Farmville publisher Zynga could be about to gamble its entire future on the devotion of its users.
It appears something of a bust-up is brewing between Facebook and Zynga; one which could see the company leave Facebook for good.
The story, as first reported by TechCrunch, goes that Zynga is gearing up to move all its games away from Facebook to a service called Zynga Live. The reason? An attempt to end Zynga’s reliance on Facebook. Zynga is currently vulnerable to any changes Facebook chooses to make to its platform, a fact which makes the company’s astronomical valuations ($5 billion, anyone?) shaky.
Zynga’s need to escape the clutches of Facebook is made all the more urgent by Facebook forcing its own ‘Facebook Credits’ virtual currency on companies like Zynga, and taking a 30% cut of transactions in the process. Additionally, TechCrunch claims that relations between the two companies are getting strained:
“Facebook is trying to get Zynga to agree to a long term deal where Zynga remains primarily on the Facebook platform. During negotiations Facebook has taken some steps to punish Zynga, such as shutting off notifications for Farmville and other games, and Facebook has threatened, say multiple sources, to simply shut some of Zynga’s games down permanently.”
It’s a delicate situation for sure, but will we really see Farmville leave Facebook? That’s down to a balance between two factors; what Zynga needs from a business point of view, and just how much change its users will tolerate.
On one hand, Zynga needs to prove that it’s not beholden to Facebook. It also needs to shake off the 30% cut Facebook is taking from transactions on the platform. In short, it needs to prove it can be a success on its own terms. Therefore, a departure from Facebook is a no brainer for Zynga.
The big question is Will Zynga’s users follow it away from Facebook? This is the gamble for Zynga. Games like Farmville are currently part of the “Facebook experience” for millions of people. In December last year we reported that the game had an astounding 69 million users on Facebook. While the game is addictive enough that some users would follow it wherever goes, is a Farmville away from Facebook really as compelling as one that takes place with within it?
I’d argue that many users enjoy Farmville so much because they can play it inside Facebook, with an IM bar to chat to their friends at the bottom of the screen and easy access to their social news feed and the rest of the bells and whistles that make Facebook such a well-rounded social destination. Farmville is just a fun part of the mix.
It’s a subtle distinction, but I’d argue that many Farmville players are happy to be seen as a “Facebook user with a farm” but wouldn’t want to be a “Facebook user who is also a gamer at Zynga Live”. While Zynga could use the Open Graph protocol to integrate some of the Facebook experience into Zynga Live (as it does already if you play the game at Farmville.com), it’s a still a huge gamble to assume that users will want to make that jump away from Facebook to keep playing.
The pure business case for Zynga to leave Facebook seems huge but when it comes to its users, it really could be “Betting the farm”.
Ok, whatever happens, Facebook still wins. But for Zynga, the major decider is exactly how well it makes the transition. Losing millions of users, even if you’re still left with a few million is still a massive loss.
Will be interesting to see the reverse of what Scrabulous (now Lexulous) did (started as an independent site off fB platform and only getting a huge audience, and attention from Hasbro, with their fB app) occur and if it works. As ridiculous as I find the Farmville sensation, I think nearly all my friends play it and I’m curious to ask if they’ll play it off fB.
Farmville is the main reason most of my friends go on Facebook longer than 2 minutes on the main page. Without warning, Facebook kicked me off, accusing me of impersonating …MYSELF! I am from showbiz and have a stage name. FB defended saying that NO ONE is allowed to use a nick name….oh please..does FB think we’re that stupid? Does every William who’s called Bill, and every Robert who’s called Bob going to be punished? FB wants to start charging….possibly as high as $14.99 a month…and without the gaming proceeds, they will have to. They are the only company in it’s category that has no contact numbers, makes bad decisions, then says things like, well….we have too many members to have contact numbers…Hmmmm, we can still call the IRS can’t we? They break their own rules. Now, about the over $100.00 I have used to enhance my Farm since a friend started it for me only 2 weeks prior to this fiasco, I get nothing. When I asked to have a time to retrieve messages and contact information for my friends, scattered around the globe as I worked in Circus and show biz throughout my life, they denied it. I believe estranged family members who already have anti-harasment orders against them for hurting me…made up some wild story and FB kicked me off…no regard for my rights to have this brought before a Judge as it is a violation of my Court Order. I had numerous e-mails from advocates, Doctors, freinds, family, organizations write to FB…they don’t care. I have performed in benefits for Autism at State wide levels and have even been in contact with Senators leading the way to get Autism and Asperger’s included in Health care reform. I am in Who’s Who as a ‘great humanitarian….still doesn’t matter. FB would allow people to hurt me, against a Court Order if it is who I believe it to be. To what end? Lying hurtful people can gloat as a person using FB for respite…I am also disabled, as are my sons, and homebound…and FB allowed me a way to do research, network with parents, and yes, spend a little time and unwind on the farm, I love my friends and family on FB, but now, knowing that if FB were to close, another forum would quickly take it’s place…I hope FB loses the farm…and I do mean that both ways.
It’s a dictatorship without a face, phone numbers, honesty, integrity and compassion.
I will be on Farmville wherever they go as will everyone else, and FB will be greatly surprised at how little they are needed.
BRAVO and KUDOS to ZYNGA…they have a face, customer support with very nice people, great games, and a prosperous brilliant future,
I hope they leave FB today!!
Zynga, I await your split and will follow you. PLEASE do it soon and know that FB has hurt many of your players who actually BUY FV dollars, etc..and spend money…now I believe it is to hurt you.
GET the games off of the Goliath who is hurting me, you and so many others.
If they don’t care about my need to retrieve numbers of advocates and professionals deeply involved in my Autistic son’s therapies to accomodate his diagnosis and ongoing therapy…or my family now in Afghanistan defending this Country…what are they really all about!
FB turned out to be the most pathetic excuse of a Social Forum I have ever seen in my lifetime.
Zynga, get out of there and don’t look back.
Blessings,
<—LIKES Cynthia's comment
I know a number of users who’d follow Farmville anywhere it went. It is incredibly addictive (and it makes me all the more glad that I haven’t played it!) and I can totally understand their reasons for wanting to move away from Facebook.
I think that Facebook’s attitude towards Zynga in regards to this (e.g. removing some notifications etc.) is quite petulant and childish. I’ve also heard through other sources that Facebook doesn’t really want to continue supporting Zynga games because of the code base required to keep the games running.
Bad blood on both sides – I’d say be done with it and split now.
ill stop playing if it moves away from facebook
FB truly has a problem with bad apps and bad advertising. It is crazy how much malware is funneled through FB. Advertisements should not have access to personal data, even if it never leaves your computer. It is still used to mislead unsuspecting victims. Clamping down on third party app restrictions make sense in that sense.
That said, FB is a child-star. They started by providing a social service, and now they are monetizing it in anyway they can with little real concern for its’ users. It’s a dot-com bubble company, great idea, no business sense.
Maybe if Zynga leaves they will start an exodus from FB. Create a game portal that works across other social sites, or pull users from uncooperative sites. I do think Zynga needs to partner up with others for that to work though.
When I played FV, gaming is the only reason I logged into FB more than once a day. I would have followed them from FB back then, but not now since I no longer play anyway. Too addicting, trivial, repetitive, and monotonous, so I had to quit cold-turkey.
I hope they do leave, and I wish them well for it. Maybe something better can come of it, because I think FB has gotten too big for their britches.
“I’d argue that many users enjoy Farmville so much because they can play it inside Facebook, with an IM bar to chat to their friends at the bottom of the screen and easy access to their social news feed and the rest of the bells and whistles that make Facebook such a well-rounded social destination. Farmville is just a fun part of the mix.” When I read this I got a good laugh all these “features ” can be easily added into any game with a users base that big. Facebook has to be careful here not to slap those that have made it grow OH I forgot they have already done that with the developers when they changed the UI and put them all to the edge. To all the BRANDS please focus on your Social CRM and make the customer at your center not their social network. Here is my latest blog Ready for Social Relevancy & Facebook Open Graph? bit.ly/9p3a8T
Farmville publisher Zynga is leaving Facebook as reported by TechCrunch, Zynga is gearing up to move all its games away from Facebook to a service called Zynga Live.
YEA!! Proving once again that nobody wants to be forced to ‘join’ one entity to get to another!! Now, EVERYBODY can play and have anyone as neighbore! My brother is on Twitter, my kids on myspace…and many friends that flat out do not want to give out personal information…especially when the bar of privacy and security has been lowered.
FB, having no contact numbers and saying they have too many customers to support a call center, live tech support, etc….then, not following their own ‘rules’ has proven that they are accumulating us as ‘numbers’ merely for raising the price on advertisers.
I am from Show Business and marketing.
Anyone who thinks that the audience is not the consumer is dead wrong. Without the audience, they cannot sell advertising. So, both we and the advertisers are customers. SO, FB cannot survive without us…and they are cocky, arrogant, insulting, manipulative andshort sighted.
Now, a Social netwrk that links us all….Google…are you reading this?
I cannot wait to play FV WITHOUT FB or any other group that is a complete Socialist based society.
Too bad the creator doesn’t realize that by playing God….he will now be humbled.
We must have ‘choices’ in this society.
Monopolies have almost all failed, allowing for lower prices, higher quality and happy consumers!
Airlines, cell phones, long distance carriers, restaurants, etc….have all learned that little lesson. Now, if only we had choices of utility companies!!
Anyone who says that if FV leaves FB they won’t play has no common sense or works for FB.
If we can have our choice of social sites AND choices of games, it is the best of both worlds. Zynga, as with any young or fledgling company has grown up and it’s time to leave the nest.
FB doesn’t ALLOW people to just ‘get off’….read the blogs. FB doesn’t help with Tech Support. FB kicks people off, but retains their e-mails to show the numbers to advertisers. FB discriminates. FB takes a portion of the monies paid on FV. THEN, when FB kicks someone off…the 100′s of dollars you have spent is gone too.
I was on the phone last week with Zynga…they verified my user ID number assigned from FB, then tried to help me log in…to no avail. Then Zynga verified the amount of money I have spent through paypal on FV…they were VERY UPSET when they realized I wasn’t allowed to sign in directly to Zynga….and that when I start to play FV agaion…I would have to start all over.
When Zynga fires up, they will be keeping the user ID’s so you can ‘keep the farm’…and still have neighbors and chat capability.
FB has hurt me, a disbled mom through an e-mail saying that I was impersonating another woman…even though I proved through a history of web sites that my stage name is me.
Even with that, and numerous friends and family writing in, they never again responded.
My son(s) are Autistic. many of my contacts were medical persons, advocates, parents of other Autistic Children, etc…and all their emergency phone numbers are locked in my messages which I now have no access to. Had FB warned me….for doing something, anything, I would have proven before the damage was done that my nick name is my stage name…and I am NOT impersonating anyone other than myself!!
No trial, no jury, not even a viable contact number…just ‘off with her head…and her Autistic Children’s heads’…and ‘their decision, even before hearing anything about their error, was FINAL.
I have no respect for Self-Righteous people, especially who were happy to verify me to take my money, but NOT verify information to see they had erred.
Now, no apologoies, no replies, nothing.
Who do they think we are? We are not animals awaiting slaughter…oops, I guess we were.
Farmville, as a home bound disabled mother was my respite.
I will follow Zynga and help blog them to the world.
My puppy on FV died, my animals and crops died, my bank account got shot and I cannot contact therpists and numerous others who were helping guide me through appropriate therapy for my son(s).
I believe somewhere in my story is a LAW SUIT….anyone interested?
FB…Mr. Zuckerman, (wasn’t he on Green Acres??), you are a mean person. Mean People Zuck.
I hope to see ya’ll on FV and be my neighbors!
Have a great Day!….(not the FB admin)….
farmville on facebook has deleted my farmville and other players games some for one week and me in definite
My blog post I wrote yesterday titled: “Is Farmville more powerful than Facebook?” explains why the power struggle may actually be in Zynga’s court – http://bit.ly/8YRcf0
The person above wrote that trouble may be in Zynga’s court to attract the attention of this obviously pro-Zynga split thread. Either it’s a 2 sentense typo or the writer would like people to follow him to Twitter.
Once you get there, he is in clear belief that like most of us, Zynga is what holds FB together and says that like myspace and the others, the split may turn FB into “ghostbook”.
I was curious because of the horrible hurt and discrimination FB has proven to me…and the wonderful games and customer support at Zynga.
Please….since any of this is really being read by the two….let’s keep this really clean and make Zynga feel as secure as they should about their move away from FB and towards an intelligent, game loving audience…from ALL sources.
Prosperity wishes to Zynga and I stand on my rather witty but unfortunate real pun…MEAN PEOPLE ZUCK…and I did make that up myself!
Waiting for Farmville and still don’t understand the Vampire game!! Now that the world will be able to play, I WILL try again…AFTER THEY SPLIT!
Thanks to my VBFF, (Very best friend forever), for buying a new puppy to replace my dead one that FB killed and naming it after mine!!
Oh!! Now going on 2 weks since my FB execution and not one person who wrote in on my behalf who has known me for over 20 years and knows I did not impersonate myself…has even had a rspectful e-mail reply. I guess that reply isn’t a pre-made, stock answer.
Keep slappin’ us all in the FACE…book. (I made that up too…)
Thanks for reading!
I would like to cancel zynga whot do I do
is there an easier way