Happy Aquarium creator CrowdStar plans to take its games mobile

In a recent press release, it was announced that CrowdStar's recent explosive growth has led the studio to release two of its games, Happy Aquarium and Happy Island, on Yahoo! Japan through DeNA's Mobage platform. Recently, CrowdStar encroached on the coveted Number 2 position as most popular Facebook developer under the almighty Zynga.

This is a pretty impressive feat considering CrowdStar, a largely independent studio with backing from the YouWeb entrepreneur platform, beat out both Playfish and Playdom for the position, backed by Electronic Arts and Disney, respectively. The company plans to release several more Facebook games by the end of 2010 and continue to hire more team members.

"CrowdStar has its foot on the gas -- we're aggressively scaling the company to build on all the momentum we gained this summer," said Niren Hiro, CEO of CrowdStar. "We're prepared to go to the next level."

Apparently, the next level for CrowdStar is in your pocket as the developer released a bullet list of plans for the future which includes, "Upcoming launches of mobile versions of all its Facebook games through YouWeb-incubator partnerships." Hopefully this means mobile versions of CrowdStar games similar to Zynga's FarmVille for iPhone, which recreates your actual Facebook farm within the mobile app.

While the developer is reporting record growth and shows no signs of stopping with hires aplenty, CrowdStar is going to need some truly new game ideas if it hopes to compete with Zynga much less maintain its Number 2 spot. Especially considering Zynga seems to have caught on to the idea of new game mechanics; it should be an interesting winter.

Restaurant City Wizard School items to conjure magical cafes Thursday

Wizard School
Though Halloween is officially over, that doesn't mean our games have to be any less magical. Playfish is set to introduce the new Wizard School set of items to Restaurant City this Thursday. This new theme is sure to transform your restaurant into an enchanted eatery in no time with outdoor and indoor decorations. Let the Magic Broom, which will replace your janitorial staff, do the cleaning for you. O Mirror of Gluttony, an item that will generate 1,500 coins every four hours for two and a half days before it breaks from reflecting so many overindulgent customers. (Is Playfish trying to say something here?)

Frankly, the Wizard School theme is clearly biting off inspired by the Harry Potter series. Especially considering this set of items comes just in time for the November release of the seventh film based on the infamous novels. You'll also find decorations like Harry Butter and Ham-oniony (who comes up with this stuff?) as well. But Playfish knows what you really want: the recipes. So, this week both Chocolate Toads (sound familiar?) and Butternut Squash will be added to the game. But this is just scratching the surface of what's to be introduced tomorrow, so take a look at the full list on the Restaurant City Blog and brush up on your spell book for when this new theme lands tomorrow.

Pet Society Giveaway: Win a cute free T-Shirt

Update: This contest has ended. Head to Blog.Games.com or our Facebook fanpage for more awesome giveaways.

You made it through the Halloween weekend and you're already halfway through the week. Because you've been doing such a good job, I've decided to do a little Pet Society free T-Shirt giveaway.

In the past when we've given away t-shirts, an overwhelming amount of people have responded. So we made sure to have more than one prize this time around. Today, we're giving away two cute Pet Society T-Shirts.

Continue reading to enter to win pet society giveaway

The two gray Pet Society T-Shirts come as a Women's Small size, making them perfect for a child, or a petite Pet Society player. On the front of the shirt is a little blue Pet Society pet with a big red nose, big ears, a viking helmet, and a tuft of green fur on his forehead. That little guy sure looks pleased about something.

What's also great about the shirt is that it doesn't say Pet Society anywhere on it, so only those who play the game will be able to fully appreciate it. To outsiders, this shirt will just look cute and quirky. It'll be like a little inside joke.

So how can you enter to win? Follow the directions below.

To enter:

Step 1: Go to the Games.com Facebook fanpage: (http://www.facebook.com/gamescom).

Step 2: 'Like' the fanpage so you can see the latest Facebook game news, tips, and cheats.

Step 3: Enter the giveaway by heading to the fanpage and leave a comment telling us a bit about your pets in the real world. Do you have a cat or a dog? Or perhaps something more exotic? What are their names? What made you choose your pet? Did you base your Pet Society pet on your real-life pet? If you don't have a pet, why not?

(I have two cats: Jim and Bob II. I also have a dog named Trixy. I'll be honest, I prefer manly dogs, and Trixy is a poodle thing, which is a bit questionable. Jim and Bob are awesome though. They kill birds and pests, lounge around, and are really friendly. We love them all, they're part of the family.)

After a few days, we'll randomly select two winners, message them on Facebook for their addresses, and send them their free Pet Society T-Shirts. Sound easy enough?

Get started by heading to the Games.com fanpage to enter for the free Pet Society T-Shirts.

Facebook games partnerships gig given to former LiveJournal CEO

Sean Ryan (pictured), who previously worked for News Corp. creating an online games division, is now director of games partnerships at Facebook, VentureBeat reports. The position had been open since August before the decision was finally made to take Ryan on, who also previously served as CEO for Meez, a virtual world for teenagers and LiveJournal, a once popular blogging service before the turn of the decade.

Now, don't get too excited--Facebook will not be making its own games anytime soon if ever. Ryan will purely foster the social network's relationships with developers like Zynga, Playdom, Playfish and more. In other words, it's this guy's job to keep dudes like Zynga CEO Mark Pincus peachy keen.

This is a smart move by Facebook, which hasn't had a stellar track record of catering both to gamers and non-gamers alike. Though, the company did recently create a new development division solely for improving the gaming experience on the site. It seems as if Facebook is finally serious about the half of its users that enjoy these games, which aren't going away anytime soon.

The Sims Social: Country meets chic with Country Kitchen items

Is it just me, or is decorating our houses one of the best things to do in the Sims Social? I know I could personally spend plenty of time rearranging furniture in each room, only to ripe it all out and start over again, and to help us do that with even more themes is a new Country Kitchen theme that has launched in the game this week. These country kitchen items bring in all sorts of shades of brown and ivory, and it's one of the most complete themes we've seen released in the game yet. Here's a rundown of what to look out for in the store to make this theme complete in your own home.

Plate Collection

    Costs: 4 SimCash
    Value: $600


Perfecto Fruitbowl

    Costs: 4 SimCash
    Value $600


Vintage Wines

    Costs: 6 SimCash
    Value: $900


RuralU Deluxe C (Kitchen Counter Piece)

    Costs: 10 SimCash
    Value: $1500


RuralU Deluxe (Kitchen Counter Piece)

    Costs: 12 SimCash
    Value: $1750


Antiquitate Deco (Wall Sconce)

    Costs: 3 SimCash
    Value: $450


19th Century Lamp

    Costs: 10 SimCash
    Value: $1500


19th Century Pot (Flowers)

    Costs: 19 SimCash
    Value: $2800


Antiquitate Oil

    Costs: 325 Social Points
    Value: $700


Basinuate Marble (Sink)

    Costs: 12 SimCash
    Value: 1750
    Clean Stat: 5



FrancoFaux Chaise (Buildable item)

    Costs: 225 Social Points
    Value: $500


Cereal Shelf

    Costs: 250 Social Points
    Value: $550


19th Century Mat

    Costs: 19 SimCash
    Value: $2800


Clox Fruitful

    Costs: 350 Social Points
    Value: $800


RuralU Trove (Wall Cabinet Piece)

    Costs: 600 Social Points
    Value: $1450


RuralU Charm (Wall Cabinet Piece)

    Costs: 800 Social Points
    Value: $2050


FrancoFaux Tableau (Buildable item)

    Costs: 800 Social Points
    Value: $2050


RuralU Latch (Hutch - Buildable item)

    Costs: 1100 Social Points
    Value: $3100


G King Counter (Center Island - Buildable item)

    Costs: 15,000 Social Points
    Value: $21,250
    Happiness Stat: 3


Normanity Chair (Living Room Furniture - Buildable item)

    Costs: 450 Social Points
    Value: $1050


FrancoFaux Cafe (Living Room Furniture - Buildable item)

    Costs: 650 Social Points
    Value: $1600


Normanity Sofa (Living Room Furniture - Buildable item)

    Costs: 700 Social Points
    Value: $1750
    Sleep Stat: 3



In addition to all of these items, there's also a Cooking Skill vent hood called the SuxDelux that's available to users that have reached a Cooking Skill of 40 or higher. This item has a value of $3650.

In the Build Menu, you can also find a selection of new windows in the same matching dark wood color, ranging in price from 750 coins for the RealOak 2 Pane to 6,000 coins for the RealOak 5 Pane. If you want the window in the picture above, with the quaint ivory curtains, that will set you back a whopping 39 SimCash. Along with this, there are five new wallpapers and three new floor tiles to round out the theme.

There's no listed time limit on any of these items, so if you don't have enough Social Points or SimCash available to buy them now, you should be able to save up and purchase them well into the future. Still, if you want to get your hands on these items while they're fresh, I really couldn't blame you. I just hope your kitchen is big enough to hold them all!

[Final Image Credit: Playfish/EA]

What do you think of these Country Kitchen items? Are you more of a modern fan, or do you like country / southwestern items?

The Sims Social: Claim your free Pogo Arcade Machine

While you may already be the proud owner of one or two Arcade Machines in the Sims Social, if you're like me, you'll always be ready for one more - especially if it's free. Such is the case with this new goodie, a Pogo branded Arcade Machine, spotted by BadgeHungry. The single link to claim your reward has apparently been going around for about a week, but hasn't been heavily advertised. It does, however, still work (as of this writing).

To claim your free Pogo Arcade Machine in the Sims Social just make sure you're logged into your Facebook account and click on this link right here. This will take you to Facebook, where you'll be told whether or not your claim attempt was successful. Once in your house, the Pogo Arcade Machine will go into your storage, where you can then freely place it anywhere in your house (or even outside).

As for interactivity, the machine allows you to do two things: Play Games (no energy required), and "Redeem Tokens at Pogo." This link will let you earn 25,000 free tokens on the site, but unfortunately, doesn't come with any free Simoleons back in the Sims Social. But hey, we've walked away with a free Arcade Machine; it's that all we could really ask for?

Have you already claimed your free Pogo Arcade Machine? What other sorts of goodies do you hope come to the Sims Social?

Wait, so farming's cool again? The Sims Social falls to third place

Whelp, that was fun while it lasted. EA and Playfish's mega hit The Sims Social is now the third most popular game on Facebook, as the game dipped beneath Zynga's FarmVille, according to AppData. The Facebook app tracking service chalks this up to a loss of 500,000 monthly players in December along with 1.8 million daily players gone in the past week alone.

This leaves The Sims Social with 5.9 million daily players and 30.4 million monthly players, while Zynga's farming simulator gained 200,000 daily players within the last week leaving it with 7 million daily players. However, the game is just a hair above the game all about Littlehaven with 30.9 million monthly players. If you ask us, there are two reasons for this unfortunate switcheroo.

For one, the Winter Wonderland expansion just hit FarmVille for those willing to pay up the Farm Cash to get in, hence the 200,000 more daily players. (That sounds like an accurate number for those willing to fork up the $10.) Zynga is taking the holidays seriously this year in FarmVille, as Winter Wonderland is an entirely new farm for fans to play around in. And that's in addition to the torrent of holiday crops, animals and decorations that has already hit the game and will likely continue into Dec. 25 and beyond.

The Sims Social, on the other hand, hasn't seen a major content update on the scale of FarmVille's Winter Wonderland since its release this summer. Sure, the game has been updated with numerous tweaks, themes and contests, but perhaps those aren't enough to keep players' attention. A hefty chunk of The Sims Social players are Zynga fans, after all, and they can be a fickle bunch. If The Sims Social wants to see second place again, it's going to take more than themes and gameplay refinements.

Are you still digging The Sims Social since its launch? Can the game be restored to its former glory, and if so, how?

Playfish founder: We have redefined social games with The Sims Social

The Sims Social is just an arm's reach from being the number one game on Facebook, so this kind of logic is expected. In an interview with MCV, Playfish founder and co-GM Kristian Segerstrale said, "In bringing one of EA's most popular game franchises to Facebook, Playfish and The Sims team have redefined the meaning of social in video games."

While The Sims Social certainly treads some new ground in how Facebook gamers interact, it's important to remember to chalk up much of the game's runaway success to the brand it's attached to. In just over a month since its release, The Sims Social has skyrocketed to become the second most popular Facebook game to date in both daily and monthly players, AppData reports.

Just last week, EA's (which owns Playfish) proverbial secret weapon ousted Zynga's iconic and ubiquitous FarmVille in daily players, but now the game has even more monthly players than the household name farming simulator with over 43.8 million and counting. The Sims Social has dipped a bit in daily players, but is just about 2.9 million fans away from beating out the might CityVille as the most played Facebook game daily.

"By combining Playfish's expertise and passion for social play with the deep creative heritage of The Sims franchise and the insights of its creators, we feel we've brought something very special to life – and tens of millions of players around the world have responded with extraordinary enthusiasm over the last few weeks," Segerstrale said to MCV.

The founder went on to say that new features to The Sims Social will land in the coming months. And we're sure that if EA wants to host the top Facebook game overall, that those features will have to be even more groundbreaking than before. How's about in-game marriages, eh? (Because we all know how well that's worked elsewhere.)

Have you been a part of The Sims Social craze on Facebook? Do you think it's incredible growth is due to its reportedly groundbreaking social features, or is more thanks to its name (it could always be both)? Sound off in the comments. 1 Comment

Playfish founder: We have redefined social games with The Sims Social

The Sims Social is just an arm's reach from being the number one game on Facebook, so this kind of logic is expected. In an interview with MCV, Playfish founder and co-GM Kristian Segerstrale said, "In bringing one of EA's most popular game franchises to Facebook, Playfish and The Sims team have redefined the meaning of social in video games."

While The Sims Social certainly treads some new ground in how Facebook gamers interact, it's important to remember to chalk up much of the game's runaway success to the brand it's attached to. In just over a month since its release, The Sims Social has skyrocketed to become the second most popular Facebook game to date in both daily and monthly players, AppData reports.

Just last week, EA's (which owns Playfish) proverbial secret weapon ousted Zynga's iconic and ubiquitous FarmVille in daily players, but now the game has even more monthly players than the household name farming simulator with over 43.8 million and counting. The Sims Social has dipped a bit in daily players, but is just about 2.9 million fans away from beating out the might CityVille as the most played Facebook game daily.

"By combining Playfish's expertise and passion for social play with the deep creative heritage of The Sims franchise and the insights of its creators, we feel we've brought something very special to life – and tens of millions of players around the world have responded with extraordinary enthusiasm over the last few weeks," Segerstrale said to MCV.

The founder went on to say that new features to The Sims Social will land in the coming months. And we're sure that if EA wants to host the top Facebook game overall, that those features will have to be even more groundbreaking than before. How's about in-game marriages, eh? (Because we all know how well that's worked elsewhere.)

Have you been a part of The Sims Social craze on Facebook? Do you think it's incredible growth is due to its reportedly groundbreaking social features, or is more thanks to its name (it could always be both)? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment.