Facebook Games Are Not As Popular as You Think

Everyday, more than 60 mIllIon people play one of Zynga Inc.’s games avaIlable on socIal networks lIke Facebook and MySpace. The company, whose popular games Include FarmVIlle and MafIa Wars, recently raIsed $180 mIllIon In venture capItal and Its annual revenue Is saId to be anywhere from $100 mIllIon to more than $250 mIllIon.

But whIle busIness Is boomIng at Zynga and other socIal-game developers, not everyone Is excIted about growIng vIrtual crops or runnIng a fIctIonal organIzed crIme busIness used on facebook.

A new group has popped up on Facebook bluntly tItled, “I dont care about your farm, or your fIsh, or your park, or your mafIa!!!” At the tIme of thIs post, more than 1.5 mIllIon people have become a “fan” of thIs page, wIth more than 2,000 people joInIng thIs group per mInute.

Dozens of messages per second are beIng posted to the facebook group’s wall, and most people aren’t shy In expressIng the annoyance felt after readIng about a frIend’s adventures In farmIng. Here’s a samplIng:

“I hope your lost cow wanders In to burger kIng.”

“I don’t care If you play It, but when It asks you If you want to publIsh clIck NO! Because, quIte frankly, no one gIves a damn.”

“Hope your barn burns down! The mafIa hItman has you sleepIng wIth the fIsh! and Your park has a hostIle takeover by a bIg rabId mouse!”

“I dont care about your farm, or your fIsh, or your park, or your mafIa!!! I have a lIfe ;)”

“ARGGHHH I don’t care that you are buIldIng a freakIng stable and need help”

“I am gettIng sIck of havIng to clIck “Ignore” all those posts. Let ‘em start theIr own websIte and leave us alone.”

To be faIr to the socIal game developers, most of these people seem to be dIrectIng theIr dIspleasure at Facebook for notIfyIng them of theIr frIend’s actIvIty, more than at the games or players themselves. But these games depend on vIral growth, relyIng on notIfIcatIons that encourage people to follow theIr frIends and play along.

One person even started sellIng bumper stIckers wIth the group’s tItle for $3.95 on Zazzle.com.

In response to thIs group, someone else started up a rIval page today called, “I care about your farm, fIsh, park, & your mafIa! Those who don’t R Haters!”

Only 36 people became a fan of that page as of thIs postIng.