

Advertisementĭespite these declines, it's a bit surprising to learn that EA doesn't consider it worthwhile to continue operating servers for games that still have millions of players. SimCity Social seems to have peaked at 10 million monthly players and has managed to hold on to just over one million of them less than a year after its launch. Similarly, The Sims Social rocketed to over 65 million monthly players just after its launch in 2011, only to drop to just over five million monthly players today, according to AppData. Still, that's a big drop-off for a game that was once selling 90 million virtual goods every day. Pet Society has been running since August 2008, which is practically geological time in the short history of social games, and it still manages to attract a million monthly players to this day. But some of the games EA is shutting down have had a pretty good run. Indeed, the collapse of the social game market from its dizzying heights hasn't been surprising to anyone who's been paying attention. "For people who have seen other recent shutdowns of social games, perhaps this is not surprising." "After millions of people initially logged in to play these games, the number of players and amount of activity has fallen off," EA wrote in a blog post today. By this summer, there won't be a single active Playfish game available on Facebook. In addition, EA will also shutter the social extensions of its popular sports game brands Madden NFL SuperStars and NHL Superstars on May 14. EA has announced it will be shutting down three of its once-popular social games- SimCity Social, The Sims Social, and Pet Society-on June 14. Just over three years later, the investment looks a lot less prescient. After all, games like FarmVille were attracting tens of millions of players daily and seemed poised to upend the market for traditional pay-to-play gaming that had endured for decades. Add Comment.When EA paid over $300 million for social gaming powerhouse Playfish in late 2009, it probably seemed like a good investment in the future of gaming. Until then, commence the drooling over the screenshots.Īre you excited for this major Zuma Blitz update? Are you still digging the original? Sound off in the comments.

You'll get to experience everything PopCap has changed in Zuma Blitz: Kroakatoa Island on Facebook starting tomorrow, Sept.
#Zuma blitz facebook free#
That said, some things have not changed, like the ability to share gifts and free plays with friends, tracks their stats on leaderboards and compete in weekly tournaments. Perhaps the most striking change is what the developer calls unlockable "Spirit Animal Monuments" that look as if they transform your frog into new creatures to blast colored balls with. Another new feature that PopCap has teased the Shot Aimer, which sounds like an extension of the Speed Ball power-up. Players will be able to boost their frog's performance even further with an all-new food system, which seems to provide passive bonuses in contrast to the active, flashy power-ups. There are two new power-ups as well: the Color Nuke and the Wild Ball. For instance, there are 110 new levels for players to shoot through and collect stars from. While much of the play loop hasn't changed-choose power-ups, enter level and shoot away for the high score-PopCap has introduced considerable updates to the finer details.
#Zuma blitz facebook full#
That's right, Zuma Blitz has finally embraced a widescreen orientation, which we imagine will look even better in full screen. To start, Zuma Blitz has a whole new look, from its art style to character design and even screen real estate in the Facebook canvas. What sounds like a mere expansion is actually a soup to nuts reinvention of the social marble shooter. PopCap and EA have revealed the next generation of Zuma Blitz on Facebook, titled Zuma Blitz: Kroakatoa Island.
