Pixelated tractors come in pink

Suckered into paying to farm online

By James McDonald

The most played game thus far in 2010 is FarmVille, a Facebook application in which the player develops a farm and a farming community. The idea is not new. Harvest Moon, a sim-like game in which the player creates a farmer’s life, complete with cows and country fairs, has been on consoles for 14 years. However, the game series has a niche market, and cannot compete with the interactive aspect of FarmVille.

Nearly 82 million people have added the application to raise livestock, plant crops, and interact with neighbouring farms, while 22 million farmers pick their corn and pet their sheep every day.

Facebook is the largest social networking site in the world with more than 400 million users. So, approximately 20 per cent of Facebook users are farming. The best-selling game of 2009, Super Mario Bros. Wii, sold over 10 million copies and is one of the most sold Wii games yet. But, because of FarmVille’s free installation, the rural-based application has more players than any other game. The game is nothing short of a phenomenon, and is showing a trend in gaming for coming years.

Despite its free games, Zynga, the company that created FarmVille, is predicted to make approximately $460-million this year, according to CNN – $100-million coming directly from the farms.

Revenues are generated partially from ads and partially via players purchasing in-game dollars and coins with real money. These micro transactions range from pennies to more than $20, and include an array of items, included but not limited to tractors and fuel. The California-based game developer has 760 employees and is worth an estimated $3-billion, according to Next Up Research.

Needless to say, these mini games are gigantic money makers. More famous social games, like World Of Warcraft, charge a monthly fee to supplement working costs. However, the business models of Zynga and like-minded companies may force larger developers to re-evaluate. In order to keep its players, Zynga needs to simply release a pink tractor here and a rare donkey there to watch the real dollars roll in. Other gaming companies are following in Zynga’s footsteps. Playdom, also based in California, operates Sorority Life (SL), a Facebook application with only female characters set in a sorority house.

With six million players, SL is banking on a group of time-wasters that don’t want to be knee-deep in manure. And rather than in-game purchases, Playdom has real merchandise for sale.

These developers are not in it to provide countless hours of gaming fun for Facebook users. Last November, Mark Pincus, CEO of Zynga, stated that during the first days of Zynga, he “did every horrible thing in the book to get revenues right away,” including ads with links to adware, or free in-game items in exchange for virus-laden toolbars. He states that those days are over, but users should still use caution when clicking surrounding ads and participating in offers.

Despite shady methods, FarmVille continues to bring in money. Though, of course, responsibility falls on players to use common sense and buy real things instead of pixels. The ignorance and spending habits of Facebook users are funding Pincus’ farms. Everyone needs to make a living, but is a living of lacklustre graphics and a fake farming life worth $3-billion?

James McDonald

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