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ENGAGE TREND REPORT 11.04.09
FarmVille: All the Rage on Facebook
FarmVille has quickly become the most popular application in the history of Facebook. At high schools and colleges across the country, students are hard at work, tilling land and harvesting their virtual vegetables.
More than 62 million people have signed up to play the farming simulation since June. 22 million log on at least once a day.
FarmVille is the latest incarnation of Occupational Simulations that allow model business data to deliver engaging, fun learning experiences. These include fantasy "careers" like Urban Planner (Sim City), Waitress (Diner Dash), and Amusement Park Tycoon, and real careers like Soldier, Accountant and Investment Banker.
What's new is the integration directly into Facebook social networking. There are implications for both the game industry and for branded game outreach from corporate recruiters.
FarmVille starts off simply: You are given land and seeds that can be planted, harvested and sold for online coins. As you accrue currency, you can buy things, from basics like rice and pumpkin seeds to the truly superfluous, like elephants and hot-air balloons. Impatient players can use credit cards or a PayPal account to buy more money, although purists tend to frown on the practice. Crops must be harvested in a timely fashion, cows must be milked, and social obligations - like exchanging gifts and fertilizing your neighbor's pumpkins - must be met.
The game seems to have mesmerized people from all walks of life. Robert Thompson, a professor of popular culture at Syracuse University, said he had seen the craze firsthand among his students.
"Just like Guitar Hero lets you feel a little like being a rock star - you get to pose and dance a little while you're doing it - with FarmVille there is a real sense that you're actually doing something that has a cause and effect," he said. "The method of dragging food out of the ground and getting something for it is really satisfying."
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