Zynga Under Fire

It is well known that the biggest developer of games played on Facebook is Zynga. Since it’s IPO Zynga has seen a lower demand for the virtual goods it sells in online games resulting in a shortfall of the companies quarterly forecasts. The result has been a sharp decline in the price quotes of the Zynga (ZNGA) stocks which are currently about 72 percent lower than its December IPO of $10 per share.

Zynga, in addition to developing games, has also developed a bad reputation of copycatting games produced by other companies. Zynga has had to answer questions before about the company allegedly (loosely stated) copycatting other companies games.

Talking Copycats with Zynga's Design Chief by Kris Graft January 31, 2012 From your perspective, what are you seeing lately in these “copycat” reports and what’s your take on that overall? Brian Reynolds: “So when there’s a new genre or a new thing, then everybody gets their game in. And the main thing for us, our goal is to have the highest-quality thing. Obviously it’s competitive, and we may not always end up being the one to have the best thing in every space, but we certainly try to.” Should social game makers, if they make a successful, innovative game, should they just expect to get copied? BR: “I don’t know if they should expect to get copied. They should certainly expect to get competed with.” Right. Well for some people that’s one and the same, Brian. Or at least they go hand in hand. BR: “Well those developers will probably not be the people who are successful, to be clear. I don’t know if you remember Rise of Nations.”

Image Courtesy wikipedia.org February 2, 2012 Zynga’s Brian Reynolds Joins Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences’ Board of Directors A twenty-one-year industry veteran, Brian Reynolds is recognized as one of the industry's most talented and productive game designers. Honored by PC Gamer magazine as one of twenty-five "Game Gods" and one of IGN’s “Top 100 Game Creators of All Time,”

 

Mark Pincus essentially admitted to what Zynga’s business model is when Zynga’s CEO Mark Pincus once wrote an internal memo that stated; “I don’t f***ing want innovation. “You’re not smarter than your competitor. Just copy what they do and do it until you get their numbers.”

Once again Mark Pincus essentially admitted to Zynga’s copyrighting practices in another memo when he stated; “Google didn’t create the first search engine. Apple didn’t create the first mp3 player or tablet. And, Facebook didn’t create the first social network. But these companies have evolved products and categories in revolutionary ways. They are all internet treasures because they all have specific and broad missions to change the world.

We don’t need to be first to market. We need to be the best in market. There are genres that we’re going to enter because we know our players are interested in them and because we want and need to be where players are. We evolve genres by making games free, social, accessible and highest quality.”

Zynga has shown time and again that the developers and upper management lack in their own creativity. The list of games that are borrowed ideas from other companies include is long;  

Mafia Wars from Mob Wars

FarmVille from Farm Town

Cafe World from Restaurant City

 

CityVille from Social City

 

 

Hidden Chronicles from Gaedens Of Time

 

Pioneer Trail from The Oregon Trail

 

PetVille from Pet Society

 

Tiny Tower and Dream Heights

 

And now there is The Ville which is an idea borrowed from The Sims Social.

Since it’s release The Ville has become the #1 application on Facebook.

“The Sims” titles have sold more than 150 million units since it was first published more than a decade ago. It is said that The Sims Social has generated more than $50 million in revenue for EA since its launch last summer. Thus making the game a prime target for Zynga to duplicate.   

EA says enough is enough. Here is a copy of the complaint filed by EA against Zynga;

EA v Zynga Complaint Final

What do you think? Can you see the difference between The Ville and The Sims Social? 

EA - It’s In The Courtroom / EA Sues Zynga

“The Fun Lives Here”…In the courtroom? Zynga has been served with yet another lawsuit. This comes via Electronic Arts suing Zynga for copyright infringement accusing Zynga’s creation of the The Ville for copying The Sims Social.

Here are a few articles that are being circulated around the internet;

EA sues Zynga for copyright infringement

By Brett Molina, USA TODAY

Electronic Arts is suing Zynga for copyright infringement, claiming the social gaming giant copied one of their games.

According to a complaint filed in U.S. District Court in California, EA alleges Zynga's new Facebook game The Ville is an "unmistakable copy" of The Sims Social.

"The similarities go well beyond any superficial resemblance," says Lucy Bradshaw, general manager of EA's Maxis label, the creators of The Sims Social. "Zynga's design choices, animations, visual arrangements and character motions and actions have been directly lifted from The Sims Social. The copying was so comprehensive that the two games are, to an uninitiated observer, largely indistinguishable."

In a statement responding to the lawsuit, Zynga general counsel Reggie Davis says the company plans to "defend our rights to the fullest extent possible."

"It's unfortunate that EA thought that this was an appropriate response to our game, and clearly demonstrates a lack of understanding of basic copyright principles," says Davis. "It's also ironic that EA brings this suit shortly after launchingSimCity Social which bears an uncanny resemblance to Zynga's CityVille game.

Unveiled in June, The Ville allows players to create avatars and "build the home of their dreams," designing the interior and creating avatars that socialize with friends.

The Sims Social, launched last August on Facebook, lets players create their own Sim and start virtual lives on the social network.

The lawsuit underscores broader accusations that Zynga rips off other games. For example, in January, Tiny Tower creators NimbleBit called out Zynga for its title Dream Heights, Joystiq reported.

"Good luck with your game, we are looking forward to inspiring you with our future games," said NimbleBit.

EA's Bradshaw says the publisher is "taking a stand" against Zynga and the allegations of copying.

"By calling Zynga out on this illegal practice, we hope to have a secondary effect of protecting the rights of other creative studios who don't have the resources to protect themselves."

 

 

EA sues Zynga, alleges 'The Ville' is 'Sims Social' ripoff

by Donna Tam, CNET

The punches just keep coming for Zynga.

Electronic Arts is suing the social games creator for copyright infringement, alleging that Zynga ripped off EA's "The Sims Social" when it created "The Ville," EA said today in a press release.

The gaming giant filed its lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California today.

The Sims Social is the Facebook version of EA's "The Sims" game. After launching in August 2011, the game has gained "several million active" users on Facebook, according to EA's press release.

Zynga denied the allegation in a statement today, adding a dig at EA by saying that another EA game "SimCity Social" is similar to Zynga's "CityVille" game.

"The Ville is the newest game in our 'ville' franchise -- it builds on every major innovation from our existing invest-and-express games dating back to YoVille and continuing through CityVille and CastleVille, and introduces a number of new social features and game mechanics not seen in social games today," Zynga's General Counsel Reggie Davis said in a statement sent to CNET. "It's unfortunate that EA thought that this was an appropriate response to our game, and clearly demonstrates a lack of understanding of basic copyright principles. It's also ironic that EA brings this suit shortly after launching SimCity Social, which bears an uncanny resemblance to Zynga's CityVille game. Nonetheless, we plan to defend our rights to the fullest extent possible and intend to win with players."

Zynga's "The Ville" was introduced in June 2012, nearly a year after "The Sims Social" was launched by EA's Maxis Label.

Lucy Bradshaw, general manager of EA’s Maxis label, said in an EA blog post that there are “unmistakable” similarities between the two including design choices, animations, visual arrangements, and character motions and action.

"The copying was so comprehensive that the two games are, to an uninitiated observer, largely indistinguishable. Scores of media and bloggers commented on the blatant mimicry," she wrote in the blog."This is a case of principle. Maxis isn't the first studio to claim that Zynga copied its creative product. But we are the studio that has the financial and corporate resources to stand up and do something about it. Infringing a developer's copyright is not an acceptable practice in game development. By calling Zynga out on this illegal practice, we hope to have a secondary effect of protecting the rights of other creative studios who don't have the resources to protect themselves.

The lawsuit comes on the heels of announcements from several law firms announcing investigations into Zynga for alleged insider trading and with the company reporting adisappointing earnings for the last fiscal quarter.

 

 

EA Suing Zynga for Copyright Infringement

Dave Thier, Forbes Contributor

EA is suing Zynga for copyright infringement, the company announced today. EA is claiming that Zynga’s The Ville “blatantly mimics” EA’s The Sims Social.

It’s far from the first time another company has accused Zynga of ripping off its work, but this has the weight of an industry titan behind it. Of all the major gaming companies, EA is the most committed to the social space, and the marketing surrounding Sim City Social made some less than subtle jabs atCityville.

Update: Zynga General Counsel Reggie Davis said in response that “It’s unfortunate that EA thought that this was an appropriate response to our game.” You can find the company’s complete statement on the lawsuit at the bottom of the post.

In a statement, EA’s Lucy Bradshaw describes the lawsuit as a stand on behalf of the gaming industry:

As outlined in our complaint, when The Ville was introduced in June 2012, the infringement of The Sims Social was unmistakable to those of us at Maxis as well as to players and the industry at large. The similarities go well beyond any superficial resemblance. Zynga’s design choices, animations, visual arrangements and character motions and actions have been directly lifted from The Sims Social. The copying was so comprehensive that the two games are, to an uninitiated observer, largely indistinguishable. Scores of media and bloggers commented on the blatant mimicry.

This is a case of principle. Maxis isn’t the first studio to claim that Zynga copied its creative product. But we are the studio that has the financial and corporate resources to stand up and do something about it. Infringing a developer’s copyright is not an acceptable practice in game development. By calling Zynga out on this illegal practice, we hope to have a secondary effect of protecting the rights of other creative studios who don’t have the resources to protect themselves.

Today, we hope to be taking a stand that helps the industry protect the value of original creative works and those that work tirelessly to create them.

This will be an interesting fight – I’m not a lawyer, but any outside observer can easily see that The Ville is a rip-off of Sims Social, but if Zynga’s lawyers aren’t prepared to fend off accusations of copyright infringement, they shouldn’t be paid. Still, it’s another headache for the beleaguered social gaming company, coming on top of a tanking stock price and accusations of deception and insider trading.

Read the full complaint at All Things D.

Update: Here’s Zynga’s statement:

“We are committed to creating the most fun, innovative, social and engaging games in every major genre that our players enjoy. The Ville is the newest game in our ‘ville’ franchise – it builds on every major innovation from our existing invest-and-express games dating back to YoVille and continuing through CityVille and CastleVille, and introduces a number of new social features and game mechanics not seen in social games today. It’s unfortunate that EA thought that this was an appropriate response to our game, and clearly demonstrates a lack of understanding of basic copyright principles. It’s also ironic that EA brings this suit shortly after launching SimCity Social which bears an uncanny resemblance to Zynga’s CityVille game. Nonetheless, we plan to defend our rights to the fullest extent possible and intend to win with players.”

 

I agree with Dave Thier, a Forbes Contributor, who stated that ‘This will be an interesting fight’. The Ville is clearly a Sims Social ripoff.

Zynga could countersue for EA’s SimCity Social being similar to CityVille. EA, however, has rights to the Sim City concept and could counter the possible counter suit by making just such an argument. EA could make an argument that Zynga has copycatted Sim City even before EA released SimCity Social onto social networking websites. And there are still enough differences between SimCity Social and CityVille where an average individual can tell them apart.

All-in-all, Zynga is in for a ride. So hang tight guys…the thrill ride is in full motion.

On Your Mark(s) Image Flipping

On Your Mark! Set! Change the images!

As you can see in the banners above this secret district went from being plural to being singular. Truthfully, either would work just fine. You just have a slightly different implication between the plural and singular. ‘On Your Marks’ is telling all those involved to get to their starting position or to get ready. ‘On Your Mark’ is more personal or directed individually.

This was not the only change Zynga made. The ‘What’s This’ pop-up or event description pop-up had also been changed.

The original image was blank with no description and just the image of the Gold Medalist appeared in the lower right corner of it.

Upon the release of the district the Gold Medalist appeared to be called ‘Throwing Axe’. Now the image of the ‘Throwing Axe’ is as it should be.

And the Olympic Stadium was changed to the Sports Stadium.

  Why all the changes? Many are speculating that it is because Zynga may be infringing on some copyrights.

In case you are wondering how your country is doing in the Olympics here is a list of total medals won by country as of August 2, 2012. I find it rather boring watching the Olympics since the USA has an athlete win a medal in nearly every event and dominates nearly every Olympics. Here is a listing of medals won in Olympics dating back to 1896.

Athletes Mystery Bags And ZIG

Athletes Mystery Bags are packed and ready. You will soon be able to take your First Step.

The athletes mystery bags are just one of Zynga’s tributes to the 2012 Summer Olympics.

It would have been interesting if Zynga had included Mafia Wars in it’s Zynga International Games.

 

If you find some extra time then and you wish to participate in the Zynga International Games then you need to play Ruby Blast, Bubble Safari and/or Zynga Slingo.