1）Inside Virtual Goods报告显示，2010年虚拟商品交易市场规模为16亿美元，预计今年将达22亿美元。

其中，手机游戏虚拟商品交易今年将创收3.5亿美元，预计明年增长至5亿美元。

virtual-goods(from simonmainwaring.com)

Facebook平台2010年虚拟商品交易额为8.35亿美元，预计今年将达12亿美元，2012年增长至16亿美元。

与此同时，Zynga仍将以75%的份额主导Facebook虚拟商品交易市场。

2）Bigpoint平台（目前注册玩家数量为2.5亿）游戏主管Philip Resiberger在最近的媒体采访中表示，Zynga实际上“非常渴望”摆脱Facebook，他们在过去两年中一直在酝酿这种计划。

Facebook(from games)

他认为Zynga即将推出的新项目Project Z虽然也与Facebook绑定，但迟早会显示其独立性；他称Bigpoint在这一点上很有优势，因为他们不但能够开发游戏，而且还掌握了游戏发布渠道。

3）谷歌日前宣布《Zynga Poker》这款戏入驻Google TV机顶盒平台，支持玩家坐在客厅沙发上玩游戏。这款专为Google TV开发的原生应用植入了全新的视觉效果，采用Google TV遥控器功能。

zynga poker(from venturebeat)

据AppData数据显示，这款游戏在各个平台（包括雅虎、Google+和iOS等）的MAU将近3000万。

4）美国CNN最近在其网站开设了游戏频道“CNN Games”，为用户提供由Arkadium开发的25款社交游戏。用户无需注册CNN会员即可体验游戏，但如果注册会员的用户还可以获得“保存分数，与好友在排行榜比拼分数”的优势。

CNN Games(from games)

5）游戏追踪及社交网络服务平台Raptr日前根据其1000多万用户数据发布的人气游戏名单显示，《上古卷轴5：天际》是2011年人气最旺的游戏。从玩家游戏总时长及平均游戏次数来看，《模拟人生社交版》是今年最热门的社交游戏。居于其次的分别是《CastleVille》、《Empires & Allies》、《Diamond Dash》和《Mafia Wars 2》。

Top Social games 2011(from raptr)

但如果从平均每次游戏时长来看，《模拟人生社交版》排名在《CastleVille》和《Diamond Dash》之后。

Raptr曾在10月份报告中指出，《模拟人生社交版》导致用户玩Zynga游戏的时间大为缩水，在该游戏问世后，《Empires & Allies》和《FarmVille》的用户游戏时间均下滑25%左右。

6）Zynga最近在纽约时代广场展开名为“I Love Play”活动，邀请玩家“向世界公布”自己最喜欢的Zynga游戏名称。

玩家只要点击“I Love Play”这个应用的“开始”按钮，就可以在自己的Facebook资料页面安装一款应用，填写自己的姓名，上传照片以及自己所爱游戏的界面，然后点击“提交”就可以把自己填写完整的资料发送到时代广场新年之夜的广告牌上。

clean about your FarmVille addiction to world(from games)

不过，这项活动并没有提供实际奖品，玩家从中得到的好处可能就是让更多人来访问自己的虚拟农场和城市。

7）针对美国著名演员Alec Baldwin因沉迷于《Words With Friends》无视乘务员的关机要求而被请下飞机一事，Zynga日前通过公司Twitter帐号发贴“声援”该演员：“@AmericanAir，请不要阻止@AlecBaldwin玩游戏”，并开玩笑式地上传了一张含有“让Alec玩游戏”（LET ALEC PLAY）英文字母的《Worlds With Friends》填字界面（如下图所示）。

LET ALEC PLAY(from games)

观察者称由于名人效应，这款游戏的Facebook版本在该事件之后一天内新增10万DAU，其iOS版本在各个榜单的排名也迅速上升。

据《波士顿先驱报》报道，这并非名人沉迷社交游戏的首个案例，女演员Emma Stone和Mila Kunis之前也承认自己对《FarmVille》很上瘾，John Mayer和Eliza Dushku等艺人也同样是社交游戏粉丝。（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，拒绝任何不保留版权的转载，如需转载请联系：游戏邦）

1）US virtual goods market to hit $2.9 billion in 2012

by Tim Green

More than half of it from Facebook.

According to the Inside Virtual Goods report the market will grow from $2.2 billion this year, and $1.6 billion in 2010.

TechCrunch has spun the stats and reckons that mobile gaming alone made $350 million this year, and will grow to $500 million next year.

Certainly, the upwards trend seems to be ongoing: this time last year, Flurry estaimated that iOS developers were earning as much from in-app as from advertising.

Of course, the historic kick-starter of this market came from the combination of Facebook and social gaming companies like Zynga – which alone accounts for an estimated 75 per cent of Facebook transactions. And they remain the main protagonists of the action.

The report says virtual goods on Facebook will rise from $835 million in 2010 to $1.2 billion this year to $1.6 billion next year.

And Zynga will continue to its historical dominance with about 75 per cent of the Facebook virtual goods market.

TechCrunch reckons the buoyant market will reap a bumper payday for Facebook, with its 30 per cent rev share on all virtual goods sales

It says that Facebook’s expected IPO could result in the publication of financials that show $500 million in revenue from this source.（source:mobile-ent）

2）Farmerama’s Bigpoint knows how badly Zynga wants out of Facebook

by Joe Osborne

“Oh they desperately want to,” Bigpoint chief games officer Philip Resiberger told GamesIndustry.biz. “They have plans, they’ve had plans for the last two years. Everyone wants to reduce their dependence on Facebook I think.” That’s what everyone has said, but even the FarmVille maker’s upcoming Project Z is tied rather intrinsically to Facebook, so what gives?

“Eventually it will come, but as some attempts have shown in the past, it’s not as easy to understand the world outside Facebook because it’s a totally different world,” Reisberger elaborated during an interview with GI.biz “That’s why Bigpoint is in a very good position: we’re not just the ones developing, we’ve mastered, to a certain degree, the distribution.”

But Bigpoint’s (known best for Facebook-less social games like Farmerama and Skyrama) Resiberger goes on to compliment Zynga on its innovations in social games. Of course, it’s safe to take Reisberger’s earlier comments with a grain of salt: He works with a company that creates social games outside of Facebook–crazy, we know. And that company is doing quite well for itself, with 250 million registered players on Bigpoint, according to Reisberger.

It makes you wonder, however, is Zynga really drawing in new players, or are meteoric launches like CastleVille more thanks to its existing players than new ones? Most would go with the former, at least for the time being. Will Project Z and zTags finally help the CityVille creator bring in new players from throughout the web? Stay tuned for 2012.（source:games）

3）Zynga Poker launches on Google TV

By Andrew Webster

Zynga Poker is quickly becoming one of the most ubiquitous games around, available on seemingly every platform. There are already mobile versions of the game in addition to the Facebook and Google+ versions, and now Google has announced that Zynga Poker is coming to Google TV as well.

Google says that the game has been optimized for the new platform, meaning that it’s designed for players lounging on the couch. It also features a brand new visual style and controls with the Google TV remote.

Zynga Poker joins a small but growing line-up of games on the platform, which includes a Google TV version of Frogger, as well as puzzle games like Droplets and Hexwalk.（source:gamezebo）

4）CNN Games: When social games fever hits the virtual newstands

by Jenny Ng

CNN has opened a spankin’ new games portal on their site, named simply, “CNN Games” and powered by social games stalwart, Arkadium. Aside from having to put up with a 15-second ad before each game loads, all twenty-five of Arkadium’s games are free, including established favorites such as Mahjongg Dimensions. You don’t have to sign up as a CNN member to play (plus, Facebook Connect doesn’t seem far behind), but CNN would like it if you did. Doing so allows you to “save your scores, get on the Leaderboard and challenge your friends”.（source:games）

5）The Sims Social the most played social game amongst Raptr users

By Andrew Webster

It may be sitting behind CityVille and FarmVille on the active user charts, but amongst users of the gaming social network Raptr The Sims Social is the most played social game of the year.

Raptr has released a list of the most played games amongst its users, and while the recent console and PC smash hit role playing game The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim came out on top overall, The Sims managed to top the social scene. In terms of both total playtime and average playtime per user, The Sims Social was number one, followed by CastleVille, Empires & Allies, Diamond Dash, and Mafia Wars 2.

However, when it comes to the average length of a gameplay session, The Sims Social was behind its competitors, with CastleVille and Diamond Dash leading the way.

Back in October Raptr revealed that amongst its community, which totals some 10 million gamers, The Sims Social had begun stealing playtime from Zynga games, with both Empires & Allies and FarmVille playtime dropping by 25 percent after The Sims’ release.（source:gamezebo）

6）Want to come clean about your FarmVille addiction to all of New York?

by Joe Osborne

If that intrigues you, then Zynga is certainly the place to do it. The FarmVille maker is running a contest on its fan page, calling for players to proclaim their love of Zynga’s games to the world. Well, “the world” being Times Square in New York City through New Year’s Eve. (So … pretty much the world.) Zynga’s calling it the “I Love Play” contest, and it’s actually an app for players to install.

Once players click on the “Get Started” button, they’ll be asked to install an app on their Facebook profile. Then, it’s time to complete a somewhat lengthy form asking for your name, images of yourself and the game board from your favorite game, and a quote to go along with your entry. Finally, you’ll be asked to give a shout-out to a friend. Hit “Submit” and you might find yourself on a billboard in Times Square through New Year’s Eve.

And … that’s about it. There’s no real prize to be won in this contest. Well, some might consider giving the world the ultimate “Hey, look at my farm, dammit!” a prize in and of itself.

All this contest reminds us of is the fact that, back in the day, social gamers made separate Facebook accounts for a reason. Wait, why was that again? Oh, right.（source:games）

7）Zynga tells American Airlines to ‘LET ALEC PLAY’ (in word tiles)

by Joe Osborne

Behold, the mighty power of celebrity. After actor Alec Baldwin was removed from an American Airlines plane sitting at the gate in Los Angeles International Airport, allegedly while playing Words With Friends, Zynga took the opportunity to chime in. On the company’s Twitter account, Zynga wrote, “Hey @AmericanAir, don’t ground @AlecBaldwin for playing. A.B.S.U.R.D. is worth *at least* 11 points in @WordsWFriends #LetAlecPlay.”

Zynga then articulated its tongue-in-cheek response with the image you see to the right in another tweet, part of which reads, “Alec 1. @AmericanAir 0.” Get it? Zynga strung the words “LET ALEC PLAY” together using word tiles in Words With Friends. That’s just plain cute.

Perhaps as a result of the incident, which Baldwin explained in detail in a piece on The Huffington Post, Words With Friends gained 100,000 players today on Facebook alone, according to AppData. And, based on AppData’s readings on the iOS version of Words With Friends, the game’s ranking experienced major spikes in all categories. Again, behold the power of celebrity.

This is far from the first time a celebrity has … candidly expressed their love of social games. Actresses Emma Stone and Mila Kunis have both admitted to FarmVille addictions, while folks like John Mayer and Eliza Dushku are known to be fans, according to Boston Herald. We like the game as much as the next couple million people, but it looks like this is becoming more about Words With Friends than it really is, no?（source:games）