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Zynga Launches Cornucopia of Events Across Several Titles for Thanksgiving

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Zynga Launches Cornucopia of Events Across Several Titles for Thanksgiving

 

This Thanksgiving, Zynga Inc., a global leader in interactive entertainment, is inviting players to celebrate the American holiday with a harvest of in-game events and new features across four of Zynga’s titles – Zynga Poker, Empires & Puzzles, FarmVille 2: Country Escape, and FarmVille 2: Tropic Escape. And FarmVille 3 is kicking off the holiday season with home tips and baking recipes presented by the farmhands, beginning with a yummy pumpkin pie recipe with a special ingredient.

Zynga Poker // Leagues: World Champions

Zynga Poker just launched a new competitive feature, Leagues: World Champions! In this new system, players will win their way through five different divisions, competing weekly to level up through a points-based progression system. As players win more hands, they’ll advance through each division with the goal of earning a coveted spot on the World Champion Leaderboard, a new live feature that highlights the top 500 players in real-time rankings. With each new victory, players will be awarded with exclusive perks, like extra chips from Lucky Bonus Spins and Prize Chests, and special badges the top 500 players can proudly display while at the virtual tables.

Empires & Puzzles // Special Black Friday Summon

In Empires & Puzzles, a Black Friday summon gate will open to unveil heroes from all existing events – plus Gaillard and Peñolite, two never-before-seen heroes from an upcoming event. These two new heroes will be available exclusively for this event before they are officially introduced next year. For every ten summons, players will be granted a Black Friday Bonus Chest, comprising ethers, emblems, high-level ascension items, trainer heroes and food bundles. In addition, starting on Thanksgiving Day and running until the following Monday, Empires & Puzzles will make available Guardians of Teltoc, which fans voted for earlier this month as one of their favorite existing challenge events.

FarmVille 2: Country Escape // A Hearty Fall Feast

Players of FarmVille 2: Country Escape can prepare a hearty fall feast for the Thanksgiving Township event, where friends gather to appreciate the simple things in life. Keep an eye out for special visitors, Mayor Mandalay and Minstrel Madeline, who’ll be dropping in to bring music and laughter (and extra rewards!) to the fete. Players can progress through five stages of the event to win valuable goodies that’ll help get the most out of their farm – there’s Speed Seed, Golden Gloves, Stamps, Keys and more up for grabs! Complete the event to win the adorable Township Terrier, a happy-go-lucky pup who’ll fetch rare items as he works around the farm.

FarmVille 2: Tropic Escape // Thanksgiving Critters

FarmVille 2: Tropic Escape’s fabulous Thanksgiving Luau always draws elusive fall animals out of their hidey-holes. Local guide Domingo is using the opportunity to teach players about these sweet owls, foxes and turkeys. Join Domingo on this autumn adventure to learn about all the critters in his collection and earn rewards along the way by doing tasks such as crafting items and visiting landmarks. Complete a collection of 13 animals to win an iridescent ocellated turkey as a final reward.

FarmVille 3 // Katie’s Pumpkin Pie

Katie Cookie, FarmVille 3’s baker extraordinaire, has spent years on the farm perfecting her delicious pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving. Now, Katie is sharing her recipe with a special ingredient: Chinese five-spice powder. Players can visit FarmVille 3’s Facebook Page to enjoy this interesting twist on a classic pumpkin pie! Follow the page for future recipes and decorating tips to prepare for the holidays!

 

Canada

Exploring Canada’s video Game Market: Survey Insights

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Technology has become a great source of entertainment to many. Video games particularly have garnered interest from all demographics. In Canada, the gaming industry has experienced significant growth, fuelled by increased accessibility to gaming platforms and the growth of online gaming communities.

Statistics indicate that a large percentage of Canadians are engaged in gaming activities, whether it be playing console or PC games, mobile games, or online multiplayer games. The popularity of video games extends beyond leisure pastimes, with many Canadians participating in gaming competitions, attending gaming conventions, and consuming gaming-related content on platforms like Twitch and YouTube.

The number of video game users in Canada reflects how broad the sector is, from mobile games to digital video games, download games and live streaming. In 2024, the gaming sector will see millions of users in each of these categories. Statista projects 13.38 million users for digital video games and 7.35 million users for online games respectively. It estimates that revenue in the Canadian video game market is expected to reach US$3,925.00m in 2024, so it is no surprise to observe the increasing popularity of the sector.

Well-known online casino provider BetVictor has compiled some key points from major surveys detailing the video game market to give further insight into its makeup and potential. The gaming culture in Canada is growing, which means the type of games and genres will grow along with the sector. Statista recently conducted a survey of 1 576 respondents aged 18 – 64 who are avid video game players, with telling results. ​​In December 2023, a survey about preferred video game genres in Canada revealed the top four genres as being Action, Action – adventure, Adventure and casual games accounting for 31% of respondents’ preferences.

David Winter, Marketing Manager at BetVictor notes that “We’ve seen a steady increase in the popularity of action-themed and adventure-themed slots and many providers are exploring how to expand further into this market.”

The popularity of Action games such as platform and fighting games can be attributed to various factors, such as: social interaction, accessibility and inclusivity, social appeal, and cultural influence. With such a diverse audience, all these factors are crucial to understand the appeal of Action games.

In the digital age, gaming has transcended mere entertainment to become a cornerstone of culture, and nowhere is this more evident than in Canada. From coast to coast, a diverse community of gamers is thriving, reflecting the country’s inclusive spirit and passion for technology. Whether it’s the casual gamer enjoying a quick session on their smartphone or the dedicated enthusiast meticulously building a custom gaming PC, Canada offers a welcome haven for all kinds of gamers.

Diving deeper into the Statista results, Strategy games accounted for 29%. This shows us that players have a strong interest in tactical and decision-making games. While role-playing (RPG) and sports games garnered 22% each, simulation and shooters trailed slightly behind at 21% and 20% respectively.

MMO (massively multiplayer online games), as well as MMORPGs (massively multiplayer online role-playing games) and MOBA (multi online battle arenas) came in at 13% and 8% respectively, representing a significant but niche following. With such a diverse array of preferences, the survey underscores the multifaceted nature of interests among Canadian gamers. It highlights the need for game developers to cater for a wide range of genres and gameplaying styles in the Canadian market.

From action shooter games to role-playing adventures, the industry has something for every gaming enthusiast in the Canadian market. Overall, the popularity of video games in Canada reflects a growing cultural phenomenon, where gaming has become a mainstream form of entertainment and a significant aspect of modern-day leisure activities.

Statistics anticipate a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.10% for 2022-2027, resulting in a projected market volume of US$24.52bn by 2027. Canada’s online gaming market is experiencing a surge in popularity, with a surging number of Canadian players engaging in immersive virtual reality experiences.

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Knorr and World-renowned Gamer and Streamer, Ninja, Call on Gaming Industry to Supercharge Vegetables in Games

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Knorr – a global leader in bouillons, soups, seasonings, sauces, and more – and world-famous gamer and streamer, Tyler ‘Ninja’ Blevins, reveal to top gaming publishers a little-known imbalance found in a multitude of their games. While everyone knows veggies are good for you in real life, they’re not so good in the virtual world of gaming.

Ninja and Knorr think it’s high time veggies are powered up to get the recognition they deserve, and they are calling on the gaming community worldwide to join this ambition with its #ModTheVeg petition. Gaming fans are invited to sign a petition to show their support for giving veggies a boost in the virtual world and bring a new balance to gaming sustenance.

With a passion for supercharging veggies in the real and virtual world thanks to its flavorful seasonings, Knorr investigated just how much veggies are lagging in the virtual world and in 15 top games they fell behind significantly. For example, in one popular game munching meat gives a +15HP boost while chomping on cabbage delivers just +10HP. In other games the difference is even bigger, where a beef steak brings +552HP while a hearty bean stew lies in its wake, only patching up to the tune of +61HP.

“Recently, I’ve been more mindful of what I put in my body, I have learned how important balanced meals are for my long-term health. Historically, through games we have been limited to using meat based diets to get you through the main quests or heal faster, while apples or cabbage heal you for way smaller. Wouldn’t it be awesome if veggies counted for more in game? Well that’s why I teamed up with Knorr, they came up with some awesome mods for all our favorite games, which will teach fans the importance of veggies and a balanced diet,” said Ninja.

As part of part Ninja’s partnership with Knorr, he will stream on Friday, March 22 at 2 pm PST to bring the issue to his followers, champion veggie equality and play some exciting veggie specific mods. He won’t be alone as a crack squad of eight streamers from across the globe are joining the mission over the coming weeks.

“At Knorr, we believe in making good food accessible for all, so we’re thrilled to team up with Ninja to show how powerful veggies can be and create a new taste of adventure in gaming. We hope this campaign will catch the attention of gaming publishers and spur them on to re-evaluate their games and give veggies the supercharge they deserve,” said Gina Kiroff, Chief Marketing Officer of Knorr North America.

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Rapper/Actor Ice-T, and YouTube, Gaming Legends, Cliff Bleszinski, Welyn, and Barji to Judge First “Wolves Den” Game Jam Series on Spatial Platform

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Spatial, the web UGC gaming platform bringing the Roblox model to millions of Unity developers, announced that its “Shark Tank” inspired YouTube game contest, Wolves Den, is open for submissions. The judges include Ice-T, Cliff Bleszinski, Barji and Welyn, high profile influencers in the corporate and indie gaming industry, as well as video and music icons. As a gaming platform that advocates for all creators, Spatial’s aim is to use the contest as a way to champion indie developers by connecting gamers with new and upcoming talent.

The contest will give any budding game developer 12 days to submit their winning Unity demo built on Spatial via this link – https://itch.io/jam/wolves-den. Under the theme “Survival Revival”, competitors will create a new game that blends survival with another genre of their choice. Submissions will close on March 22, with the itch.io community voting on the top 25 projects on March 24. This will be narrowed down to 8 semi-finalists by the Spatial team, who will appear on the first episode in April to pitch their games to the Wolves. They will then narrow it down to 4 finalists who will have 30 days to transform their demo into a game to be play tested by the judges on the second episode.

The contest concludes with the final episode airing in May, with the Wolves crowning a winner and cash prizes of $15K up for grabs. The winner will also have the opportunity to become the headline game on Spatial with full engineering, art, design, and marketing support to drive gamers and gameplay.

“We’re fast becoming the YouTube for gamers, giving a platform to champion indie game developers who are not just making games but crafting entire universes on Spatial. We’re building a community-driven platform to democratize the gaming industry, where fans can discover the best games, offer feedback and be part of a community to elevate the creators they love. This activation is beyond just creating games – it marks an opportunity to catapult upcoming talent into the limelight, uniting creativity, support, and innovation, and where gamers truly have the power to contribute to the success of deserving titles and shape the future of online gaming media & entertainment,” Anand Agarawala, CEO and Co-founder at Spatial, said.

Unique vision and talent can come from anywhere. For the first time, the gaming community has an opportunity to make a direct impact on these creators’ futures.

“I’m ready to find the next generation of undiscovered developers and help them bring their games to people all over the world,” said Ice-T.

“I’ve been a fan of shows like Dragon’s Den and Shark Tank and I think we’re long overdue for something like this in the videogame space. I bring 25 years of experience in the industry to the table and I’ve got a solid business sense and I’m excited to see what a new crop of creators can bring to the table,” said Cliff.

“This event is a freeing opportunity for budding game developers to create something they’re truly passionate about. It gives them the ability to build something truly great, while feeling a part of a huge community of like-minded developers,” said Barji.

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