Facebook, Zynga, Why Can't we all Just Get Along?

Will Zynga and Facebook be Divorcing Soon?
Yes, I am a video game player of a certain age, but today, I feel like a child stuck in the middle of warring parents. Zynga and Facebook have been at odds. I understand one of the reasons is that Zynga's social games are way too social... too many people... too many messages, and Facebook doesn't like it.

Something's going on for sure. For whatever the reason, I can't get my Mafia Wars messages through Facebook and haven't been able to since yesterday. I can't send greetings to my fellow Dons, ask for illegal transaction documents or untraceable cells, or keep in touch with my Top Mafia.

Could this be the reason I couldn't access my farm on Farmville and had to pay a ransom to get my little doggie back?

There's a lot of speculation about what's going on; and just like a pair of soon-to-be-divorced parents, both Zynga and Facebook are "lawyering up," according to Michael Arrington at Tech Crunch.

Social Gaming?
In case you don't know what a social game is, it's one where you play with other people online, many of whom you might never have met had it not been for the need to have people on your team. My favorite Social game is Mafia Wars, a mostly slow-paced, but sometimes fast-paced strategy game where the more people you have on your side, the more likely you are to win wars and grow into a powerful Don... or Donna.

To do these things you communicate. Facebook players communicate via Facebook. My Space players communicate via My Space. To put it briefly, there's a lot of communication going on. The more people you have on your team, the more you communicate.

I understand that's one of the big issues, too much communication; but like the child in the middle of those angry parents, you just know there's more to it.  Of course when there's a battle this big brewing, reason tells you there's cash involved as well.


Will Zynga Leave Facebook?
These past few days, whether by accident or intentional FB sabotage, Mafia Wars Dons and Donnas have had a hard time staying in touch with their Mafia Families. They can still communicate on Facebook, but since game requests have not been posted, they are mostly trading messages about the relationship between Little Mamma Zynga and Big Daddy Facebook.

Zynga sent out a code to it's players the other day which turned out to be not just a code but the access code to the new Zynga only mainframe, the only thing tying players to Zynga if Facebook suddenly pulls the plug. There are messages being posted about litigation, the pending break up and users leaving Facebook if they can't access Mafia Wars.

And Mafia Wars is not the only Zynga game inivolved. There's Farmville, Cafe World and Treasure Island to name a few. It's a sad time for the Mafia Wars family. I say Facebook... Zynga.... Why can't we all just get along.