Old MacDonald Ain’t the Only One with a Farm
“Making hay while the sun shines” was a popular saying in the farming world of yesteryear. These days it may even be as popular. If you don’t harvest those crops FarmVille might let them wither and die.
Zynga’s FarmVille is one of the biggest draws on Facebook. Planting, tending, watering and harvesting virtual crops so that bigger and bigger farm plots and homes can be achieved. FarmVille is not the only plot that has been harvesting crops. There are several others. Farm Town, Happy Farm, Country Story, Barn Buddy and Sunshine Ranch each have their stake in the virtual gardening/farming realm.
Young and old, everyone seems to like playing role playing games (RPG). People who don’t like first person shooter games (FPS) or other darker RPG like World of Warcraft, enjoy playing FarmVille. Rather than getting extra powers with cloaks and daggers, players get fertilizer,special crops and picket fences.
Along with the responsibility of growing crops and tending to livestock, users can link family members and friends into neighboring farms. This way the social aspect is multiplied as neighbors can visit and help with the chores and exchange gifts.
Its not all fun and games for FarmVille developer Zynga who reportedly brought in more than $200 million in 2009. The developers have monetized on the upgrades. Frivolous add-ons like a simple garden scarecrow, priced at around $5, can cost users real money. Buying them is made easy with the secure payment with a credit card or PayPal account.
Where ever there is a success there is a parody. Copy cat games such as Jungle Extreme and Farm Villain have spawned to spoil the good natured growing medium. With these knockoffs the game expects the users to steal other people’s crops or eat random bugs.
I’m certainly tired of the games but it is a fascinating situation. Apparently, Zynga is second only to Ebay in PayPal transactions. Very interesting article in a recent edition of Business Week http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/10_18/b4176047835883.htm .