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Facebook, Zynga Sign Long-Term Virtual Currency Deal

Posted by Soulskill on from the money-builds-great-friendships dept.

Despite recent rumors that Facebook and FarmVille developer Zynga were gearing up for a legal battle, the two announced yesterday that they have signed a five-year agreement over how virtual currency will be used. Quoting: "The source of the conflict ... comes down to Facebook's decision to introduce Facebook Credits, an over-arching currency system to be used in all games on its platform. This allows users to purchase just one type of currency for use in Facebook games, rather than buying directly from individual developers — a lack of direct control over its monetization that became a major point of contention for Zynga. Also likely an issue is Facebook's decision to take 30 percent of revenues gathered from credits, with 70 percent allocated to the developers."

13 of 124 comments (clear)

  1. Monetize by Thanshin · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I pity the guy who has to find a way to monetize the virtual currency of a game that's inside a social network, inside internet.

    I wonder if he has found a strong enough soap to remove that constant slimy sensation.

    1. Re:Monetize by WrongSizeGlass · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I pity the guy who has to find a way to monetize the virtual currency of a game that's inside a social network, inside internet.

      I hear it was virtually impossible ;-)

      I wonder if he has found a strong enough soap to remove that constant slimy sensation.

      There isn't a shower hot enough to make someone feel clean after that.

    2. Re:Monetize by KDR_11k · · Score: 4, Insightful

      The whole business model of the game is to make money via selling stuff for real money. The game itself is free to play but it's designed to encourage players to draw friends into it and to spend real money on it. Or do you think they're running Farmville out of the goodness of their hearts?

      --
      Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.
    3. Re:Monetize by Thanshin · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I agree in the analysis and disagree in the resulting conclusion.

      At some point I stop seeing an insightful, astute, marketer and I start seeing someone who bases his income on the stupidity of the most stupid.

      The guy you call genious, from my point of view is just as repugnant a person as a tv fortune teller.

    4. Re:Monetize by sopssa · · Score: 4, Insightful

      You may think such games and spending on them is stupid, but if it gives some value to the user (fun, feel of accomplished, whatever), what's wrong with it? People like different things.

    5. Re:Monetize by Rogerborg · · Score: 5, Insightful

      It's worth considering that for many people, Facebook is their internets. Facebook has achieved what AOL could never do - build a garden so compelling that people never wonder what's outside the wall.

      --
      If you were blocking sigs, you wouldn't have to read this.
    6. Re:Monetize by WrongSizeGlass · · Score: 3, Insightful

      At some point I stop seeing an insightful, astute, marketer and I start seeing someone who bases his income on the stupidity of the most stupid.

      Insightful, astute marketers make their living finding the stupidity in people. You know who said "a fool and his money are soon parted"? A marketer, that's who.

    7. Re:Monetize by Devout_IPUite · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I'd say about 5% of the people who I know who play MMOs do it in a healthy way.

    8. Re:Monetize by PopeRatzo · · Score: 1, Insightful

      I pity the guy who has to find a way to monetize the virtual currency

      Because that's what the world economy needs today: virtual currency. Like we don't have enough types of currency that aren't real.

      When can I start trading in derivatives of securities that are based on virtual currency? Or futures of derivatives of securities that are based on virtual currency?

      Fuck's sake, can we please go back to trading in beads? Or tulips?

      --
      You are welcome on my lawn.
  2. Whoa morons. by unity100 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    30% ? what kind of whacked out rate is that ? loansharks' ?

    are they aware that, if zygna wants, they can now just set up their servers with farmwille and draw their 85 million players to it ?

    i bet that last bit was the thing that forced fuckerberg to sign a deal.

    btw mark, youre fuckerberg for me from now on. your numerous failures in regard to privacy policies and flops with pr earned you an f in place of the z in your last name. enjoy.

    --
    Read radical news here
  3. Re:Virtual Currency? this is just wrong! by Rockoon · · Score: 4, Insightful

    people pay real money for virtual money?

    "real" money? You mean like Gold?

    --
    "His name was James Damore."
  4. Re:Virtual Currency? this is just wrong! by somersault · · Score: 4, Insightful

    people pay real money for virtual money?

    People transfer one essentially worthless measure of value into another, yes. Real life money is almost no use by itself, it's only because of a strange kind of social contract that we regard it as having any value. People obviously must perceive value in virtual currency or they wouldn't buy any. So it's a kind of meta-currency - slightly less useful than real money, but still valuable to the individual.

    --
    which is totally what she said
  5. where do I go to cash in my beenz by karmaflux · · Score: 3, Insightful

    or can I just feed them directly to farmville animals

    --

    REM Old programmers don't die. They just GOSUB without RETURN.