Just last week, the Train2Game blog reported that Zynga’s Empires & Allies had reached 33 million users. Now the game has passed 41 million players, meaning that more people are playing Empires & Allies than are playing Farmville.
It provides a reminder to Train2Game students as to how big a phenomenon social media gaming has become.
Empires & Allies is free-to-play, but like many other Zynga and social media games, players can spend money to help them progress faster. And as noted by Venture Beat:
“If the game continues to get users, it could reach a much bigger audience than a hardcore game would typically get.”
“The combat strategy element will address the tastes of hardcore gamers as well as many mainstream gamers who have complained that there isn’t enough game play in Zynga’s other games, such as FarmVille.”
As the Train2Game blog reported earlier this year, a survey suggested that 70% of internet users play casual games. Social games are therefore potentially a lucrative market forTrain2Game students to be involved in.
Indeed, the Train2Game blog also reported that Game Design is the most important aspect of a social game, and that Game Designers behind them much larger roles than those who help produce console titles.
If the popularity of Empires & Allies keeps growing, could it reach the 100 million player peak that the Train2Game blog reported Cityville had?
So Train2Game, what are your thoughts on Empires & Allies? Have you played it? Could it potentially appeal to a more hardcore audience then previous Zynga games?
Leave your comments here on the Train2Game blog, or on the Train2Game forum.
[Source: Venture Beat]
The Train2Game Blog 