Do You Remember This From Just Over A Year Ago?

Zynga Launches Mafia Wars: Las Vegas With A Bang

Game Launch Culminates With Live Webcast of Armored Truck Explosion
to Commemorate 10 Million Visits

August 4, 2010

San Francisco, CA – Zynga announced today the launch of Mafia Wars: Las Vegas, its fifth Mafia Wars city expansion. The company also unveiled a game challenge that includes the explosion of a four-ton armored truck in the Las Vegas desert when 10 million players visit the new city. The event brings to life an actual in-game challenge, where players can band together to blow up an armored truck. Mafia Wars: Las Vegas debuted in beta on July 21 and the number of players, which has already reached 3 million, is being tracked live at www.mafiawarslv.com where the explosion will also be webcast live for the world to see.

3 million people have visited Mafia Wars: Las Vegas since its beta launch
7 million Vegas gifts have been sent per day
8.5 million casino properties have been upgraded
1.5 billion jobs have been done in Vegas including 250 MM fights, 100 MM robberies and 80 MM tournament fights

A new property system called “My Casino” that allows players to look inside the casino and purchase items
All new “tournament” fighting system featuring lightweight and heavyweight categories (depending on number of friends)
More than 800 new art assets
60 new jobs launched
100 new items (armors, weapons, vehicles, and animals) to collect
All new “choose your path” jobs system that is more customized to the players’ interests

“We want to continually deliver the most exciting game experience for our community and expanding the game to Vegas was the obvious next step,” said Scott Koenigsberg, Mafia Wars general manager at Zynga. “New and existing players are flocking to Vegas – more jobs are being done there than anywhere else. This launch also marks an exciting first, where our players take action in-game and can experience the consequences of their actions taken offline with the armored car explosion.”

Additional game activities include a $25,000 giveaway and multi-city promotions in New York and Las Vegas featuring Mafia Wars armored cars and chalk outlines of bodies throughout the cities. If a player visits Vegas, or anyone in their mafia visits, the players get automatic entries into a drawing to win $25,000. Additionally, each week 10 people will win a custom Mafia Wars iPad.

Please visit www.mafiawarslv.com for more information.

It Was A Fun, Exciting Time In Mafia Wars. A New City With New Loot And A Real Truck That Got Exploded In A Real Desert. You Could Play The Game When You Wanted To And Events Were, Well Uh, Actual Events That Were Special And Not An Every Week 'Have To'. You Actually Could Have A Life Outside Of Your Internet Gaming World Back Then (And It Was Only A Year Ago).

Now It Seems The Inevitable That This Once Exciting City, Las Vegas, Will Be The Next Victim On The Mafia Wars Lock-Out And Close Down List. If You Haven't Started It Yet You'd Better Or You May Not Get To Complete It Like Many Never Completed Cuba, Moscow, And Bangkok.

We Know Where Mafia Wars Has Been. I Want To Know Where It Is Heading? This Game Has The Potential Of Being A Great Game For A Long Time. In Order For This Game To Continue It Needs To Expand And Not Limit Itself As Too Many Other Games Do. Shutting Down The Cities (Districts) Is Not A Good Thing Because Every Time Zynga Closes One The DAU (Daily Active Users) And The MAU (Monthly Active Users) Drop. This Doesn't Have To Happen.

We want to continually deliver the most exciting game experience for our community

Those Were Zyngas Words And They Continue To Say Them To This Day. When Veagas Was Released It Was True And People Were Excited. The Problem Is That Too Many Who Used To Be A Part Of Your Community Do Not Believe That The Game Is Exciting Anymore.

Three Cities Have Closed In Six Months Time. Cuba Closed March 3, 2011. Moscow Closed March 10, 2011. Bangkok Closed August 3, 2011. That Was More Than Enough For Many To Make A Decision To Quit Playing The Game.

The Game Is Now Leaning Toward Being A Fighting Game. Ice Season After Ice Season. Many Players Struggle With This Because A 1000 Ices In 7 Days Dictates To The Players That If You Want The Prize Then You Have To Play Nearly Non-Stop. Zynga, Don't You Realize That This IS TOO MUCH! Break It Up Just A Little, Will Ya.

New Players Join The Game And See These Things And Look At Their 200 Health And Go "Wow! Never Mind." And Quit Before They Even Start. Some Stick Around 'Til They Hit The Shark Tank Then They Say The Same Thing. Some Post Their Concerns In Your Forums And All They Recieve Is "You Are Now In The Shark Tank." And so On. Not Much Incentive For Them To Continue Playing.

Ultimately, My Concern For The Future Of Mafia Wars Is That It Is Bleak. I Love This Game And I Play Daily, But, I Fear It May Fade Away Too Soon. I Want To See More People Playing The Game And Not Less.