Watch Out, Zynga: EA, Playfish want bigger piece of the Facebook pie

EA Sports president Peter Moore (pictured) drew the lines clearly in his MI6 (no, not British secret service--a games marketing conference) keynote speech: Zynga better watch themselves, because EA wants to be number one on Facebook, Gamesindustry.biz reports. "There's a big dog in front of us," Moore said, making a jab at FarmVille maker Zynga. "But we aren't far behind, and we're confident that we can catch up. What we can bring to the market in terms of blue chip IP is phenomenal."

Now that the carrot on the stick for EA and Playfish is clear as day, it seems as if the parent company is wary of how much longer consumers will pay $60 for a video game. And with good reason: Fewer gamers, casual, social and hardcore alike, are spending money upfront on their games. How does EA plan to be on top in the end? It's going to follow you everywhere, that's how.

Moore revealed a plan for EA Sports that included persistent profiles across all EA Sports games regardless of platform (ahem, that means you too, Facebook). This isn't far from what EA is doing right now with its EA Accounts working between mobile, Facebook and console games for exclusive items and other unlockables. It's unknown when exactly we'll see EA take the first step in this direction, but it also doesn't have much time before Zynga topples even Activision Blizzard. In short, expect it soon.

[Image Credit: Joystiq]

Do you EA is focused in the right direction in tackling Zynga? How successful do you think the company will be in trying to defeat the social gaming giant?

The Sims Social It's a Date Quest: Everything you need to know

The Sims Social has become a lot more ... rosy. It's Pink Paradise Week in Playfish's hit Facebook game, and this week's theme comes with a new timed quest, "It's a Date." It's up to you to help Scarlett run her new business, which helps anyone and everyone score the perfect date.

In this seven-part quest, you'll have to do quite a lot of weird tasks to make sure her business gets off the ground. For starters, you'll need at least five friends and 400 Simoleons to ensure this quests goes on without too many hitches, at least. With that, here's everything you need to know to complete "It's a Date":

It's a Date 1

    Become Inspired
    Ask 3 Sims what Grodie means
    Have 3 Muse


To become inspired, make sure all of your stats are in the bright green, and you'll see the notification appear above your Sim's head. Then, visit three friends to see the conversation option "What does Grodie mean?" Finally, you can get Muses by playing instruments.

It's A Date
It's a Date 2

    Have 4 Plans
    Trademark the name Perfect Date Company
    Design Company Logo 5 times


To find four Plans, just try writing and cooking repetitively for them to appear, using own computer or oven. You can also use your own computer to trademark the name "Perfect Date Company," as the option should automatically be there. Luckily, you can use your friends' easels to design the company logo, saving you energy.

It's a Date 3

    Dance with 4 Sims
    Place 2 decorations from Pink Paradise collection
    Play any type of piece on grand piano


Dancing with four Sims is as easy as visiting four friends and using their stereo. The two least expensive items that will complete that second requirement are the NeoN Pink and the InThePink Jo, which are 175 and 200 Simoleons, respectively. As for that grand piano, Bella happens to have one in her house that you can play.
Wedding Cake     Plush Kitty     Queen Bed
It's a Date 4

    Have 4 Delicious Morsels
    Have 6 Mixing Bowls
    Prepare Meal 4 times


The four Delicious Morsels come from eating food, while the Mixing Bowls come from preparing certain dishes using the Cooking Skill menu through "Cater". Using the Cater option through, say, the Microwave will satisfy the final requirement.


It's a Date 5

    Ask 5 Sims to Prom
    Wash 5 times
    Compose Music 5 times


The "Ask to Prom" should now appear when conversing with friends that you visit. After showering five times in your house, just select the Compose Music option on your guitar or other instrument five times.
Grand Piano     Bird Cage     Snow Globe
It's a Date 6

    Add 1 friend
    Check appearance 5 times on Fancy Dresser
    Have 10 Bling


You can either find new friends the hard way, or just check out our The Sims Social Add-Me page right here. Since you won't have your own Fancy Dresser at this point, just use Bella's. The Bling comes from either requesting it from friends directly or finding it in the treasure chests that appear in your backyard.

It's a Date 7

Ask friends to Toast Your Way Business Genius
Gush to 5 Sims about Good News
Have 10 Dreams

The first requirement is a general News Feed option likely given in the quest's menu. To gush to five Sims, just visit your friends and the dialog option should be available. Dreams come from simply sleeping in your bed. Your final reward for completing this series of quests is the clockwork bird that your Sims can wind up

[Source: Aude06]

Are you enjoying Pink Paradise Week in The Sims Social? What do you think of the game so far?

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