Mr.Farmville

Sony: PlayStation Hacks Result in an "Improved" Service

noreply@blogger.com (MrFarmville) — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 09:11:00 +0000

While the recent cyber attacks on Sony's PlayStation Network were undoubtedly damaging for both the company and its customers, Sony reveals that it actually led to something positive, too.

In an article on TechRadar, a Sony executive says that despite the blow suffered from the cyber attacks on the PlayStation Network, the company feels that the experience resulted in something positive in the end, including a better service overall for their customers.

According to So Saida, Sony senior director of global business strategy and development, the "Outage has woken up our dormant customers, we have improved the platform, the content, how you can access your content."

Saida adds that there's also been an "upsurge" in activity with its users, one that's seen a 14% revenue increase in digital game purchases.

And in terms of preparing for any future cyber attacks, Saida says Sony's security and defenses against hackers are stronger than ever.

"We have put various security issues in place," Saida says, "moved the data center, automated log-in can now be blocked, we have a monitoring system so we can detect it much more sooner. We also have the insurance scheme to protect those customers."

Also Read: Sony Plans to Bring PlayStation Games to Non-Sony Devices

Source: Daily News from GamePro.com

How 15 Federal Executive Departments Use Facebook

noreply@blogger.com (MrFarmville) — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 09:09:00 +0000

U.S. federal government pages on Facebook mostly follow accepted practices for customer satisfaction.

So concludes ForeSee, a firm possibly better known for its compilation of the American Customer Satisfaction Index.

The government version of this quarterly index came out today, analyzing the following federal departments:

Department of Agriculture
Department of Commerce
Department of Defense
Department of Education
Department of Energy
Department of Health and Human Services
Department of Homeland Security
Department of Housing and Urban Development
Department of Justice
Department of Labor
Department of State
Department of the Interior
Department of the Treasury
Department of Transportation
Department of Veterans Affairs

And here are ForeSee’s findings for Facebook:

All 15 departments have a Facebook presence.
All of them are using at least one standard Facebook application (notes, discussions [at least until October 31], photos, links, events, videos).
11 of the 15 departments' Facebook pages include custom pages or third-party tools (YouTube, Flickr), which are devoted to content that the departments want to feature, as well as comments, policies, and welcome statements.
All 15 pages have vanity addresses and official names that reflect the proper name of the departments or their elected leaders.

The report also offered a set of best practices for government agencies using Facebook, including:

Only include applications if they will be consistently maintained, and turn off standard applications if associated content has not been provided (11 of the 15 agencies complied with this).
Use a separate tab to house policies on comments if those policies are too long to fit in a standard field, or if they are longer than two paragraphs (four agencies did this).
Vanity URLs should reflect the official name of each department or the official leading it (all 15 were in compliance).

ForeSee President and Chief Executive Officer Larry Freed said:

Social media is no longer a nice to have, but a necessity in both the private sector and the public sector. It's just the way people communicate now. The good news is that federal departments are participating in social media; the bad news is that efforts are happening at a variety of levels, and the effect can be muddled for citizens.

Readers: What have your experiences been with the Facebook pages of government, agencies, either U.S. or overseas?

Image courtesy of Shutterstock.

Source: All Facebook

Reuters: Zynga IPO Due Before Thanksgiving

noreply@blogger.com (MrFarmville) — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 09:05:00 +0000

Zynga’s initial public offering could happen (finally) the week before the November 24 Thanksgiving holiday in the United States, two anonymous sources told Reuters.

According to the report, the two sources have been briefed on the offering, but caution that the plans are not finalized and could change at any time. Reuters speculates that Zynga will proceed on the heels of Groupon, which just launched a roadshow approximately two weeks before its own IPO occurs.

Zynga filed its form S-1 back in July and has since made several updates to the document. The most recent update includes a third-party valuation completed in August, which found that the developer’s outstanding equity was worth $14.05 billion, up from a May $13.98 billion quote. There has been speculation that Zynga would delay its IPO into 2012 due to poor market conditions.

Source: Inside Social Games

Zynga Reportedly Set Public Offering For Mid-November

noreply@blogger.com (MrFarmville) — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 03:05:00 +0000

Facebook’s leading game developer Zynga reportedly scheduled its initial public offering for the second week of November.

That’s what unnamed sources told Reuters, claiming they were briefed on the offering.

The unnamed sources said this date hasn’t been finalized and could change.

So we’ll take this report with a dollop of salt, especially because the earliest leaks to the media have the greatest likelihood of involving some factual errors.

However, Zynga recently resubmitted its IPO registration with the Securities and Exchanges Commission.

And the way the company announced ten new products October 11 now looks a lot like a strategy for getting the word out before a quiet period kicks in — as if Zynga were bookmarking some future releases.

It also makes sense to do the offering relatively quickly. Since the capital markets have shown some turbulence that had led Zynga to withdraw a prior plan to go public, no one can predict how long the latest stock rally will last.

And like Reuters points out, Zynga’s timing would mean the IPO roadshow would occur right after Groupon’s public offering.

If that deal does well, it could make for a better pitch when the game developer talks to prospective investors.

Zynga first registered with the SEC in July, and has since updated its registration several times.

The most recent update, according to our sibling blog, Inside Social Games, included a valuation of the Zynga’s outstanding equity at $14.05 billion in August, up from $13.98 billion in May.

Despite all of the updates given to the SEC, many have speculated that Zynga might postpone a public offering until 2012.

Certainly, if the market started moving down again, all bets would be off for an IPO this November. That might not rule out this year, since stocks historically tend to rally in December.

Source: All Facebook

Blizzard giving away Diablo III with WoW Annual Pass subscription

noreply@blogger.com (MrFarmville) — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 21:15:00 +0000

Blizzard has used Blizzcon this year to make existing World of Warcraft players a very tempting offer, while at the same time ensuring they will continue playing the MMO for most of 2012. The new subscription deal is called Annual Pass and encourages players to sign up to play WoW for 12 months rather than [...]

Source: Geek.com >> Games

#7: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

noreply@blogger.com (MrFarmville) — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 21:11:00 +0000

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
by Activision Publishing
160 days in the top 100
Platform: PlayStation 3
Release Date: November 8, 2011

Buy new: $59.99

(Visit the Best Sellers in Video Games list for authoritative information on this product's current rank.)

Source: Amazon.com: Best Sellers in Video Games

Know Your Roots: Here's a Handy Guide to the Evolution of Videogame Controllers

noreply@blogger.com (MrFarmville) — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 21:11:00 +0000

Wanna know how the modern videogame controller got to where it is today? Check out this handy chart.

Whether or not you're aware of it, controllers have pretty much defined videogame history as we know it today. They've elevated some systems, and outright killed others. And like everything else, one innovation will result in another innovation down the line

With that in mind, here's a handy chart outlining controller history from the misty early days of the Magnavox Odyssey, all the way down to the Wii U.

It all makes for a nifty snapshot of gaming history. Who remembers the ColecoVision Super Action controller these days?

If you want, you can also click here for a closer look at the chart.

Source: Daily News from GamePro.com

Steve Jobs Biography Is A Big Hit On Facebook Today

noreply@blogger.com (MrFarmville) — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 21:09:00 +0000

Facebook is filled with posts about Steve Jobs again, as the eagerly anticipated biography of the late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs hit bookstore shelves today.

Facebook posts the late Apple co-founder, along with Walter Isaacson’s biography entitled Steve Jobs, were going up on Facebook at a rate of at least once a minute, increasing in frequency as the day progresses.

One popular (re-)share on the site an audio recording from Jobs’ biographer Walter Isaacson, which was posted on the CBS “60 Minutes” website.

In the recording, Jobs is heard praising Facebook Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg:

I admire Mark Zuckerberg. I only know him a little bit, but I admire him for not selling out, for wanting to make a company. I admire that, a lot.

It’s not surprising that the book release is generating such Facebook traffic.

Starcom MediaVest Group found that, in the 24 hours after Jobs' death was made public, there were some 143,000 status updates devoted to the Apple icon, at a rate of 1.6 per second.

Have you shared any thoughts about Steve Jobs on Facebook?

Source: All Facebook

Spooky Night Escape

noreply@blogger.com (MrFarmville) — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 21:08:00 +0000

Spooky Night Escape is the latest Room Escape game created by Selfdefiant, the author of Super Sneaky Spy Guy. “I was riding home late at night but my car ran out of gas and stopped in the middle of this spooky road. Now I must try to find some objects and fill my gas can [...]

Continue Reading about Spooky Night Escape

Source: FreeGamesNews

#1: Battlefield 3 - Limited Edition

noreply@blogger.com (MrFarmville) — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 21:06:00 +0000

Battlefield 3 - Limited Edition
by Electronic Arts
154 days in the top 100
Platform: Xbox 360
Release Date: October 25, 2011

Buy new: $59.95

(Visit the Best Sellers in Video Games list for authoritative information on this product's current rank.)

Source: Amazon.com: Best Sellers in Video Games

Metrogames' Coco Girl Glams Up Facebook Fashion Game Scene

noreply@blogger.com (MrFarmville) — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 21:05:00 +0000

Auto Hustle developer Metrogames revisits the fashion genre with its newest game, Coco Girl, for Facebook. The game launched at the end of September and has already overtaken Fashion World as the developer's top title, thanks to improvements in graphics and aggressive viral sharing features.

According to our traffic tracking service, AppData, Coco Girl currently enjoys 1.8 million monthly active users and 350,000 daily active users.

Like other fashion games on Facebook, Coco Girl's core gameplay loop involves obtaining clothes that can be mixed and matched to form outfits. Players control a female avatar that functions like a 2D paper doll posing in various environments that the player navigates using the mouse. Also like other fashion games, the bulk of the play session is spent in virtual shops that offer different styles and pieces of clothing in exchange for virtual currency (Rubies) or Facebook Credits. Players can dress their avatar in two outfits per day, creating a Daily Look and a Quest Look that the game stores each day for other players to vote on. Once worn, an outfit is sent to the cleaners, temporarily removing it from the player's inventory and forcing them to craft a new outfit with different pieces the next day.

The voting system in Coco Girl is incentivized with Rubies. As part of a daily checklist that can be completed for additional Rubies, players are invited to vote on a number of looks available from a Fashion Expert magazine in the player's virtual home. Most votes involve a star rating, but there are also alternative votes for "best out of these three" or "thumbs up, thumbs down." The more closely the player's vote align with other players' votes, the more Rubies they earn for participating. Top-voted outfits are made visible to all players from the home location and in the Hall of Fame location.

Where Coco Girl gets interesting is in the player-driven economy, to which the voting process contributes. Aside from the in-game store front and a "catalogue order" location, players can obtain or sell items for Rubies at a marketplace where players determine the price of goods. Prices tend to fluctuate based on which items turn up in the top voted outfits. The developer takes a 10% selling fee, which also impacts price. As many players will sometimes try to offload the same item, the store often features the same item for a variety of prices (see below).

In addition to the fashion economy, Coco Girl also offers a series of mini-games like a slot machine simulation or a connect-the-two-sides puzzle. Players can play these games for free up to three times a day each to earn Rubies as part of the daily checklist. The mini-games also award the player Prize Tickets, which can be spent on bundles of Rubies or on special customization items for your avatar, like a smartphone or guitar accessory.

Social features include an outfit posting system that encourages non-players to vote on Coco Girl outfits both on Facebook Walls, Friend Requests, Twitter, and anywhere the player can post a URL. The player economy is also supported by sharing Wall posts that name which players are ranking with which outfits — and who is buying from or selling to whom. Additionally, players can visit in-game friends' homes to help speed up their laundry load for outfits at the cleaners.

Coco Girl is primarily monetized through the sale of premium fashion items, which are mixed in on store racks with items available for in-game currency. Players can buy discount cards for Facebook Credits that take a certain percentage off the next 10 items the player buys, regardless of which currency the game charges for that item. Decoration items for the player's home are also available for Rubies or Credits. Lastly, additional mini-game turns can be purchased for Facebook Credits.

We've seen the fashion genre grow quite a bit in the last six months as Facebook game graphics have improved, making for more interesting visual choices. The social aspect of the genre, however, relies on players expression their opinions to other players on what looks good. Coco Girl provides more avenues for expression than most social games — but at times, the steady Wall post and Friend Requests prompts feel oppressive and distract the player from other gameplay objectives.

You can follow the game's progress on AppData, our traffic tracking service for social games and developers.

Source: Inside Social Games

#2: Battlefield 3 - Limited Edition

noreply@blogger.com (MrFarmville) — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 21:01:00 +0000

Battlefield 3 - Limited Edition
by Electronic Arts
132 days in the top 100
Platform: PlayStation 3
Release Date: October 25, 2011

Buy new: $59.95

(Visit the Best Sellers in Video Games list for authoritative information on this product's current rank.)

Source: Amazon.com: Best Sellers in Video Games

#9: Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

noreply@blogger.com (MrFarmville) — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 20:57:00 +0000

Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
by Bethesda
138 days in the top 100
Platform: Xbox 360
Release Date: November 11, 2011

Buy new: $59.99

(Visit the Best Sellers in Video Games list for authoritative information on this product's current rank.)

Source: Amazon.com: Best Sellers in Video Games

#7: Assassin's Creed Revelations

noreply@blogger.com (MrFarmville) — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 20:10:00 +0000

Assassin's Creed Revelations
by UBI Soft
Platform: Xbox 360
Release Date: November 15, 2011

Buy new: ~~$59.99~~ $57.98

(Visit the Most Wished For in Xbox 360 list for authoritative information on this product's current rank.)

Source: Amazon.com: Most Wished For in Video Games > Xbox 360

#7: Kinect Sports Season Two

noreply@blogger.com (MrFarmville) — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 20:04:00 +0000

Kinect Sports Season Two
by Microsoft
44 days in the top 100
Platform: Xbox 360
Release Date: October 25, 2011

Buy new: $49.99
4 used & new from $47.99

(Visit the Best Sellers in Xbox 360 list for authoritative information on this product's current rank.)

Source: Amazon.com: Best Sellers in Video Games > Xbox 360

#7: Just Dance 3

noreply@blogger.com (MrFarmville) — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 18:34:00 +0000

Just Dance 3
by UBI Soft
Platform: Nintendo Wii
(25)
Release Date: October 7, 2011

Buy new: ~~$39.99~~ $33.96
41 used & new from $32.95

(Visit the Hot New Releases in Video Games list for authoritative information on this product's current rank.)

Source: Amazon.com: Hot New Releases in Video Games

5 Facebook Strategies Pros Need In Their Play Books

noreply@blogger.com (MrFarmville) — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 15:05:00 +0000

With seemingly every professional athlete now using a Facebook fan page, what do athletes — and their page administrators — need to do to get noticed?

And what can the rest of us learn from the best examples set by sports pages?

When athletes began using Twitter and Facebook to connect with their fans a few years ago, it was easy to get followers and likes, which as you may remember were called fans back then.

The reason was because it was so new to sports fans, that no matter who the athlete was, fans were enamored with the fact that they could actually know what these athletes were doing, thinking, and feeling.

Average NFL players like Nick Barnett were able to amass hundreds of thousands of Twitter followers by being early adapters and giving fans access to them in an unscripted, informal setting, contrary to the typical post-game interview where the player is essentially forced to say the politically correct thing.

Fast forward to today and nearly every professional athlete is using Twitter and Facebook to interact with their fans, which is great for fans, but bad for the players, as the saturation means that typical fans aren’t going to follow them just because they have Twitter and update their status saying what they had for lunch.

Moral of the story? If you are a professional athlete, you need to understand that in order to grow your Twitter followers and Facebook likes, you must stand out. How do you do that? It’s really quite simple, but requires you to follow these five basic steps:

1. Use Facebook and Twitter, but remember how much more powerful Facebook is.

Research not only shows that there are a great deal more people with Facebook accounts than Twitter accounts, but that there is an even greater ratio of Americans that use Facebook daily when compared to Twitter.

2. Consistently provide your audience with unique video and picture content, or you’ll blend right in with everyone else.

You aren’t going to get fans to pay attention to you by just posting text updates unless you’re LeBron James.

To captivate your audience and get them coming back for more, give them content that they won’t find on your teammates’ pages.

I highly recommend that all iPhone or Droid users download the app “Tout,” which gained popularity when Shaq used it to announce his retirement.

3. Ask your teammates, friends, and acquaintances to help you out.

They may not do it, but it never hurts to ask. When asking, it’s best to provide them with the exact copy of what you’d like them to say (including your pages URLs) so that it’s easy for them to copy and paste it.

4. When times are great and times are bad, don’t forget to post.

While we all sit on the couch watching players win a big game or lose a heartbreaker, these players are physically drained after either outcome.

Despite that, I think it’s imperative that players recognize that often the most opportune time to post is in these situations, because that’s when fans crave their updates most.

5. Sometimes your best post is what you don’t post.

There are countless examples of athletes posting controversial thoughts that have cost them both fans and money (see: Rashard Mendenhall bin Laden tweets).

My cardinal rule I tell the athletes I work with: If you wouldn’t say it on TV during an ESPN interview, then don’t post it on Facebook!

Guest writer Jeff Weiner is president and chief executive officer of ESBL Sports Management.

Both images courtesy of Shutterstock, second one taken by Mike Flippo.

Source: All Facebook

We Try World of WarCraft: Mists of Pandaria's Monk for Ourselves

noreply@blogger.com (MrFarmville) — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 09:11:00 +0000

You've read our in-depth analysis of Mists of Pandaria, but how does the new monk class actually play? Contributor Billy Berghammer has the full report.

Want an extended look at Mists of Pandaria's other new features? Click here to check out the complete breakdown by World of Warcraft superfan Julian Rignall.

Perhaps not the biggest surprise of BlizzCon, was the announcement of the new expansion to World of Warcraft. Currently the Pandaren can play as a mage, shaman, priest, rogue, hunter, warrior, or the new monk class, so I opted to give the new class a go. Since my main character that I currently play as is a mage, this experience was quite different. The Pandarens open section doesn't take place on Pandaria, but just off the coast on the back of giant sea turtle, and I got to play through its entirety.

First and foremost, one of the new differences to the Monk class is the fact that there's no auto attack. This offensive class will keep players constantly hitting attacks after locking on to an adversary. In the starting zone, my Monk began with a simple jab and tiger palm attack, but as I leveled up, new attacks such as a blackout kick, tiger palm, and eventually a spinning crane kick (think Chun Li) were moves added to my arsenal.

Beer stealing? I can definitely get behind that. These are the types of quests I really hope Blizzard leans on instead of the kill 4 of these, gather 5 of these types of quests – because I did plenty of those fetch quests too."

Moves are powered by chi, and to gain chi you need to use an opening attack such as a jab to build up both light and dark force. Once the meters are powered up, you can then pull of more advanced moves. In essence it makes switching up attacks in these encounters feel more like combos in fights, where you jab, then tiger palm, then jab again, and finish with a blackout kick or something else.

Monks do have a new dive roll that can be used to either evade attacks or travel a little quicker on foot. Considering the fact that the Monk is such an offensive based class, diving into an enemy, spinning around, targeting and then letting off a flurry of attacks was quite satisfying, even though the early enemies I encountered were fairly low-level. Needless to say I dive rolled enough to earn the Panda Express achievement (roll 100 times at BlizzCon). It's fun, what can I say?

Since I really enjoyed more of the action type quests introduced in Lich King and Cataclysm, I was hoping to see more in this starting zone. Since this is such a different type of class, the first few levels were based on training and learning the ways of the Monk. And while there were action quests in the opening section, it needed more. One early action quest example had my Monk climb on top of posts that were in a lake, ring a bell, and then later leap from post to post and kick and knock off other monks as one of the training exercises. There was also a quest to stop enemies from stealing beer.

Although the trailer shows a fairly cute Pandaren doing martial arts, don't think that Blizzard has dipped into the world of Kung-Fu Panda too much. While this area wasn't quite as dark as some of the areas visited in the last few expansions, I really enjoyed the Asian influences I saw. From bamboo tree, ponds, and farms, to temples, shrines, and beautiful tapestries, it oozes in an interesting combination of cultures that I found intriguing. It's a refreshing change of pace from Knights, Orcs, Dwarves and Elves.

This whole opening zone took me about 2 hours to complete, which saw my monk reach level 10 quickly. Obviously, this was a BlizzCon demo and that time length could grow a bit, but I don't see it growing exponentially. A bit after hitting level 10 and finishing the quests on the turtle, you choose which faction you want to join. Since I was quite in love with this new world and enjoyed my time in the starting zone, I was ready to jet off to Pandaria and continue in this excellent new land. Unfortunately, I'm going to have to do some grinding first, because Pandaria is reserved for level 85-90 questing and raiding.

The Pandaren is a fun new race, and I'm enamored with the new world, but I'm not sure if it will be enough for me to start yet another alt. The road from 1-85 is a long one, but it's going to be interesting to see what Blizzard adds to the mix in the coming months to get new players and old to do it all again.

Source: Daily News from GamePro.com

#7: Kinect Sports Season Two

noreply@blogger.com (MrFarmville) — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 08:09:00 +0000

Kinect Sports Season Two
by Microsoft
Platform: Xbox 360
Release Date: October 25, 2011

Buy new: $49.99
5 used & new from $45.99

(Visit the Hot New Releases in Xbox 360 list for authoritative information on this product's current rank.)

Source: Amazon.com: Hot New Releases in Video Games > Xbox 360

#7: Xbox 360 Live 1600 Points [Online Game Code]

noreply@blogger.com (MrFarmville) — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 08:04:00 +0000

Xbox 360 Live 1600 Points [Online Game Code]
by Microsoft
873 days in the top 100
Platform: Xbox 360
(510)

Buy new: $19.99

(Visit the Best Sellers in Xbox 360 list for authoritative information on this product's current rank.)

Source: Amazon.com: Best Sellers in Video Games > Xbox 360

#7: Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

noreply@blogger.com (MrFarmville) — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 03:11:00 +0000

Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
by Bethesda
137 days in the top 100
Platform: Xbox 360
Release Date: November 11, 2011

Buy new: $59.99

(Visit the Best Sellers in Video Games list for authoritative information on this product's current rank.)

Source: Amazon.com: Best Sellers in Video Games

#9: Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception

noreply@blogger.com (MrFarmville) — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 02:57:00 +0000

Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception
by Sony Computer Entertainment
118 days in the top 100
Platform: PlayStation 3
Release Date: November 1, 2011

Buy new: $59.99

(Visit the Best Sellers in Video Games list for authoritative information on this product's current rank.)

Source: Amazon.com: Best Sellers in Video Games

#7: Saw II: Flesh and Blood

noreply@blogger.com (MrFarmville) — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 21:11:00 +0000

Saw II: Flesh and Blood
by Konami
1 day in the top 100
Platform: PlayStation 3
(9)

Buy new: ~~$39.99~~ $15.56
57 used & new from $5.99

(Visit the Best Sellers in Video Games list for authoritative information on this product's current rank.)

Source: Amazon.com: Best Sellers in Video Games

Nuts and Bolts

noreply@blogger.com (MrFarmville) — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 21:08:00 +0000

Nuts and Bolts is a 30 level puzzle game where you have to “help Nuts and Bolts reach the exit of each level by connecting beans to platforms.” Have fun!

Continue Reading about Nuts and Bolts

Source: FreeGamesNews

#1: Battlefield 3 - Limited Edition

noreply@blogger.com (MrFarmville) — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 21:06:00 +0000

Battlefield 3 - Limited Edition
by Electronic Arts
153 days in the top 100
Platform: Xbox 360
Release Date: October 25, 2011

Buy new: $59.95

(Visit the Best Sellers in Video Games list for authoritative information on this product's current rank.)

Source: Amazon.com: Best Sellers in Video Games