He is the face of New Japan Inc. 35-year-old Yoshikazu Tanaka, founder of mobile social gaming network Gree, is the world's second youngest self-made billionaire behind Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg.
A new wave of entrepreneurs is redefining Japan's electronics industry. CNN's Andrew Stevens reports.
Zynga, maker of "FarmVille," is trying to diversify beyond its signature Facebook games.
Mark Pincus, CEO of Zynga, explains how his company's upcoming new website will make it into a game network.
On this week's Tech Check podcast, Doug Gross, John Sutter and Stephanie Goldberg explain how a multiple apps have been using Apple's mobile operating system to collect, and keep, users' contact lists.
"Slingo," a leader in online games for 17 years, is making its way to Facebook with a redesigned version of the popular bingo/slot-machine game.
We're going to feel a little guilty if this news gets you fired. But you can now play "Angry Birds" on Facebook.
Sweety High co-founder Veronica Zelle remembers a young girl who wanted desperately to sing and share her voice, but was so afraid to show her face on camera that she would cover it with a dark towel and sing in the background.
Can't get enough of those virtual cows and crops from FarmVille? Good news, agrarians: Zynga toys and games are coming this fall.
At long last, the Holy Grail of Internet IPOs is here. Facebook filed Wednesday to raise $5 billion in an initial public offering.
Sid Meier's "Civilization" is now 20 years old.
Looks like it could take awhile for new Twitter user Rupert Murdoch to get the hang of things.
It was a year of crippling -- and creative -- hacks, a year of blockbuster sequels and (yet again) a year of slinging vengeful birds at corpulent pigs.
The rumor that Facebook will suddenly start charging users to access the site has become one of the social media era's perennial chain letters.
In this economy, it might be easier to grab a virtual margarita than a real one.
Google's social network, Google+, recently sent tremors through the gaming world with the announcement that it would be launching a new social games service.
Dedicated social gamers devote many hours to tending their online farms and digital pets -- and lots of money, too. This year they'll spend an estimated $650 million in real cash on virtual goods.
For gamers, the urge to conquer and pillage dates back to time immemorial. Tabletop amusements like chess and its numerous variants have enthralled players for centuries.
Popular wisdom holds that because they're more intuitive, approachable and inviting than traditional video games, social games are shallow.
What happens when Sid Meier's classic PC game "Civilization" meets the home of "FarmVille?"
Every year, like swallows to Capistrano, the great and the good of the marketing world flock to the French Riviera. For 58 years, the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity has been inspiring the people who make the ads you see on TV, the posters at your bus stop and, since 1994, the banners online that beg you to click here.
Join Doug Gross to see the latest games on the floor of the world's biggest gaming expo, E3.
It's been a big week for video gamers.
"Fruit Ninja," a top 10 iPhone app is coming to Kinect, Microsoft's motion-control system for the Xbox.
Conquering the Apple Store apparently wasn't enough for these ninjas.
Investors are betting on video game publishers...and winning big.
CNNMoney: Zynga IPO coming soonupdated: Fri Jun 03 2011 16:19:00
Zynga is preparing for an initial public offering, and a filing could come as early as next week, according to those with knowledge of the company's plans.
LinkedIn's IPO was a hit Thursday, thanks to pent-up demand for shares in tech startups.
Lady Gaga is the first Twitter user with over 10 million followers, which is a first for both the singer and Twitter itself.
The news that Lady Gaga has inspired an online game, "GagaVille," has got us thinking: Let's face it -- Gaga already sort of is a video game character.
Two social media heavyweights -- Lady Gaga and Zynga -- will partner for GagaVille, an offshoot of social game FarmVille.
Sid Meier is the director of creative development at Firaxis Games. But to millions, he's better known as the "Father of Computer Gaming."
The video game industry has decided to shoot the messenger.
In the world of gaming, money doesn't necessarily buy respect.
Blockbuster videogame heroes have tamed the Wild West, repelled alien invasions and driven the Nazis from Normandy. But can they fight off "Angry Birds"?
Do you "like" receiving Facebook messages about, say, your buddy Rich's new row of corn in FarmVille?
It's been seven long years since Google's IPO in 2004 -- the last time a household-name tech company managed to go public. While hotshots like Facebook and Zynga likely won't file for at least another year, moves from a handful of other high-profile ventures show that the long-frozen IPO market is starting to warm up.
Social gaming giant Zynga has acquired Flock, an early pioneer in creating a social Web browser.
In March, CNN's Pauline Chiou talked with Zynga Games CEO Mark Pincus about his company's addictive online games.
Facebook game developer Zynga has proved once again that it knows exactly what it needs to do to keep millions of Facebook users happy and occupied.
With hundreds of titles available in dozens of genres, choosing a holiday gift for the gamer on your list is never simple. It's even harder in 2010, with thousands of downloadable games, social games and iPhone apps competing for gamers' attention, as well.
Tending to virtual farms was so last week.
Social gaming giant Zynga, the developer of FarmVille, is readying a fresh hit for its addicts: CityVille.
Hulu now reaches 30 million viewers a month, and Zynga's games draw a bigger daily audience than the New York Times.
Electronic Arts has signed a five-year deal to use Facebook Credits as the only accepted method of payment for its games on the social networking site.
Sharpen up your hoes, Apple fans. "FarmVille" has cropped up on the iPad.
After a two-day blackout, Facebook game developer LOLapps has returned all of its games to service. Facebook blocked the company's apps because they were inadvertently leaking private user data.
HLN's Jennifer Westhoven explains how some Facebook games collect and distribute your info even when you aren't playing.
The holiday season is always a win for video gamers, as software makers jockey to one-up each other with slicker graphics, deeper play and more expansive 3-D worlds.
Despite some skepticism about America's appetite for purchasing digital trinkets in games and on the internet, the "virtual goods" market is growing at a healthy clip, according to an industry report issued Tuesday.
Zynga's hit Facebook game "FarmVille" is arguably the most widely played video game in existence. What is especially impressive about that is that "FarmVille" isn't any fun.
The stereotypical "gamer" is a teenage boy locked in his basement, playing World of Warcraft with a cube of Mountain Dew at his side. But games on social networks like Facebook have redefined the genre, and they're reaching previously untapped customers: Older women have become a key fan base.
John wants to share some level seven Energizing Lotion in FarmVille! How many times have you seen a similar sentence in your Facebook News Feed and either wondered what it means, or (if you're familiar with Farmville and other popular Facebook games) removed the message in disgust?
Google has quietly been stocking up on tools it will need to challenge Facebook in the social networking game, and says it's on the verge of launching a "social component" to a number of its core products.
Even as Facebook titles like "FrontierVille" and "Restaurant City" continue to attract millions of players, interest in social games may be waning.
Games are among the most popular things people do with their mobile devices. In the past year, more than a third of U.S. cell phone owners have played a game on their phone. Also, up to a quarter of all iPad apps are games.
Facebook said Wednesday it has deleted all applications created by Pencake, wiping out widgets used by an estimated 45 million Facebook members.
In a move that could bring Mickey Mouse into the online gaming world, Walt Disney Co. said it is buying social game developer Playdom Inc. in a deal worth up to $763 million.
These days, it's impossible to overstate the popularity of games for social networks, with Facebook titles like "Pet Society," "Happy Aquarium" and "Zoo World" all boasting massive followings.
If online reports are to be believed, Google could be cooking up a rival for Facebook -- and bringing the maker of popular social games like "FarmVille" with them.
The days of digital birthday cakes, virtual bottles of champagne and other cutesy icons from Facebook are numbered.
Fresh off a deal that will keep 'FarmVille," "Mafia Wars" and other popular Zynga titles on Facebook for at least the next five years, the company has inked a partnership with Yahoo to bring its social games to the Internet giant's massive userbase.
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