EA, Playfish developing 'the hell out of SimCity' for Facebook [Report]

Hey, if The Sims Social struck gold, it only makes sense at this point. Business Insider reports, citing nameless sources, that a China-based Playfish team has suspended all other projects to "develop the hell out of SimCity" for Facebook. Of course, the idea is that the second place developer is doing so to go toe-to-toe directly with CityVille, the number one game on Facebook.

Zynga's city-builder has held the top spot on Facebook for over a year, and EA is reportedly doing everything in its power to dethrone the king of social games. According to Business Insider, multiple sources within the company say that SimCity has been in development for over a year, around the same time that Zynga started work on CityVile. But when the game broke every record in the book over the past year, EA had no choice but to ramp up work on SimCity.

At the time, Zynga had more time and resources to pour into CityVille than EA did with SimCity, which had "doubled down" on The Sims Social. Since the game has now proven itself, putting a dent into Zynga's then spotless lineup, the veteran games publisher has placed a laser focus on the social iteration of game designer Will Wright's masterpiece.

According to the news outlet, Playfish's Norway and San Francisco teams are working on entirely new games for EA. And yes, it's OK to be more excited by that rumor than yet another city-builder. This better be good.

[Via IndustryGamers]

Are you excited by the thought of SimCity hitting Facebook? Do you think it could give CityVille a run for its (boatloads of) money?

Toyota Prius parks in EA's Monopoly Millionaires for one year

Toyota Prius Monopoly Millionaires
Your next free gift in Monopoly Millionaires could be ... a new car! More specifically, a digital Toyota Prius thanks a 12-month partnership between Toyota, EA and the game's developer, Playfish. Both the ubiquitous green car and the Toyota Prius Eco-Greenhouse, re-imaginations of two original Monopoly pieces, will be available as free gifts in Monopoly Millionaires for the next year. Players can then use these items on their own game boards.

"Monoply and Toyota are two iconic brands and I'm delighted to help bring them together," said Joy Taylor, EA's Global Director of Marketing Solutions. "Toyota, and Prius in particular, has a huge, devoted following that will get genuine value out of this partnership. We're connecting one of the world's most loved cars, with one of the world's most loved games, on the world's largest social media platform. It's very exciting."

They sure got the huge following thing right. The Prius is arguably the most popular hybrid out there and has been featured in every TV show imaginable, including South Park with its scathing if lude wit. Well, enjoy being eco-conscious for the next 12 months. This promotion might not make players rush out to buy the $23 thousand car, but maybe it will remind you to turn off the faucet while brushing your teeth or turn off a light every once in a while.

Have you decorated your game board in eco-friendly items yet? What do you think of this in-game promotion lasting for 12 months?

Is EA bringing Need for Speed to Facebook?

EA reported recently in an earnings call to investors that its 'digital service' games revenue skyrocketed 46 percent to $211 million and its net income boosted fivefold from $30 million to a whopping $151 million compared to last year. However, as Inside Social Games reports, "digital service" games covers a swathe of properties--not just its Facebook games. Regardless, the company teased that it has 15 more "digital service" games in beta testing, which includes a potential social adaptation of its hit racing franchise, Need for Speed.

As for the other 14 mysterious games, not all of them necessarily have to be on Facebook, as EA's use of the phrase "digital service" games covers its 3D browser adaptations of franchises like PGA Golf and FIFA Soccer. But according to the company, the FIFA franchise alone raised a sweet $100 million in revenue, though how much of that is thanks to FIFA Superstars for Facebook isn't clear.

Speaking of which, just how well is EA doing on Facebook? Well, the company still sits in third place behind Badoo (a dating app) and the immovable Zynga with 34.5 million monthly players across all of its social games, according to AppData. That's only a hair above CrowdStar's 31 million, but miles ahead of Playdom's paltry 21.7 million. However, that number is boosted by 27 games that don't even reach 1 million monthly players, with Playfish's Pet Society sitting pretty at number one with 9.5 million players.

In comparison to those below it, EA and Playfish seem to be doing just fine, and they're not far from claiming the coveted second place slot. (Though, in the social games space, they're already there.) It sure is enough to keep Playfish afloat, who drives most of EA's revenue, so don't worry about Pet Society going anywhere. What we should worry about, however, are these 14 other games that EA is waving in our faces.

Considering EA's recent partnership with Hasbro to bring Monopoly Millionaires to Facebook, we could very well see more games come of that. Board game adaptations seem to do well on Facebook, so why not bring in even deeper games like Risk or Trivial Pursuit? How about Twister?

Would you play Need for Speed on Facebook? What other games do you think EA is brewing up on the platform?

Internet safety expert accuses The Sims Social of promoting cybersex

While playing the game, players can build asynchronous relationships with one another that can quickly grow into romantic relationships. Ultimately, those relationships will draw the players' avatars closer and can result in them having Woo-Hoo. And like any social activity in the game, players are rewarded Social Points for this that they can use to buy new items.

The Sims Social beats FarmVille, attracts second most daily players

Boy, people sure do love to play god. According to Appdata, The Sims Social has surpassed Zynga's iconic FarmVille with the second most daily players of any Facebook game. Since its launch just a month ago today, EA and Playfish's ambitious social rendition of The Sims has amassed over 9.3 million daily players--that's over 1 million more than FarmVille's 8.1 million.

The Sims Social still has a way to go to the number one spot, which is, of course, held by Zynga's most popular game CityVille at just under 14 million daily players. Regardless, it's unprecedented for a game to grow this quickly in daily players, at least for a game that wasn't built by Zynga. Not to mention this is despite the hiccups the game faced along the way including days worth of downtime.

So, that's the power of The Sims, huh? Well, not so fast. While The Sims Social has certainly showed its might when it comes to gripping players (and keeping them there ... so far), the game is still in fourth place in terms of monthly players at just over 34.3 million. This number could grow in time naturally as daily players spread the word and through advertising, but it's nevertheless telling of the limits a Facebook game faces when it doesn't have a massive existing player base, like Zynga's games.

In other words, EA and Playfish have quite a lot of work ahead of them, if they want The Sims Social to be on top in all regards. But judging from the game's performance thus far despite its early setbacks--and in the face of the most popular Facebook games to date--perhaps Simlish could become the dominant language in Facebook gaming.

Have you been one of the over 9 million locked into The Sims Social? What do you think of the game so far? Share with us in the comments.Add Comment