Cityville: quite popular
Facebook smash Farmville has become synonymous with the spectacular success of
social games, rocketing to prominence since its June 2009 debut with over 50 million regular players. It's even been blessed with its own "For Dummies" book, launching in February.
Popular though it is, it's about to be eclipsed, says blog InsideSocialGames, by its 18-day-old baby brother Cityville.
Cityville, which launched on December 2, shares much with Farmville -- including
its developer, Zynga, which Farmville helped propel to a market valuation in excess of $5.5 billion. Much as the name suggests, Cityville tasks players with developing a
city rather than a farm, building housing, businesses and roads, and connecting to neighbors with rail links.
If you're on Facebook, though, chances are you already know that. According to InsideSocialGames, Cityville's monthly user tally -- which currently stands at 48 million -- is expected to pass Farmville's in the next few days.
"No Facebook game has ever grown as quickly," says InsideSocialGames' Chris
Morrison. "Farmville, which took about three months to hit the same point, is the only one to ever grow as large...Zynga has a huge hit on its hands."
