FarmVille for iPhone is faster than ever, but misses the point

Until recently, iOS has been a thorn in Zynga's side since it launched FarmVille on Apple's iPhone in June 2010. It was a brilliant concept at launch, but the game was nearly unplayable until the company finally released Version 2.0 this past March. Admittedly, it's still littered with loading bugs and out-of-sync errors are almost expected upon planting too many crops at once. But for every improvement and every glitch, Zynga is missing a golden opportunity with FarmVille for iOS.

For all intents and purposes, FarmVille for iPhone is a way to play the game when you're not in front of the computer screen. Unfortunately, what functionality the game does serve stops there. (Considering the amount of limitations dropped on you when playing on iPhone.) But even if Zynga were to introduce the ability to visit friends who don't play FarmVille on iOS, it still wouldn't be enough. Simply put, FarmVille for iOS, for being a social game, takes no advantages of being on a mobile device.

iPhone gamingThis is where Zynga would do well to take a cue from Nintendo and its 3DS, which through SpotPass and StreetPass can play games with nearby handhelds. The iPhone--and most smartphones, for that matter--have two unique advantages over standard PCs: being extremely mobile and aware of their surroundings. The latter means that through technologies like geo-location or even Bluetooth, devices like the iPhone can recognize and report their exact location in reference to their surroundings, most notably other phones. Just look at iPhone apps like Bump, which uses Bluetooth to find other devices nearby and shares contact information. Is there any reason why FarmVille for iPhone couldn't use the same technology?

Of course it would be a difficult feat, but not really. A scenario: You're waiting in line at mall to buy that hot new shirt you just picked up on clearance. Like any self-respecting FarmVille fan, you pop out the iPhone and start playing only to be greeted with a pop-up that reads "There are three farmers near you right now. Would you like to become their friend?" You click "Accept" and then check off the names of those nearby to add them as Facebook friends. Seconds later, you're visiting their farm and fertilizing their crops before it's even your turn in line.

Better yet, you're on the train and, while playing FarmVille, you receive a pop-up message that reads, "Calling all nearby farmers! My Chickens need to be fed! Can you help me?" Mind you, this player in need isn't even your friend, but a nearby farmer used the Bluetooth or even 3G connection in their phone to broadcast a message to nearby FarmVille players. You can help them just that once and be done with it or it could spark a conversation, and hopefully a new friendship (beyond Facebook, of course). This was the original goal of PC-based social games, no?

FarmVille for iPad
Developers and players alike have been crying out for a more organically social experience through Facebook games. Well, here it is folks. Connecting with those immediately around you is about as organic as social gets, but this is impossible in not only FarmVille for iOS, but all Zynga games for mobile devices. So, what are we waiting for? Organic social connections through Facebook gaming simply isn't happening on a wide scale through standard PCs and browsers. What's worse is that it likely never will given the immense profits sucked from the current model. Mobile is where social games will truly become social, and Zynga better hop on it fast before the horde of developers (in a distant second place) do.

[Image Credits: UTNE and AppAdvice]

Are you satisfied with FarmVille for iOS as is? Would you want to play it more if features like these were introduced to the game?

Planet Cazmo: Monster Battles enters MocoSpace's orbit on HTML5

HTML5 gaming is about to (hopefully) nail yet another landing. Boston, Mass.-based social game platform MocoSpace announced that developer Planet Cazmo will release its first HTML5-based social game, Monster Battles, this December. The game will debut to the 22 million gamers on the MocoSpace games platform with a bevy of unique creatures to enter the ring.

In Planet Cazmo: Monster Battles, players will capture, collect, trade and, most importantly, pit different creatures against one another in brutal (but probably adorable) combat with flashy powers. "We are thrilled to be working with MocoSpace and creating a new HTML5 mobile game title especially for their users," Planet Cazmo CEO Michael Levine said in a release."We believe that HTML5 is a great way to reach large numbers of gamers."

Of course, Planet Cazmo is far from alone. Zynga just made a big bet on HTML5-based social games with mobile web versions of FarmVille, Words With Friends and Zynga Poker. CrowdStar CEO Peter Relan made clear his goal of launching the first game to reach 1 billion players through the mobile web, and Wooga released an HTML5 version of its new Magic Land.

Mobile gaming is undoubtedly huge, but HTML5 games in mobile browsers have yet to reach the caliber of native mobile games. MocoSpace's confidence in Planet Cazmo's ability to put out a graphically-rich HTML5 is promising. But really, we just want to see the flashy powers in action.

What do you think of HTML5 social games in the mobile browser so far? Will HTML5 social games catch up with their superior native game counterparts?

PapayaMobile's mobile social game network gets friendly with iOS

OpenFeint and Mobage might want to watch out ... or get a delicious fruit in their logo somehow. Beijing-based PapayaMobile announced that it has expanded its mobile social game network from Android to iOS devices. iPhone and iPad game developers can now incorporate PapayaMobile into their game much like they would OpenFeint or Apple's Game Center.

But not only that, developers can create their own social games from scratch through PapayaMobile's Social Game Engine, and launch said games across both iOS and Android devices at once. PapayaMobile's social game network works across both iOS and Android. This means that if a mobile game uses PapayaMobile on both its iOS and Android versions, players can issue challenges, send game invitations, view leaderboards and more between both versions of the game.

PapayaMobile's main goal is to connect both Android and iOS gamers through a single network, something that can't be said for most mobile social game networks (well, aside from OpenFeint). Surely PapayaMobile hopes this cross-platform move will boost its player base of over 30 million. It looks like the mobile social games arena just met a new challenger.

Well, make that a few new challengers. The first games to hit iOS with PapayaMobile include X-City by Aidi Game, Contagion by 2Clams, and Burger Joint by Arctic Empire. Something tells us Facebook missed a golden opportunity with Connect.

Do you think there's room for another mobile social games network? Which network do you prefer using right now with your mobile games?

OpenFeint powers Chinese mobile social game network Game Zone

Google and the Chinese government have a ... tenuous relationship. And mobile social gaming, namely Android gaming, has suffered as a result. Amidst frequent shutouts of the official Android Market in China, Chinese game company The9 has announced Game Zone, an OpenFeint-powered mobile social game network and distribution channel.

Through Game Zone, Western mobile social game makers can hit Chinese mobile game audiences across 30 Android app stores other than the Android Market. The service was made possible by deals The9 made with all three major Chinese mobile carriers: China Mobile, China Unicom, and China Telecom. The deals also allow Game Zone to be preinstalled on Lenovo, HTC, and Motorola Android phones.

While The9 will fund smaller American and European Android game creators through the $100 million-strong Fund9, it's the big league creators that might benefit most from this. PopCap recently announced that Plants vs Zombies will shuffle toward Chinese audiences, which is joined by Rovio's Angry Birds. Several Zynga games have launched in China, and perhaps this opportunity will nudge similar moves by the social game giant on Android.

We often talk about how Japan's mobile social game companies are encroaching upon Western audiences. It looks like the inverse is happening in China, where Western mobile and social game makers are looking to tap into their audience. It makes you wonder why Chinese game companies have yet to try the same at such a scale.

Would Western game companies be smart to enter China through products like Game Zone? When, if ever, will Chinese social game companies push as hard into the West as Japanese companies?