]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2012/10/04/hasbros-zynga-board-games-now-available-paradoxical/http://www.joystiq.com/2012/10/04/hasbros-zynga-board-games-now-available-paradoxical/http://www.joystiq.com/2012/10/04/hasbros-zynga-board-games-now-available-paradoxical/#comments Hasbro's Zynga board games now available, paradoxicalLest you hadn't heard, Hasbro and Zynga recently teamed up to create board game versions of its popular video games. That includes a CityVille-themed version of Monopoly, a weird mash-up of FarmVille and Hungry Hungry Hippos, and Draw Something (the board game mechanics of which should be self-explanatory).

Bizarrely, the collection also includes a board game version of Words with Friends. Words with Friends is often cited as being very similar - practically to the point of infringement - to Scrabble, the classic word game published by ... Hasbro. Just to reiterate: this is the board game version of a video game version of a different board game published by a company that should be, in theory, a competitor.

Try not to let your head explode.

Continue reading Hasbro's Zynga board games now available, paradoxical

JoystiqHasbro's Zynga board games now available, paradoxical originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 04 Oct 2012 04:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>board-gamescityvilledraw-somethingfarmvillehasbroscrabblewords-with-friendszyngaThu, 04 Oct 2012 04:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Words with Friends charity game pits Edward Norton vs Snoop Lion]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2012/09/26/words-with-friends-charity-game-pits-edward-norton-vs-snoop-lion/http://www.joystiq.com/2012/09/26/words-with-friends-charity-game-pits-edward-norton-vs-snoop-lion/http://www.joystiq.com/2012/09/26/words-with-friends-charity-game-pits-edward-norton-vs-snoop-lion/#comments Words with Friends charity game pits Edward Norton vs Snoop Lion, othersEdward Norton, Snoop Lion (formerly Dogg), Kristen Bell and five other really popular people are taking part in the Words with Friends Celebrity Challenge, which will give $500,000 to a charity chosen by the winning celebrity. The Celebrity Challenge begins tomorrow at 2 p.m. ET with a Words with Friends match between Snoop Lion and Jonah Hill, streaming live with commentary.

Participating famous people are Kristen Bell, Sophia Bush, Jonah Hill, John Legend, Snoop Lion, Eva Longoria, Edward Norton and Paul Pierce. Anyone can join any of these "teams" and be entered for a chance to play a game against that celebrity.

For what it's worth, Edward Norton is supremely confident that he'll win for his charity, the Maasai Wilderness Conservation Fund. His first round is against Paul Pierce, captain of the Boston Celtics, who is playing for his own charity, The Truth Fund.

"I think it's great that he has a cause he supports, and I hope the amount he gets from just the first round is going to make him happy because I don't think it's going to go past there," Norton tells The AP. Norton is most concerned about playing against Snoop Lion, citing his experience with wordplay. Norton also lived and worked in Osaka, Japan, after graduating Yale University in 1991, since you seem interested.

JoystiqWords with Friends charity game pits Edward Norton vs Snoop Lion originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 26 Sep 2012 22:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>celebritycharitymobilepcwords-with-friendsZyngaWed, 26 Sep 2012 22:30:00 EST<![CDATA[Zynga and Hasbro make CityVille Monopoly, more, for when you're board]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2012/08/05/zynga-and-hasbro-make-cityville-monopoly-more-for-when-youre/http://www.joystiq.com/2012/08/05/zynga-and-hasbro-make-cityville-monopoly-more-for-when-youre/http://www.joystiq.com/2012/08/05/zynga-and-hasbro-make-cityville-monopoly-more-for-when-youre/#comments Zynga making board game versions of its online gamesPretty soon your mom won't need the computer to get her Words with Friends fix. The Zynga and Hasbro partnership will bear its first fruit this fall, when board game adaptations of CityVille, Words with Friends, Farmville and Draw Something hit retail, ABC reports.

CityVille Monopoly will be available in October for $24.99. It's a version of the Hasbro classic where players are tasked with building skycrapers instead of houses and hotels, and the first player to build four skyscrapers wins. Hungry Hungry Herd also releases in October, for $22.99, and is Hasbro's interpretation of FarmVille - it's just Hungry Hungry Hippos without the hippos.

Words with Friends will be available in two flavors this October and will play exactly the same as the online game, in the standard, $19.99 edition and a deluxe $39.99 edition with a rotating board. Not much is known on the fourth and final game, an adaptation of OMGPOP's Draw Something, which Zynga acquired for $200 million back in March. The board game adaptation of Draw Something is planned for late October/early November and will likely play a lot like Pictionary.

JoystiqZynga and Hasbro make CityVille Monopoly, more, for when you're board originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 05 Aug 2012 23:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>board-gamescityville-monopolydraw-somethinghasbrohungry-hungry-herdhungry-hungry-hipposmonopolywords-with-friendszyngaSun, 05 Aug 2012 23:30:00 EST<![CDATA[Zynga Platform launches in open beta]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2012/03/06/zyngas-platform-launches-in-open-beta/http://www.joystiq.com/2012/03/06/zyngas-platform-launches-in-open-beta/http://www.joystiq.com/2012/03/06/zyngas-platform-launches-in-open-beta/#comments Well, that was fast. Just days after announcing its Zynga Platform, the casual and social games giant has revealed Zynga Platform is now available in open beta form. Like, you can go to Zynga.com right now and play some games. As of writing this post, 1.6 million people are currently doing just that.

Some functionality isn't live right now, but if you're a seasoned player, you'll find your progress there waiting for you on Zynga Platform. You can set up a Zynga profile, add some zFriends (ugh) and chat, and play any of the five games available: CastleVille, Words with Friends, CityVille, Hidden Chronicles and Zynga Poker.

JoystiqZynga Platform launches in open beta originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 06 Mar 2012 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>castlevillecityvillehidden-chroniclesmacpcwords-with-friendszyngazynga-platformzynga-pokerTue, 06 Mar 2012 17:30:00 EST<![CDATA[Hasbro and Zynga make a deal, toys and games incoming]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2012/02/11/hasbro-and-zynga-make-a-deal-toys-and-games-incoming/http://www.joystiq.com/2012/02/11/hasbro-and-zynga-make-a-deal-toys-and-games-incoming/http://www.joystiq.com/2012/02/11/hasbro-and-zynga-make-a-deal-toys-and-games-incoming/#comments Hasbro has struck a deal with Zynga to produce toys and games based on the social developer's catalogue of rich, nuanced IPs, which is great news if you've ever found yourself wishing you could somehow continue to give Zynga all of your money, even when you're away from your computer and smartphone.

Now, Hasbro's definition of "games" is more board-oriented than Zynga's, and while the licensing arrangement allows for "co-branded merchandise," it doesn't allow Zynga to make games based on Hasbro brands. The first products will hit store shelves sometime this fall, and while no specifics toys or board games have been announced we've got a feeling that My Little Ponyville and Ouija With Friends aren't that unlikely.

Continue reading Hasbro and Zynga make a deal, toys and games incoming

JoystiqHasbro and Zynga make a deal, toys and games incoming originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 11 Feb 2012 01:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>board-gamesfarmvillehasbromy-little-ponyouijaouija-boardtoyswords-with-friendszyngaSat, 11 Feb 2012 01:45:00 EST<![CDATA[Apple removes dozens of clone games from App Store]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2012/02/06/apple-removes-dozens-of-clone-games-from-app-store/http://www.joystiq.com/2012/02/06/apple-removes-dozens-of-clone-games-from-app-store/http://www.joystiq.com/2012/02/06/apple-removes-dozens-of-clone-games-from-app-store/#commentsApple has removed 59 copycat games from its App Store, including Temple Run lookalike Temple Jump, Words with Friends contender Numbers with Friends, Angry Birds clones Tiny Birds and Angry Ninja Birds, and the self explanatory Plant vs. Zombie. All of the offending clones were developed by Anton Sinelnikov.

Temple Jump, specifically, had achieved incredible success on the App Store, surpassing its source material to reach the number 1 spot on the paid Apps list. "This was really upsetting to us and damaging to our brand, because we work really hard to put out very high quality polished games and win the love of our fans," said Natalia Luckyanova, co-founder of Temple Run dev Imangi, during an interview with Gamasutra. "We don't want them to think that we would put out crap to steal a dollar from them."

This App Store raid comes roughly one week after Triple Town developer Spry Fox sued 6Waves LOLAPPS over Yeti Town, another aggressively similar iOS title. We like to imagine Apple Store employees rappelling from the ceiling of a dank, filthy warehouse, shooting iPod Nanos out of high-powered slingshots with extreme prejudice.

JoystiqApple removes dozens of clone games from App Store originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 06 Feb 2012 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Angry-BirdsAppleclonecopycatcounterfeitiosipadiphonemacmobileTemple-JumpTemple-Runwords-with-friendsMon, 06 Feb 2012 12:30:00 EST<![CDATA[Zynga reports record quarterly revenue, profits still down year-over-year]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2011/11/06/zynga-reports-record-quarterly-revenue-profits-still-down-year/http://www.joystiq.com/2011/11/06/zynga-reports-record-quarterly-revenue-profits-still-down-year/http://www.joystiq.com/2011/11/06/zynga-reports-record-quarterly-revenue-profits-still-down-year/#comments Never underestimate the addictive power of microtransaction infused farms, apparently, as Zynga has disclosed a record quarter for the period between July 1 and September 30: Over $306 million, an 80 percent increase in revenue over that same period in 2010. The social megalith attributes the increase in revenue to the successful launches of Adventure World and the Facebook version of Words with Friends, which took place during this quarter.

Revenue is a very different beast than profit, however, where Zynga continues to decline. Following a 95 percent year-over-year profit decrease in Q2, the SEC filing shows a 54 percent decrease year-over-year in Q3 after a total of $12.5 million in net profits.

Hey Zynga, want a tip? It's on the house: Monetize letter tiles in Words with Friends. We'll pay you fifteen dollars to get rid of "MXLCZDL."

JoystiqZynga reports record quarterly revenue, profits still down year-over-year originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 06 Nov 2011 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>adventure-worldfacebookfarmvillemacmobilepcprofitsQ3recordrevenuewords-with-friendszyngaSun, 06 Nov 2011 16:30:00 EST<![CDATA[Words with Friends coming to Facebook]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2011/08/01/words-with-friends-coming-to-facebook/http://www.joystiq.com/2011/08/01/words-with-friends-coming-to-facebook/http://www.joystiq.com/2011/08/01/words-with-friends-coming-to-facebook/#comments What's the pleasure in absolutely humiliating your friends and family in a battle of verbal wits if you have no way of flaunting your spelling superiority to your other friends and family? Zynga has announced a perfect new channel for you to broadcast your Words with Friends victories: Facebook, which will receive its own version of the Scrabble-like application, complete with the social networking features you've come to expect from the platform.

No release date has been announced for the wildly popular mobile title's port, though Kotaku reports that when it does launch, it will be completely compatible with Words with Friends players on iOS and Android smartphones. Personally, we think Facebook players would have a distinct advantage in this scenario, considering they can have the Scrabulizer open with a single, dishonest click.

JoystiqWords with Friends coming to Facebook originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 01 Aug 2011 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>facebookpcscrabblesocial-networkingwords-with-friendszyngaZynga-With-FriendsMon, 01 Aug 2011 15:30:00 EST<![CDATA[Zynga and Lady Gaga partnering up once more, opening GagaVille]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2011/05/11/zynga-and-lady-gaga-partnering-up-once-more-opening-gagaville/http://www.joystiq.com/2011/05/11/zynga-and-lady-gaga-partnering-up-once-more-opening-gagaville/http://www.joystiq.com/2011/05/11/zynga-and-lady-gaga-partnering-up-once-more-opening-gagaville/#comments Back in March, the ridiculously named pair of Lady Gaga and Zynga formed a union to donate funds for Japanese disaster relief; a goal they accomplished to the tune of $3 million. Yesterday, they announced a new partnership to raise money for Lady Gaga and Zynga, which entails the May 17 opening of "GagaVille" -- a neighboring region to FarmVille that features unicorns, crystals and an early chance to listen to unreleased tracks from the stylish songstylist's upcoming album, "Born this Way."

Other promotions include a free download voucher for the album included with every $25 Zynga gift card sold at Best Buy, a Words with Friends contest to snag Gaga merch, and a handful of Gaga-themed items added to the RewardVille storefront. Now, if you don't mind, we're going to print off this article, throw it in a time capsule and bury it in our yard, because in 50 years we're pretty sure most of the words we've used so far are going to be hilariously nonsensical.

Continue reading Zynga and Lady Gaga partnering up once more, opening GagaVille

JoystiqZynga and Lady Gaga partnering up once more, opening GagaVille originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 11 May 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>farmvillefrontiervillelady-gagapcrewardvillewords-with-friendszyngaWed, 11 May 2011 11:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Apple reveals 2010's most popular iOS games]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2010/12/11/apple-reveals-2010s-most-popular-ios-games/http://www.joystiq.com/2010/12/11/apple-reveals-2010s-most-popular-ios-games/http://www.joystiq.com/2010/12/11/apple-reveals-2010s-most-popular-ios-games/#comments Do not adjust your computer monitors, friends -- you might think they're acting up, considering how many times the words "Angry Birds" are about to be repeated after the jump. It's not a deja vu-like glitch in the Matrix; Rovio's poultry-flinging casual game made its way into nearly every category of Apple's recently released rankings for the most popular iOS games of the year. These lists are split into the most downloaded free apps, top selling paid apps and top grossing paid apps on the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad -- check them all out after the jump.

Unfortunately, these lists are ranked alphabetically instead of by actual downloads, but considering some of the repeated victors include Plants vs. Zombies, Bejeweled 2+ Blitz and Words with Friends, we think we can accurately fudge the numbers: They were all downloaded a spajillion times.

Continue reading Apple reveals 2010's most popular iOS games

JoystiqApple reveals 2010's most popular iOS games originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 11 Dec 2010 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>angry-birdsappappleiosipadiphonemobileplants-vs-zombieswords-with-friendsSat, 11 Dec 2010 11:30:00 EST<![CDATA[iPhone dev cheers short development, quick patching at GDC Online]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2010/10/06/iphone-dev-cheers-short-development-quick-patching-at-gdc-onlin/http://www.joystiq.com/2010/10/06/iphone-dev-cheers-short-development-quick-patching-at-gdc-onlin/http://www.joystiq.com/2010/10/06/iphone-dev-cheers-short-development-quick-patching-at-gdc-onlin/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Vijay Thakkar is the technical director at Newtoy, the company responsible for iPhone hit Words with Friends, as well as a former developer on Star Wars: Galaxies and at the late Ensemble Studios. He took the stage at GDC Online 2010 this morning to run a panel about how to embrace mobile gaming, and while extolling the virtues of Apple's mobile platform and its constant online connectivity, he took aim at the traditional game industry's long development times and buggy releases.

Thakkar railed for a bit on a bug found recently in the latest title of his "favorite gaming franchise ever," Metroid: Other M. When the save-breaking bug appeared in the game, Thakkar recounted, Nintendo couldn't use the Wii's internet connectivity to patch the game. Instead, Thakkar pointed out, the company had to "ask players to 'send us your memory card.'"

"That's awful," Thakkar added. It's 2010, he said, developers should have ongoing access to update and patch their games when necessary, and he pointed to the iPhone as a platform where games could be released and patched quickly. "At Newtoy, we've completed full games in less time than it took me to design systems for older triple-A titles."

This agility means that developers can not only fix bugs quickly after launch, but they can also prototype new ideas ridiculously fast (Thakkar said that Newtoy had created one internal test game in just two workdays). Plus, this business model lends itself to filling in and growing features according to player demand after release -- something that a lot of big, lumbering developers haven't figured out how to do yet.

JoystiqiPhone dev cheers short development, quick patching at GDC Online originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 06 Oct 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>developergdc-online-2010iphoneMetroid-Other-Mmobilenewtoynintendopatchupdatewiiwords-with-friendsWed, 06 Oct 2010 14:00:00 EST