Following a long arduous media battle on Zynga decision to shut down its widely popular Yo-Ville social game (+7M players at its peak) the players position and instance that YoVille must be saved prevailed with the help of a white knight. Today we have (http://yoworld.com/)! The original creator Big Viking Games bought back the rights to their game, and relaunched as YoWorld.

Kind of an amazing story against most odds and expectations here that thought the decision was final. Are YOU surprised about the turn of events?

I would have been more surprised if a judge had upheld a ruling stating that zynga had to keep the service going. as it stands, this is just buisness.

I would have been more surprised if a judge had upheld a ruling stating that zynga had to keep the service going. as it stands, this is just buisness.

That would have surprised me and I am glad thats not what happened. I think this is the best outcome. The free market prevailed and the customers of the game proved they are still have gold in their mine (wallets) and its worth extracting. What would have not supprised me if a class action were brought forward on behalf of the consumers who would hae lost access to thier digital assets that resulted in some type of compensation for damages. Only lawyers would win in that case and consumers would be left with a near worthless Zynga money game card. Zynga has moved into real money gambling nowdays.

I think the value in this lesson of interest to GAMDEV readers is a real fairy-tale. Almost like Aesop -In that as a indy game designer, if creative, compelling and open ended your creation may foster a dedicated society of its own. Even if sold to a major distributor and no matter who mangled the publisher positions it to take advantage of consumers to maximum effect - if the concept is unique and endeared by the base, it will out last the publisher and may actually come back home. I think there are other examples before Yoville, but it has got to be the largest so far.

I'm not sure there are other examples of this. I read an article earlier today that said this re-acquisition has never before happened in the gaming industry. I am a Yo. I sparked a lot of controversy and criticism here back in January when the announcement was made that Zynga was closing Yoville. I felt today, as I entered YoWorld for the first time that I needed to come back and thank everyone who offered valuable insight to me back then. I had no real idea what it would take to make a transfer possible from a technical standpoint though as a businesswoman, I knew what would have to be done financially, and I had a pretty good idea of the legalities involved both between Zynga and the customers base, and between Zynga and Big Viking Games. I still had no idea how difficult or if it was even possible to try to revert ownership. Your group was so helpful in explaining the feasibility of this that it gave me and many others hope when it seemed there was none.

I also agree that we have become our own little community - and though many scoffed at the idea that this was such a tight knit group, or that any game could have so much affect on real people, when I first started posting here, I think time has shown everyone that even little avi's have real people behind them. I hope this paves the way for other gamers to unite and support their fav games in such a manner. I think it becomes profitable for not only the gamers, but for the company that holds the game as well. Zynga truly dropped the ball on this one. Big Viking has fixed in one day what Zynga refused to fix for the last few months....... what an added bonus for the players!

Most importantly, I feel VERY proud and excited to get to experience the feeling that one voice can start a chain reaction so that millions speak and are heard. For a bunch of cartoons to take on corporate America and get the press involved and your site talking, and the stock prices shifting and have this much of an impact in general is amazing to me. So many have laughed at the efforts, my family included, saying "it's just a game", but it's so much more... In the scheme of real life issues though, like hunger, and homelessness, I guess it is rather minor, but if one voice can start this kind of change with a corp as big as Zynga, wouldn't it be great if we were talking about issues that could better improve others lives as well.....

I hope you all, as developers and programmers, pay special attention to what's happened here. I hope the long term affect will help everyone in the industry. I was told in the earlier thread that games are developed and have a lifespan of approximately 4 to 5 yrs before they are canned and others take their place. At one point, Zynga had so many players it was insane. Then they stopped taking care of the game and participation drifted off. I can only assume they were working with the same mindset that it would be disposable within a given timeframe. I strongly believe that if they had maintained it, it would have continued to grow. I'm already seeing more interest in the game than I have in a year because the word is spreading that Zynga is soon to be out of the picture. They've burned bridges and shaken their consumer base. This experience has made me (and many others) not trust their other games and therefore I will not be spending real money in any of them. Truth is, I quit playing them all (except Yo) when we realized the unprofessional and unethical (and illegal) way this one was handled. So, in turn, I feel confident that not only are they losing the revenues from Yoville, but from some of their other games as well. It will be interesting to watch their stock prices in the next few months after this. I'm also eager to see what happens to Big Viking's net worth.... I think they recognize the gold mine that was still out there on this. I am pleased to be a Big Viking Yo now. They are giving us more communication than Zynga ever did, and THAT is priceless....... I hope you all take that lesson with you as you proceed in your ventures as well.

Thank you again for all your help, for sharing your knowledge and opinions. I would love to meet you all in YoWorld!!!!

I was about to say something about unhealthy addiction. But hey, whatever float your boat after all :p

I was about to say something about unhealthy addiction. But hey, whatever float your boat after all

LOL - it can be (and has been) said that there may be a few addicts in the game. However, it's also a valuable outlet for many who for one reason or another have limited socialization in their real lives. The outcast in middle school, the elderly, the ill, the physically challenged.... many people count on the relationships in game as their entire social interaction..... how wonderful it is that they still have that. As for me, I like a good mix of real life friends and in game friends. (and many have become both!)

I'm not sure there are other examples of this. I read an article earlier today that said this re-acquisition has never before happened in the gaming industry.

I was about to say something about unhealthy addiction. But hey, whatever float your boat after all

LOL - it can be (and has been) said that there may be a few addicts in the game. However, it's also a valuable outlet for many who for one reason or another have limited socialization in their real lives. The outcast in middle school, the elderly, the ill, the physically challenged.... many people count on the relationships in game as their entire social interaction..... how wonderful it is that they still have that. As for me, I like a good mix of real life friends and in game friends. (and many have become both!)

I have to admit, I was expecting a more aggressive answer and I am pleasantly surprised :)

While I am somewhat happy for you, I can't help but notice that you could have kept the social links you made in another game or any other medium. Without bringing the whole "you owe us our virtual currency" issue into the equation (because it was never about that really and you know it), what's left is that you've grown attached to a virtual world. In itself there's nothing wrong with that, but one day or another this world will die. So even if you managed to dodge the tough question this time, next time is unlikely. So what are you the most attached to ? the virtual world or the community around it ? ("both" doesn't cut it here, hence the bold letters)

If it's the later, well, i don't really really see the point of all that energy spent. If it's the former, that's another problem that no one seems to want to deal with.

I was about to say something about unhealthy addiction. But hey, whatever float your boat after all

LOL - it can be (and has been) said that there may be a few addicts in the game. However, it's also a valuable outlet for many who for one reason or another have limited socialization in their real lives. The outcast in middle school, the elderly, the ill, the physically challenged.... many people count on the relationships in game as their entire social interaction..... how wonderful it is that they still have that. As for me, I like a good mix of real life friends and in game friends. (and many have become both!)

I have to admit, I was expecting a more aggressive answer and I am pleasantly surprised

While I am somewhat happy for you, I can't help but notice that you could have kept the social links you made in another game or any other medium. Without bringing the whole "you owe us our virtual currency" issue into the equation (because it was never about that really and you know it), what's left is that you've grown attached to a virtual world. In itself there's nothing wrong with that, but one day or another this world will die. So even if you managed to dodge the tough question this time, next time is unlikely. So what are you the most attached to ? the virtual world or the community around it ? ("both" doesn't cut it here, hence the bold letters)

If it's the later, well, i don't really really see the point of all that energy spent. If it's the former, that's another problem that no one seems to want to deal with.

i'd recommend reading the original thread where alot of these questions were discussed: http://www.gamedev.net/topic/652115-zynga-pulls-plug-on-yoville-million-in-yocash-evaporate/

Funny that'd you mention that, because I did read this way before you linked it to me, amongst several dozens of articles on various gaming related outlets.

My point isn't about profitability, it's about addiction and people taking advantage of it. Servant of the Lord made the exact same points in that thread (page 4 amongst others) that I would make here, so yes you are right in a sense, that will save me the trouble of being utterly ignored (on the important bit instead of the technicalities) : Zinga and many other have the same work ethics as drug dealers. And even so, the later has the advantage of not having to lie about his products.

EDIT: After further reading (never got around the 9 pages until now), thank you for proving my point : "thousands of us needing a therapist? lol" is exactly the kind of example i needed. That's the kind of sentence I have heard in RL context way too often next to bringing the "socialization aspect of the said drug" into account.