American Express is teaming with Zynga on a reward program that will link offline spending on its Serve pre-paid cards to in-game rewards in Farmville. It’s an ambitious attempt at boosting the reach of AmEx’s Serve product and tying real-world spending to online virtual rewards. Read More »
Tech
Berlin-based developer Wooga, whose gem-clearing game has already made it one of the most successful Facebook app-makers, says the linked-up iOS version has seen 11 million downloads so far. Read More »
What Zynga acquired from OMGPOP isn’t just a hit game or the team that built it. It’s not buying ad or sales revenue from Draw Something users. What Zynga’s really buying is a huge engaged audience that it can funnel into its other social gaming properties. Read More »
The good thing about being a parent is that it’s okay to be an old fart. Your kids will keep up with tech, and they’re already exploring it in fundamentally different ways. Observe them closely, and you’ll learn quite a bit about the future of technology. Read More »
Zynga may be best known for its hit online and mobile games, but the company has its eye on a much bigger prize. On Tuesday, Zynga unveiled a major new “Zynga direct” platform — codenamed Project Z — showing that its ambition goes well beyond single … Read More »
6waves Lolapps, the newly-merged company that develops and publishes games for Facebook and other social networks, has launched a $10 million fund to invest in independent game developers. The 6L Fund is part of 6waves Lolapps’ play to become the”clear number two” to Zynga. Read More »
Social gaming giant Zynga is the subject of a new patent infringement lawsuit, the latest in a string of such claims. Now that Zynga is under a microscope as it moves toward an IPO, will its legal troubles be too much for potential investors to handle? Read More »
Zynga is expanding its mobile ambitions by apparently picking up New York City-based developer Astro Ape Studios. The gaming powerhouse, which is preparing to go public, has been increasingly looking to shore up its mobile efforts, which has not be as successful as its Facebook business. Read More »
As Google+ tries to compete with Facebook and Twitter, the prospect of social-media fatigue becomes a real possibility — and some argue that we are spending so much time amusing ourselves on these services we don’t have time for the real world. But is that true? Read More »
Google is cautiously optimistic about its roll out of games on Google+, calling it the first steps in an ambitious plan to turn the social network into a powerful platform. Google is content to move slowly as it builds for a bigger future for Google+. Read More »
Social game developer Lolapps has signed an agreement to merge with game publisher 6waves The newly combined company will have one major competitor in its sights: Zynga. “We’re going to be the clear number two in the space very quickly,” said Lolapps CEO Arjun Sethi. Read More »
Exent is launching the first subscription mobile gaming service for Android called GameTanium Mobile, which allows users to gain Netflix-style all-you-can eat access to more than 75 games for $4.99 a month. It’s another sign that gaming on Android is improving. Read More »