Zynga Announces Project Z and A Bunch of Games

Zynga has been huge for keeping plenty of Facebook users engaged with games on Facebook, but the company seems to be making efforts to show that it is not dependent on Facebook. About two months ago, ...
Zynga Announces Project Z and A Bunch of Games
Written by Chris Crum
  • Zynga has been huge for keeping plenty of Facebook users engaged with games on Facebook, but the company seems to be making efforts to show that it is not dependent on Facebook.

    About two months ago, Google launched games on Facebook rival Google+, and that includes titles from Zynga. Cityville just launched for Google+ in late September.

    Now, Zynga at a special event today, announced Project Z, a way for people to play Zynga games without having to go through a social network like Facebook or Google+. Will it be successful? Who knows, but clearly the company appears to be making a statement about its independence. The company did go public this year, so that’s not a bad statement to make.

    “It’s a platform for a direct relationship with consumers whether on the web, or on mobile, to give you a whole sandbox and create socialness about the games and not just within the games,” Zynga CEO Mark Pincus is quoted as saying.

    Project Z is a new social games service from the company that does utilize Facebook Connect. The company says:

    We’re lucky to have fantastic social platforms as partners and we continue to focus on bringing more games to mobile devices and to players all over the world. What we’ve found from talking to our players is that they want to play online with friends who love the same games, and they want to connect with others who are playing at that very moment. We call that the promise of instant social, and today we’re taking a big step towards it with the announcement of “Project Z,” a new social games service from Zynga, enabled by Facebook Connect.
     
    There will be a lot more information to come as we work towards the launch of Project Z, but beginning today, players can reserve their gamer identity tags, called zTags, by visiting http://www.Zynga.com. You’ll own your zTag and it will travel with you between games on the Project Z service. Project Z is coming to a browser near you very soon. Get ready.

    New games include Mafia Wars 2, Dreamzoo, Hidden Chronicles, and Zynga Bingo. More on each of these here.

    Here are some tweets from the company giving a quick rundown of the event:

    Mark: In one fell swoop we’re going to talk about ten new products we’re launching. #unleashed 40 minutes ago via TweetDeck · powered by @socialditto

    Mark: We challenge ourselves everyday to answer the question: How can we get you guys to play? We know you’re busy, on the move. 40 minutes ago via TweetDeck · powered by @socialditto

    Mark: everything behind the products we’re creating is this mission to build a platform for play. #unleashed 41 minutes ago via TweetDeck · powered by @socialditto

    Mark: We’re going to show Zynga Direct for the first time today. A platform for a direct relationship with consumers. #unleashed 38 minutes ago via TweetDeck · powered by @socialditto

    Mark: We’re showing three HTML5 Mobile games that will launch on @Facebook‘s mobile apps sites. 37 minutes ago via TweetDeck · powered by @socialditto

    Mark: We’re going to show you CastleVille today, the next chapter in our Ville franchises. #unleashed 36 minutes ago via TweetDeck · powered by @socialditto

    Mark: We’re going to show you Hidden Chronicles, the first for us in the hidden objects category, with a social spin. #Unleashed 35 minutes ago via TweetDeck · powered by @socialditto

    Cadir: We’re using the power of analytics to make our games more social. It’s about connecting you with the right person at the right time. 31 minutes ago via TweetDeck · powered by @socialditto

    Erik: And we just launched @mafiawars2 on Google+. #Unleashed 21 minutes ago via TweetDeck · powered by @socialditto

    Next up, Zynga Poker GM Lo Toney 21 minutes ago via TweetDeck · powered by @socialditto

    Lo Toney: I’m proud to announce to you we’re launching a new franchise, Zynga Casino #unleashed 21 minutes ago via TweetDeck · powered by @socialditto

    Bill: We’re launching the next game in Zynga’s beloved Ville franchise, CastleVille. #Unleashed 19 minutes ago via TweetDeck · powered by @socialditto

    Castleville  

    John Schappert back on stage: Today I’m excited to give you a sneak peak of Project Z. it’s centered on bringing our players together. 3 minutes ago via TweetDeck · powered by @socialditto

    John: Project Z is a Facebook Connect enabled platform, giving you a tailored environment just for games. #Unleashed 3 minutes ago via TweetDeck · powered by @socialditto

    John: Starting today, players from around the world can reserve their own zTag by reserving it on zynga.com 1 minute ago via TweetDeck · powered by @socialditto

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