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Japan Gets Its Own Version Of Farmville
The Facebook game sensation that I totally don't understand, Farmville, has launched in Japan under a slightly different name and with some minor tweaks for the new locale.
Inside Social Games has the full scoop on FarmVillage, which has launched on Japanese social network Mixi. Since that network is mostly built for mobile access, the game has been tweaked with a new art style and avatars removed. It also uses directional pad control rather than mouse or touch screen.
FarmVillage appears after Japan-based Softbank (which partially owns Mixi) invested $147 million in Zynga this summer. Shortly after that investment, Zynga purchased Japanese developer Unoh. With a new market of around 20 million users, it looks like Farmville's player base is only going to keep rising in this new form.
[via Edge]
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