Words With Friends helped save a man's life thousands of miles away

With a hilarious surprise spot on Saturday Night Live, you and I both know that Words With Friends doesn't need any more press. (Alec Baldwin has certainly done his part in throwing Zynga's word game under the limelight.) But this gem is just too good to pass up: Words With Friends helped save an Australian man's life ... all the way from Blue Springs, Mo., Ozarks First reports. Seriously.

Blue Springs woman Beth Legler was playing a Words With Friends match with a buddy from down under she met years ago through random matchmaking, Georgie Fletcher. During the match, she told Beth that her husband, Simon, wasn't feeling well. As Georgie described her husband's symptoms to Beth, she in turn told her husband, Larry, who happens to be a doctor. Based on what he heard, Larry told Simon (through their wives, we imagine) that he should go to the hospital immediately.

It turned out that Simon had a 99 percent blockage in his heart that, if he hadn't gone to an emergency room that very day, might have killed him. "I've gotta buy that man a beer, he saved my life...I'd really like to put my arms around him and give him a big squeeze," Simon told KCTV 5 News. And here you thought Words With Friends was just another social game. Fine, so what if it still is, but dawww.

[Via Mashable]

Have you had a similar connection in a social game? Do you think there is anything about Words With Friends specifically that spurs these interesting connections?

This cutesy iPhone game is somehow connected to Habbo Hotel

We think it's safe to say there's no thematic connection here. Sulake, Finnish creator of social game/online community Habbo Hotel, has announced Niko, a free-to-play (sort of) iPhone and iPad game set to launch on the App Store Jan. 19. In Niko, players control a small, dog-like creature named--what else?--Niko by both platforming and slinging the little bugger through obstacles.

Sulake tells us that Niko, which will feature six free levels up front and 22 more for $1.99, makes full use of the iPhone 4 and 4S's Retina Display graphics as well as multi-touch controls. It's up to Niko to save his friends from the mysterious Otherworld, where they've been held captive by monstrous creatures. And whaddya know, that plot is just loose enough to allow for some insane-looking play through even goofier levels.

And how is it connected to Sulake's Habbo Hotel, again, you ask? Well, we're told that Niko players will be able to earn special items by playing the game that can be unlocked in their own little slice of Habbo Hotel. (We're guessing it works with an account log-in.) Anyway, what matters is that, at least based on the trailer below, Niko looks like a blast. But we'll find that out for sure next week, now won't we?


Are you impressed by or excited about Niko? Is it smart for Sulake to get into mobile games as a means for promoting its biggest property?

Backyard Monsters sets Facebook ablaze with Inferno expansion

Backyard Monsters, social game maker Kixeye's pride and joy with 2.3 million monthly players, will take players deep, deep underground starting now. The developer announced Backyard Monsters: Inferno, the first full-on expansion update for its flagship social game on Facebook. Inferno introduces a new storyline (and a new villain) that sends players into the depths of their world.

Players enter the lair of Moloch, a seriously gruesome-looking beast. Ignore the fact that the monster is entirely naked save for a cape that he insists to wear. That thing looks intense. (And how is he holding that bloody skull with hooves for hands?) At any rate, players must venture deep into Moloch's lair to establish and fortify a base camp through which they'll take the fight to this hoof-handed, bone-winged slithering beast ... thing.

Whoever handles Backyard Monsters' character design: Just keep doing what you do, seriously. "Our users are fanatical about Backyard Monsters, so we wanted to give them an entirely new realm to wreak havoc in," executive producer David Scott said in a statement. "Not only have we created a whole new world to explore, but we've added a slew of new monsters and buildings...and there's a whole lot more to come in the next several weeks."
Gallery: Backyard Monsters: Inferno on Facebook
While the Backyard Monsters play style is largely unchanged with this release, Kixeye promises that a slew of new features are on the way, including Monster Fossils, synchronous maps and new Monster Champions. And if those features are anywhere near as badass as how these beasties look, then consider us sold.

Click here to play Backyard Monsters: Inferno on Facebook Now >

Are you a Backyard Monsters fan, and if so are you psyched for this content? What do you think of the strategy genre on Facebook on the whole?

Tetris Battle hits the Arena for new real-time multiplayer mode this year

Is it really surprising that Tetris Battle is one of the best Facebook games of 2011? It's goddam Tetris. The game, created by Honolulu, Hawaii-based Tetris Online, enjoys around 3.1 million daily players. And, according to Inside Social Games (ISG), the studio plans to see that number skyrocket to between 5 and 10 million this year alone. How? Well, new play modes like Tetris Arena might help with that.

Tetris Arena is a play mode within the overarching Tetris Battle that allows players to go head-to-head in real time, using the same playing pieces at all times. Arena has been in closed beta testing with the game's most dedicated fans for some time, and Tetris Online has told ISG that it expects to let the play mode go live as early as Q2 2012, or between April and June. And, oddly enough considering the platform, Tetris Online is targeting the core gamer crowd with Arena.

This mode will be the first in Tetris Battle (and ISG says the first period) to feature a global leaderboard. With global recognition on the line, the company hopes that the Tetris Arena leaderboards will attract the "hardcore" Tetris fans to the game to prove they're the best. Keeping in line with its name, Arena will also have a live spectator mode. Players can check out the Tetris Battle Twitter page to find the password needed to access Tetris Arena within Tetris Battle on Facebook. We'll see whether Facebook becomes the new tournament grounds for Tetris sometime after April (fat chance).

Are you a Tetris Battle fan already? Do you think Tetris Arena could turn Tetris Battle into the official spot for tournament-level Tetris play?

The Godfather: Five Families update gobbles up Greenwich Village

"Hey you, ya don't need Greenwich Village or anything, do ya? Well, don't mind if we do." We're paraphrasing, but that's basically what the families in Kabam's The Godfather: Five Families said when they sauntered into Prohibition Era Greenwich Village. But Kabam didn't update its most recent strategy social game on Google+ with just a new neighborhood. Oh no, when mafiosi hit up new stomping grounds, they do it in style.

Along with the new neighborhood to conquer comes a new estate view for players to enjoy along with new racket buildings to construct and a new consigliere to guide players in their efforts to subvert work with their fellow mobsters. Kabam makes it known that new neighborhoods mean more resources, but more importantly more places to build their mafia army. Of course, players can now attack both friends and enemies using the hired guns from both of their neighborhoods.

Better yet, players can take full advantage of running two neighborhoods by sharing the resources between them. Kabam provides the example of a player's main neighborhood running low on cement. It's as simple as sending cement delivery trucks from Greenwich Village over to your main neighborhood to stock up. While it doesn't sound as if this major update brings many groundbreaking new features, it's a matter of scale. Just be thankful the real mafia doesn't exist to scale anymore. Or do they?

Are you a fan of The Godfather: Five Families? Do you think this content is enough to keep you going in the game for longer?

Kabam brings studio led by ex-Star Wars game maker to the social side

The "social" is strong with this one. (And that fills our cheesy joke quota for the day.) Kabam, the San Francisco-based creator of strategy social games like Edgeworld, has acquired Fearless Studios for an undisclosed amount. While the latter was gobbled up before it even released a game, Kabam appears confident in it's ability to usher the company into the 3D age of social games.

"Their skills in game design, emerging technologies and proficiency in making the transition from 2D to 3D on consoles mesh perfectly with Kabam's strategy," Kabam CEO Kevin Chou said in a release. "We'll significantly strengthen our industry leadership as the online gaming market transitions to higher fidelity, 3D gameplay with our acquisition of Fearless Studios."

The entire Fearless Studio team--led by founders Haden Blackman and Cedrick Collomb--will join Kabam in its San Francisco office. Blackman's best known for his contributions to LucasArts, namely the Star Wars: The Force Unleashed series for consoles. At one time, Fearless Studios had six games in the works, though none of them saw release.

Whether Kabam will pick those games up is unknown save for one: Kabam's VP of brand marketing and communications, Ted Simon, told Inside Social Games that the company will not resume development on an unannounced horror game. Kabam still isn't interested in console games, but rather using Fearless' 3D expertise to bring more visually-impressive social games to social networks like Hives and VZNet. Between this 3D push and bringing its games to the desktop, Kabam looks to up the ante where "hardcore" games are concerned.

[Image Credit: DesignYouTrust]

Are you a fan of Kabam's games on Facebook? Do you think 3D will eventually take on social game platforms?

Watch Mario punt a Gamecube, personally deliver your Wii U

Yes, Nintendo's earnings for early 2012 are down, thanks to a late-to-start 3DS and (arguably) the mobile gaming explosion. With that, the Kyoto, Japan-based company looks to the upcoming Wii U to bring it back into the black. But what if Super Mario himself delivered each and every Wii U console--and every future piece of Nintendo hardware, for that matter? Now, that'd be something.

Thanks to Taiwan's Next Media Animation TV, we all can now live out that fantasy. NMATV has posted a video describing the recent news in the most creepy if briefly hilarious way possible. Watch Mario cry under the weight of an old Game Boy, watch Mario punt a Gamecube and watch Mario suck money from old folks' pockets with a vacuum. Heck, even watch NMATV make wide claims like "the 3DS makes people sick," based on studies. Trust us, it'll be a blast:


Would you like to get all of your video game news this way? Do you plan on picking up a Wii U when it hits, Mario delivery or not?

The Sims Social A Very Shy Belle Quest: How to finish it fast

Now that you've had your Delusions of Grandeur in The Sims Social, it's time to move on to the next and final quest of Marie Antoinette Week. Playfish threw players a fast one this week with this quest, but thankfully it's relatively simple to complete. It's called "A Very Shy Belle," and rewards players with a sweet-looking fountain to decorate your yard with. Here's how to finish this 10 day-long quest fast and get your fountain ASAP:

A Very Shy Belle

    Acquire Petite Belle Marie Doll
    Acquire Petite Belle Martine Doll
    Acquire Petite Belle Jeane Doll


Before even attempting this quest, it's recommended that you complete the Delusions of Grandeur quest line. To get the Belle Marie Doll, you must purchase it from the in-game Shop for 1,050 Social Points. The Belle Martine Doll will be rewarded to players that complete the "Create Signature Scent" skill using the Elegance Perfume Table, which costs 7,500 in the Shop. (Read: You can skip the other skills to complete this task.) Finally the Belle Jeane Doll is a reward for finishing Delusions of Grandeur. See?

However, you'll have to build the Belle Marie Doll, which requires eight Ice, three Light Boxes and eight Paints. You can request Ice from friends through general News Feed posts. Luckily, you can earn Light Boxes by performing skill actions with either the Comic Art Drafting Board or the DraftBlast Artboard, and Paint can come from leveling up Art Skill using any Easel. After completing Delusions of Grandeur, that fountain will be yours in no time.

[Source and Image Credit: Aude06]

Have you completed A Very Shy Belle yet in The Sims Social? What tips might you have to finish it even faster?

Report: Facebook readies IPO filing, looks to make up to $10 billion

That's, like, ten thousand millions, right? Anyway, Facebook could file for its long-awaited initial public offering (IPO) as early as next Wednesday, according to The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), choosing Morgan Stanley as its lead underwriter. Here's the clincher: According to "people familiar with the matter," the social network looks to be valued between $75 and $100 billion.

And you thought the Zynga IPO was huge for a tech company. However, the timing for the filing is still a discussion, according to WSJ's nameless sources. Facebook looks to make up $10 billion from the IPO alone, WSJ reports, but both the social network and Morgan Stanley declined to comment.

Facebook going public would only further solidify its dominance as a social gaming platform, and it wouldn't be surprising to see a nice chunk of that $10 billion go toward social game efforts. Why? We can't imagine how much Facebook makes from its 30 percent cut of all Facebook Credits, but recent reports put it in the $470 million range. So yeah, definitely expect Facebook to throw some more cash social games.

[Image Credit: Huffington Post]

Are you surprised by how much Facebook reportedly looks to make? What do you think this will mean for Facebook games in the future?

Report: The Sims Social maker Playfish loses GM to venture capital firm

Actually, this sort of thing isn't all that uncommon in the games and tech world. Just ask Bing Gordon. TechCrunch reports that Playfish London GM and VP John Earner will leave the company and join venture capital firm Accel (a Playfish investor) as an entrepreneur in residence. Nameless sources reportedly tipped TechCrunch off, but no replacement for Earner was mentioned.

Earner joined Playfish in 2008 as its first game producer, went on to see games like Pet Society and Restaurant City launch and ultimately the $400 million acquisition of the studio by EA in late 2009. The Playfish alumnus's crown jewel, however, is The Sims Social, EA and Playfish's most successful and impressive social game to date.

However, the game has sadly been in sharp decline since late fall 2011, with 22 million monthly and 3.9 million daily players, according to AppData. That said, The Sims Social is still one of the top five games on Facebook, so it's safe to say that Earner would be leaving Playfish on a high note. At this point, the only remaining Playfish founder is CEO Kristian Segerstrale.

EA has lost executives left and right this past year, most recently EVP of business development Barry Cottle to Zynga. If it turns out the Earner has left Playfish, it's unknown who would replace him. Regardless, now that the social game maker has struck gold once, you can bet it'll stick around to see if it can strike twice.

[Via Inside Social Games]

Are you a fan of Playfish's games? What do you think this will mean for the studio if it goes down?

Glu Mobile releases Small Street for iPhone, consider Tiny Tower flattered

Small Street for iPhone
The (Tiny Tower) Clone Wars have begun. Glu Mobile, best known for iPhone hits like Gun Bros., has unleashed Small Street onto the Canadian App Store for iPhone and iPad through its Glu Games label. And whaddya know, this free-to-play mobile looks a helluva lot like NimbleBit's Tiny Tower ... but sideways. It may sound like a stretch, but not according to TouchArcade.

Small Street, which is in the middle of testing on the Canadian App Store, employs the same concept found in Tiny Tower. Players build up a street with residences, businesses and citizens to inhabit them. Players then stock and sell goods through the buildings to raise enough cash for even more buildings to line the street. Screen shots of the street simulator display management windows that do look quite similar to NimbleBit's Tiny Tower.

However, you can see where this sort of "cloning" can easily become a slippery slope situation. While the similarities between both the play hooks and the design/art of Zynga's recently Canadian-tested Dream Heights and Tiny Tower are unmistakable, Small Street is more similar in its play mechanics than anything. Regardless, it's clear that (all three of) Tiny Tower could easily become the next "Ville" of mobile gaming. But whose fault is that, and is it a good or bad thing?

Canadians: Click here to download Small Street for iPhone Now >

Have you tried Small Street for yourself yet? What do you think of this potential trend in mobile gaming?

Scene It? Daily prods your pop culture chops on Facebook, iPhone, Android

No longer will you be out of the loop when someone at a party quotes The Godfather 3. (Seriously, who even watched that one?) Screenlife, the creators of the hit Scene It? pop culture trivia board games, has launched a cross-platform social game for Facebook, iPhone and Android devices. It's called Scene It? Daily, and it allows players to start and finish trivia puzzle across devices.

"For example, begin playing a celebrity-themed quiz on your mobile device during the commute to work, and finish it up on Facebook once you get to the office," Screenlife explained in a statement. "Or try beating the TV quiz sitting at home on the couch."

The reason for the "Daily" moniker is that the game will be updated, well, daily with new questions across about movies, music, TV and celebrities. The game features a single log-in for each player across all devices, and a unified leader board to aspire to (or dominate).

And while in-game, players can take advantage of streak bonuses for answering multiple questions correctly in a row, and three different power-ups to gain competitive advantage. Now I guess I have no excuse for not knowing what Taylor Swift wore to the Grammys last night ... or something like that.

Scene It? Daily

Click here to play Scene It? Daily on Facebook Now >

[Image Credit: Screenlife]

Are you Scene It? or pop culture fanatic? Do you think this will be the next big thing on Facebook and mobile?

Play Facebook games on your iPad with iSwifter ... for $2.99 a month

Wait, but aren't Facebook games supposed to be free? Why yes, yes they are. But thanks to iSwifter, an iPad app with a $2.99 monthly subscription, you can play Flash-based Facebook games right on your 10-inch tablet. (Seriously, what can't you do on that thing?)

VentureBeat reports that Youweb chairman Peter Relan, the financial incubator for iSwifter, revealed at the GamesBeat conference in San Francisco that 500 thousand Facebook gamers are paying for the app. And we're willing to bet (five bucks?) that those 500 thousand players are of the same 3 percent companies like Zynga rely on to buy their digital goods like Farm Cash and new Sheep patterns.

Considering 40 percent of all games played through iSwifter are Zynga games, according to VentureBeat, we'll take that five dollars now. The most popular games on iSwifter are CityVille and Empires & Allies--what a surprise.

iSwifter for iPad
The app converts what would be mouse clicks on standard PCs into touches in real time, meaning what you're playing within iSwifter is actually the game on Facebook. However, you must be constantly connected to a WiFi source in order to play Facebook games through the app. With all of these stipulations--and a subscription fee at that--it looks like some hardcore social gamers will stop at nothing to play their favorite games on the go.

[Image Credit: InterArtix]

Would you pay a monthly fee to play Facebook games on the go? What social game can you simply not for to come to mobile devices?

Rumor: Zynga offered PopCap $1 billion in cold, hard cash

Smart move, guys. PopCap apparently turned down $1 billion in straight cash from Zynga before agreeing to EA's offer of $650 million in cash, Forbes reports. (Keep in mind that another $100 million in EA stock and a $550 million bonus based on performance over two years were also part of the deal, totaling a potential of $1.3 billion.)

Forbes cites an unnamed source, who claims that Zynga would have financed the deal in part thanks to Goldman Sachs, which is one of the underwriters leading the company's $1.5 billion IPO. And, according to Forbes, Zynga had just under $1 billion in cash as of March 31, implying that the company was willing to put up almost all of its clams for the Bejeweled creator.

If anything, it makes you wonder what Zynga would have done with PopCap. Take over the world ... for real? (Nah, it would probably just make more games ... world dominating games!) We've contacted Zynga for comment.

What do you think Zynga would have done with PopCap? Did PopCap make the right move to go with EA?

Arab Facebook game Happy Oasis hopes to end Islamic extremism

Now, that's a social game for social good. Happy Oasis, created by Jordan native Suleiman Bakhit, looks to nip Islamic extremism in the bud, the BBC reports. Bakhit made the game, which launched this week to 59 thousand players, in hopes of providing a role model for Arab children who might otherwise be persuaded by extremist views.

While studying at the University of Minnesota in the U.S, Bakhit was attacked by four men shortly after the 9/11 tragedy because he was an Arab, the BBC reports. Bakhit, instead of turning to bitterness, decided to educate Arab kids back home in Jordan through positive comic books, and later Facebook games like Happy Oasis.

His comic books--like one about a female Arab secret agent that dispatches extremists--sold 300 thousand copies alone, prompting Bakhit to the web where 30 million Arabs use Facebook every day. Now, Bakhit looks to take the comic books (and we hope the Facebook game) to Pakistan, where issues of extremism are growing.

"I realized that you fight extremism by starting with the young. The message was simple--'We are not all terrorists'," he told the BBC. "Print media is dying but there are 30 million Arabs on Facebook so I thought about making social games with the same message," Bakhit said.

'Social games for social good' has been a tag line for many a developer. Many Facebook game creators like Zynga offer the power of their audience to make major donations to victims of natural disasters and the like. However, this could be one of the first attempts to use social gaming to alleviate a social issue as divisive as extremism in the Middle East. If this becomes an answer to the growing social problems in that part of the world, it's not just another win for Facebook games, but for the Arab community.

[Image Credit: Aramin Games]

What do you think of Mr. Bakhit's efforts in Jordan and soon in Pakistan? Do you think this is an effective at reaching children about the issues of extremism?

Japan's Gree, OpenFeint invade U.S. mobile game shores this summer

Gree OpenFeint
Zynga, EA (and PopCap), Rovio: Prepare your defenses. One of Japan's leading mobile social game networks, Gree, plans to storm the beaches of the U.S. mobile gaming scene this summer, TMCnet reports. The Japanese company, which recently bought San Francisco-based mobile game network provider OpenFeint plans to release the first of its games on U.S. shores this summer. However, it's not as easy as you might think.

"We're starting everything from scratch in this market, even hiring," Gree VP of marketing and sales Sho Masuda told TMCnet. This is because regardless of Gree's experience with mobile games or the skill of its developers, there are inherent differences in the preferences of Japanese mobile gamers and those in the states, according to Masuda.

The VP added that Gree games will be made available for free on the Apple App Store and Android Marketplace, but will be supported through micro-transactions, which Masuda claims 15 to 20 percent of mobile gamers partake in. (Yeah, maybe in Japan.)

And according to TMCnet, Gree games may be ad-supported as well--just like the recent free version of Hanging with Friends. By November, Gree plans to have at least a few games available in the U.S. Prepare for an epic battle this summer in your smartphone, and not just in Infinity Blade.

Do you think Gree has a fighting chance in the states against players like Zynga and EA? Do you plan on checking out Gree's games once they launch in the U.S. and elsewhere?

Hardcore PC games become Facebook games in a cinch with Overwolf

Well, sans the Neighbor Bars and arguably incessant gift sharing. Overwolf, an Israeli start up company and service, adds a social layer to existing hardcore PC games like World of Warcraft and Call of Duty. It does this through a free download that allows gamers to post their achievements and milestones in-game to social services like Facebook, Twitter and Skype without having to leave the game.

While GamePro notes that existing services like Steam and Raptr allow players to communicate in-game, Overwolf seemingly turns every hardcore game into, well, a social game. (Not to mention it has support for in-game email and web browsing as well.) But hardcore gamers have hardcore social tastes, so players can record video clips and post them to Facebook and other social channels, again, without leaving the game.

"Publishers are looking for ways to ignite the viral potential of online games, but integration has been difficult, especially with all of the demands of operating live titles," said Overwolf CEO Uri Marchand. "We're offering a way to add this functionality with zero effort required on the publisher's side. We've been getting amazing feedback from gamers telling us they love Overwolf, and it's a great way to engage friends and share their gaming life with their real lives, which has the effect of bringing more users into online games."

With major companies like Activision releasing social networks for their own games like Call of Duty Elite--and Xbox 360 having cross-game social features since its launch--the desire to share is certainly there. And as publishers and start ups alike begin to notice, the lines between Facebook game and hardcore game continue to blur. Services like Overwolf are only the beginning, so it might not be long before the word "social game" becomes moot.

[Image and Video Credit: Overwolf]

Is Overwolf an intriguing piece of software to you? Do you think services like this will make terms like "social game" irrelevant?

Here's the official Google Games logo, thanks to Google+ source code

Man, you can't hide anything on the Internet anymore, can you? Okay, so we already knew that the Google Games effort is 100 percent happening, thanks to some nerdery at Engadget that found clues referring to it in the recently released Google+ (essentially Google's answer to Facebook) source code.

However, in that same source code, TechCrunch has found a direct link to the official Google Games logo, courtesy of a tipster. Better yet, that tipster found some interesting bits of code that reveal what could be a social gaming service (as if it would be anything else):

    /_/games/getGameFriends
    /_/games/getActivities
    /_/games/postToStream


While none of this is particularly shocking, we'll take all the confirmation of a worthy opponent to Facebook's games platform we can get. And don't think this will be some tacked-on feature to Google+. Earlier this year, the company posted a job offer specifically for its not-so-secret games project.

Google Games
And before that, Google has reportedly invested in numerous Facebook gaming companies including Zynga--not to mention it has already acquired gaming talent like Slide. Will the ultimate social gaming battle be between platforms Facebook and Google rather than creators like Zynga and EA? Our bet is in on both, and we have ringside seats.

Are you excited about the Google Games project? Do you think the search engine slash web apps slash everything-Internet-related company has a chance against Facebook in the social games space?

Respectable research firm Doritos finds women like games more than sex

We've all heard the chocolate gag, but this is just ridiculous. Doritos--you know, Nacho Cheese?--found during a survey of 2,052 people for its upcoming Facebook game, Doritos Dip Desperado, that women like video games more than sex. Well, at least that's how we're (and everyone else is) spinning it, because crazy statistics like this are fun ... and its Friday.

According to the survey, 49 percent of women admitted to playing "online games," though as GamePro points out: It's not made clear whether these women are bombing cities in Call of Duty or building them up in CityVille. We're going to go with the latter. Regardless, this number is just 1 percent below men, meaning a whole darn lot of folks have their eyes glued to some screen, somewhere.

Of the 49 percent of video game femme fatale, 84 percent said they enjoy gaming sessions, compared to just 70 percent who said they enjoy love making, whoopee, boinking, what have you. (Women also reportedly enjoy games more than having a bath and shopping.) Now, here's the clincher: 23.1 percent of women, according to Doritos, spend more time online playing games than men, who came in at 22.3 percent. Dudes, we know you're digging on Halo more than FarmVille, but maybe it's time you joined the lady--ain't no shame in trying something new.

Do you buy these findings from Doritos? Do you find yourself playing more video games than your significant other? Does it have any effect on your relationship?

Facebook pulls app directory, makes finding new games that much harder

Apparently, I'm one of the only people that actively used the App Directory on Facebook. Back in December, we brought you an in-depth look at discovering new Facebook games by using the directory, as you could browse applications based on popularity, or even date added. Now, though, the entire App Directory has been removed from the service, and with it goes your ability to use it to find new games.

AllFacebook noticed the removal as well, as they have pointed out a new blog post on the Facebook Developers Blog that explains a bit as to why the directory was ditched.

"Many developers have been confused about what it means to submit to the App Directory and frustrated by the length of time it took to get approved. As we have looked into this issue, we found that the App Directory drove less than 0.5% of all app installs while a significant number of app installs came as a result of Facebook search. Until now, to be visible in search, you had to submit your app to the App Directory.

Today, we are announcing two updates to decouple the search submission from the directory to make it easier for you to get your app into the Facebook search index:

1. We are removing the App Directory (in its current form) since it does not drive a significant amount of traffic to your apps.
2. We are creating a new, simplified way to get your app into the Facebook search index."

In short, this means that for now, the search bar has been given much more prominence in the app discovery process. Sure, sidebar ads will still likely trigger many more app installs, but now, app developers can submit their apps to the Facebook search index without approval, allowing users to get to them faster. Sounds great, right? Well, it would be, if search currently functioned properly.

I know I can't be the only person who types something like "FrontierVille" into the search bar to find a specific Zynga-run fan page, only to be greeted by user-created or even spam apps/fan pages that may have absolutely no relevance to what I'm searching for. If apps no longer have to go through an approval process to be added to search (and everything really is as open as it seems), doesn't this open the door for so much more clutter? Hopefully, this will all just be a temporary solution to some much larger feature being added to the site that will make finding new apps an enjoyable process, rather than a chore.

Did you ever use the App Directory to find new games to play? Would you like to see a one-stop-shop of sorts for applications on Facebook, where you could browse apps by genre, look at screenshots and the like before playing?