EA social games exec ditches for the top dog, Zynga [Rumor]

And, no, this would certainly not be the first. Develop reports that Jeff Karp, an executive heavily involved with EA's social games efforts, is leaving for number one competitor Zynga. More specifically, Karp was executive VP of EA Play, the company's family-friendly games division, as of six months ago.

The website cites an anonymous US source that "engages with EA at senior levels," and said that Karp has made his intention to leave known. Karp, after an 11-year stint with the veteran games publisher, joins former EA CCO John Schappert in his reported move to Zynga.

In fact, Karp would join a number of former high-level EA employees in his move to another social games company. Just recently, it's been rumored that creator of NBA Jam and former senior creative director at EA Sports Mark Turmell left for Zynga in July. And way back in June, we know that Ben Cousins, GM of EA casual game developer Easy Studios, left to head Ngmoco's Sweden studio. Of course, who could forget former EA CCO Bing Gordon, who is now an investor in the creator of CityVille? (And the list goes on, really.)

The news comes as EA shifts its leadership structure to include existing high-level EA employees Peter Moore, Andrew Wilson and Frank Gibeau in even more senior roles. Amidst losing several execs, EA just released The Sims Social to Facebook. While it suffered performance issues on its first day out of the gate, it's certainly an ambitious effort on the platform, and one that could help make EA a viable competitor in the social games space. We've contacted both EA and Zynga for comment.

Facebook gaming's fat cats will only get fatter, unfortunately

Companies like Zynga and EA (with the help of Playfish and PopCap) have long dominated the Facebook game scene. Sadly, it looks like that's not going to change anytime soon, according to a report released by Lazard Capital Markets. Basically, the report comes to the conclusion that, because they've already achieved critical mass, Zynga and EA will continue to rule Facebook games.

The report is based on meetings with six privately-held social game makers, including CrowdStar, Digital Chocolate, Funzio, HeyZap, IGG, and Tapjoy, according to All Facebook. "We acknowledge that toughening competition on Facebook could constrain margins and is generally negative for the space; however," the report reads, "we believe that rising user acquisition costs could be relatively positive for companies like Zynga and Electronic Arts that have already built large user bases on Facebook and disproportionately benefit from network effect and, therefore, may have an advantage over the newer companies in the space."

In other words, Zynga and EA will always competitive advantage over even relatively large companies like CrowdStar simply due to the fact that these companies already have created massive internal networks of players. This is exactly why no other company could release a game that amasses 5 million players in six days like CastleVille. The smaller developers' response?

Look elsewhere, basically. But when the majority of social gamers hang out on Facebook, where else is there to look? It's quite the predicament that the industry faces, especially considering the implications it could have as far as creativity is concerned on the platform. Developers will continue to create games that attempt to emulate Zynga and EA's wild success, and the copycat syndrome will persist. If the indie's time on Facebook is over, then all the hope we have for successful games that test the limits of the genre is for the players to grow tired of 'Ville after 'Ville.

The Secret World MMO plots mysterious Facebook advergame

The Secret World Secret War beta
Unleashing one incredible trailer after another, EA and Funcom's The Secret World is an MMO (massive multiplayer online) set for Windows-based PCs and (possibly) Xbox 360. Standing outside your typical MMO, the game seeks to do away with levels and classes, focusing instead on skills and abilities. There's an overarching storyline and side quests among three ancient, rival organizations banding together to save the world from evil. It's all very modern, urban, and full of super dramatic secret stuff.

Gallery: Secret War: Personality test for beta registration

While it isn't clear if the game will be launching on Facebook, beta registrations for a "Phase One" Facebook social game called "Secret War" have opened up online. Prospective applicants just need to sign up on the official website after taking a personality test to decide which of the three factions you'll play -- the Dragons, Templars, or Illuminati.


Trailers for each group were released, represented by the following characters, "The Firestarter" (her milkshake brings all the demons to the yard), "The Puritan" (holy shotgun, Batman!), and "Alex McCall" (who doesn't care if he's a John Constantine knockoff, because at least he's not being played by Keanu Reeves).

The Secret War on Facebook
You'll also have the option to register for the beta without Facebook, but Facebook is the one that promises to deliver "the full experience". The Secret World MMO itself is set for release on April 2012. To keep track of this game and interact with other excited fans, follow its official fan page here. A direct link to the Secret War app is here.

[Hat-tip: GameShard]

Are you excited for The Secret World yet? What do you think of this intersection between MMO and Facebook game? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment

The Sims Social maker EA wants you ... to make it lots of ad money

And unfortunately, it doesn't sound like you'll have much of a choice. EA, co-creator of Playfish's The Sims Social on Facebook (and arch nemesis to Zynga at this point), has announced EA Legend.

This is the company's new platform to provide marketers and advertisers with "campaign and audience insights across mobile, social, online and console games reaching over 300 million people worldwide," a release reads.

In other words, you're more valuable to EA than you might already know. The publisher wants to use the information you provide them inadvertently through gameplay to rope in ad and marketing deals not just through its Facebook games but all of its games. More specifically, EA said it can provide advertisers with (prepare for buzzword overload):

    Key cross-platform campaign performance indicators such as impressions, clicks, unduplicated reach, demographic profiles, social media buzz, and ROI metrics.

    Segmented audience insights based on demographic, psychographic, and social data.

    Ability to drill down into the factors that impact campaign effectiveness including audience engagement, audience segmentation and type of creative all measured over time.

EA Legend
What's that again--psychographic data? This may all sound like something out of "1984," but it's nothing new. If you think other game creators don't do this type of stuff, then here's your wake-up call. We won't know exactly what information about us EA will provide to advertisers through Legend until it makes advertisers see green at this year's Advertising Week event in New York City on Oct. 4. And if EA keeps using words like psychographic, we may never know.

[Via All Facebook]

What do you think about this new EA Legend program? Do you think it's something worth worrying about, or is this just business as usual? Sound off in the comments. 1 Comment

The Sims Social celebrates fans with a week of free stuff

Free stuff? Yes, please, I'll take some of that! With almost 61 million players (and climbing), the folks at EA / Playfish have a lot to be thankful for when it comes to the Sims Social on Facebook. As a way to thank their ever-growing player base for their support (even when the game suffered from some nagging loading and gameplay issues), the developers have launched a week long celebration involving free stuff that will be given away, apparently on a daily basis.

To start, we're given a gift of Social Points - a whopping 400 Social Points at that. Since your other methods of earning Social Points normally come in small increments (of 10 or less per action) when visiting friends, this really is a substantial prize. Remember, these Social Points work as a form of third currency in the game, and can be used to purchase exclusive decorations or other home items that aren't available through any other method or currency.

We've also been told that we'll be able to increase our land size in the future, although that wasn't exactly announced in as many words. To be specific, we're asked if we "need more space to build your dream home" and that with that question comes a secret that the developers just couldn't hold in anymore. We're even asked "If you could expand your land, what is the first room you'd build on it?"

Put two and two together here, and you're left with the answer that land size will soon be increasing, although no particular release date was announced (unfortunately). If you're like me, your home has already filled most nooks and crannies of land in our admittedly small square, and is surrounded by outdoor goodies to boot. Being able to increase the size of our house plot is a huge deal, and we'll make sure to let you know when that feature / ability launches as soon as it does.

In the meantime, keep checking back with the game's Facebook fan page for additional links / announcements of free prizes, and click right here to claim your free 400 Social Points.

What sorts of prizes are you hoping to receive in this week-long event of free stuff? What will you purchase with your 400 free Social Points? Sound off in the comments.

Is EA's PopCap working on casino-style Facebook games? [Rumor]

Is PopCap looking to go toe to toe with Zynga and DoubleDown Interactive's casino Facebook games? According to GeekWire, a bunch of rather specific domain purchases by the recently-acquired company certainly suggest that's the case. Well, that and a recent trademark application ... and a Facebook page created with that very same trademark. Alright, PopCap has been terrible at keeping this whole thing a secret.

Lucky Gem CasinoThe game in question might be titled "Lucky Gem Casino," as Fusible points out that the Bejeweled creator recently changed a Facebook page it owns to reflect the new title. The Info tab on the page reads, "Thanks for visiting! PopCap Casino is the future home of some amazing, casino-style social games from PopCap, the worldwide leader in casual gaming."

With wording like that, it sounds as if Lucky Gem Casino will be a suite of casino games from the developer, much like DoubleDown Casino. And if you take a peak at the page's Wall, a message can be found there, presumably from the company, that reads, "Keep an eye out to experience casino-style gaming from PopCap Games!" A week later, a poll was posted asking fans about their favorite type of casino games--unsurprisingly, the "Slot Machines" category won by a landslide.

GeekWire points out that this might be because PopCap is now owned by EA, which likely has a vested interested in directly competing with Facebook game champ Zynga at every turn. However, it's also important to keep in mind that a majority of PopCap's games (not including Plants vs Zombies) are visibly influenced by a casino approach to gameplay albeit with a far heavier focus on skill rather than luck.

[Via Financial Times]

[Image Credit: Destructoid]

What do you think PopCap might be up to with this trademark, Facebook page and domain registries? Would you play a stable of casino games from the creator of Bejeweled and Zuma Blitz? Sound off in the comments. 2 Comments.