A few of my friends like to call themselves gamers. That is to say, a few of my friends who are not already (real) gamers like to label themselves as such.
Perhaps you know folk like these. These folk play Farmville, and believe it qualifies as a videogame in more than name only. These people annoy gamers, non-gamers, friends and enemies alike with unrelenting Facebook notifications inviting one and all to partake in… whatever it is Farmville players do? Arrange flowers, or something?
Anyway, I’m kind of letting my Farmville hate get away on me, here. That’s not the point. The point is that intelligent, attractive people like you won’t have to look at that crap anymore, as Facebook has recognized the problem, and has taken measures to arouse your ire no further. Users either “love playing games or hate them,” says Zuckerberg. And he’s right. Facebook games are a pretty polarizing phenomenon.
Those of you who play Facebook games will notice the Games tab, and how it now so neatly organizes your requests for Treasure and Energy Juice and Puppies and all that… stuff that Facebook ‘gamers’ like, or whatever. The tab will now reorder your bookmarked games according to usage, and also, the News Feed now displays full, uncollapsed stories, highlighting tasks that must be completed in-game. Lucky you, you Mafia Wars champion.
If you don’t play Facebook games, however, you will see… nothing. Nothing at all. No requests, nothing. Sweet release.
I guess this is the best for all involved. Those into Facebook games get the tide of lowbrow pap they enjoy in a cleaner, more streamlined way, and the rest of us don’t need to exhaust our clickin’ finger hiding applications. Win-win.
While this is all well and good for users, though, it remains to be seen how these changes will affect developers, and their ability to grab new customers players.
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