Diner Dash Opens For Business On Facebook

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PlayFirst has announced that Diner Dash has launched on Facebook. The game, which has been downloaded a half billion times in its various forms, is currently playable in beta mode and can be played at http://apps.facebook.com/dinerdash.

Diner Dash is the first Facebook game to embed robust time management gameplay in a truly social environment, said Eric Hartness, Vice President and General Manger of Social Games at PlayFirst. We ve taken the addictive gameplay that has made Diner Dash so popular on PC, Macs and iOS mobile devices and accented it with a rich ensemble cast and narrative elements that bring new depth to the Dash experience. Diner Dash propels restaurant games on Facebook to an entire new level!

The Facebook version of Diner Dash perhaps unsurprisingly has a town management system. Using tips from the restaurant, players help Flow clean up the mess Mr. Big has caused in DinerTown park, and unlock other restaurants like Tony s Ristorante and Margarita s Cantina.

We ve brought together all the compelling Diner Dash elements that have made it the number one time management franchise and married that to the social experience of Facebook, said Mari Baker, CEO of PlayFirst. Diner Dash on Facebook points the way forward to a new class of time management game while retaining the authentic Dash gameplay that made the series so popular.

Zynga Trying To Kick Others Out Of The ‘Ville’

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Zynga has filed cease and desist orders against Blingville. The social gaming company is claiming that the use of the letter combination ‘ville’ entails trademark infringement.

This has not been the first time that Zynga (which has been accused of stealing game design) has been involved in trademark infringement disputes. The company was on the receiving end of a suit for the Facebook game Mafia Wars.

Blingville anticipated this action, since Zynga started their actions against them in November, and issued a declaratory judgement saying that the game’s title is fair use. They say that Zynga’s claim “adversely affects Blingville and will continue to do so until this Court makes a determination of Blingville’s absolute right to use the trademark name ‘Blingville’ in connection with its social networking computer game.”

Furthermore, they are asking that “Zynga be ordered to pay Blingville‘s attorneys’ fees, costs and other expenses incurred as a result of this controversy.”

Source: Tech Dirt

Duke Nukem: The (Short) Movie

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The world (ok, just a small part of the world) is celebrating the fact that Duke Nukem finally has a release date. Here’s a short tribute film made by some of those fans that got the approval of 3DRealms’ George Broussard.

Killzone 3 Hits Home

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Sony is transforming the Central Plaza of Home to be the center of a Helghast invasion. Players can shoot down enemies to get PlayStation Home rewards, and purchasing the game via the Amazon kiosk in the Plaza nets other rewards.

 

Cow Clicker Gets Blitzed

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Cow Clicker launched a year ago as a send up of Facebook games, but it’s grown to where millions now participate in the activity. To make it easier, developer Ian Bogost has developed a new Cow Clicker API, where players can get credit for clicking a cow when they click on the appropriate application, along with a Bejeweled Blitz variation called Cow Clicker Blitz, which can be played only once every six hours without the use of Mooney.

“People don’t just want one chance to click a cow every six hours,” says Bogost. “They want as many opportunities as possible to click a cow every six hours.”

Source: Kotaku

Facebook Credits Mandatory On July 1

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Facebook has announced that Facebook Credits has officially left beta test mode. Furthermore, they’ve announced that games that use in-game purchases will be required by Facebook to make the switch to Facebook Credits by July 1.

According to Facebook Credits product manager Deb Liu, 150 developers were using Facebook Credits in 350 applications during the beta, and represented more than 70 percent of all the virtual goods purchases on the social network. Deeper integration will come, which will allow virtual goods to be directly purchasable via Credits.

Facebook takes a 30 percent cut of all transactions using Credits.

Source: VentureBeat

Sacha Cohen Returns As The Dictator

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Paramount Pictures has announced that Sacha Baron Cohen (known for his roles portraying Borat and Bruno) will be working on a new film called The Dictator. Launching May 11, 2012, the film will be directed by Larry Charles, who also directed the Borat and Bruno movies.

The film tells the heroic story of a dictator who risked his life to ensure that democracy would never come to the country he so lovingly oppressed, said the release. It is inspired by the best selling novel ‘Zabibah and The King’ by Saddam Hussein.

Capcom Thinks New Consoles May Have Overshadowed Okami

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Okami has been heralded as a great title by many critics, but the game never received equal success at retail. The game came out late in the lifecycle of the PS2 (Fall 2006 in America) and may have been overshadowed by the already available Xbox 360 and the impending PS3 and Wii.

“I can’t comment officially but, personally speaking, I think it had a lot to do with the announcements for new consoles,” said Capcom producer Motohide Eshiro. “That was overshadowing any other game news at the time.”

The sequel Okamiden is set to release for the DS on March 15, mere days before the official launch of the 3DS.

Source: Official Nintendo Magazine