EA transplant to Zynga confirmed: Jeff Karp joins as marketing head

The cat has been officially removed from the bag ... by Zynga. The FarmVille creator confirmed to us that Jeff Karp (pictured), former executive VP of EA's casual games label, EA Play, has been hired as Chief Marketing and Revenue Officer at Zynga. Of course, Karp will oversee all marketing operations at the $11.5 billion company (at least), as well as international sales.

Before joining Zynga, Karp enjoyed 11 years at EA in various executive positions including chief revenue officer of the EA Games label. It was there he oversaw international marketing for properties like Battlefield, Medal of Honor, Mass Effect and more, according to Zynga's statement.

This EA-Zynga transplant joins a number of high-level traitors former EA executives. Most recently it's rumored that Mark Turmell, senior creative director at EA Sports and creator of NBA Jam, has joined Zynga. Just this June, former GM of EA-owned Easy Studios Ben Cousins joined Ngmoco to head its Sweden studio. And there are plenty more to mention.

It's unfortunate that just as the company goes full speed ahead into social and casual games with one of the biggest buys in recent gaming history that some of its most important positions have gone temporarily vacant. But it looks like The Sims Social could already be the shot in the arm EA needed--it's already attracted over 7 million players.

Do you think this will be a harmful loss for EA? With The Sims Social and whatever PopCap is up to, do you think EA could bounce back and enter the ring with Zynga? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment

PopCap feels the power of 'free,' more freemium games incoming

Perhaps "PopCap feels the power of Facebook" is more like it. During an interview with PocketGamer.biz, PopCap senior director of mobile product and business strategy Giordano Contestabile revealed that the Bejeweled Blitz creator has plenty more plans for freemium mobile games. That's especially since its recent Plants vs Zombies freemium-inspired update.

"While we typically don't disclose much about our future plans, I can say that you're in for a lot of surprises for us in the coming months, and that in-app transactions and the freemium model are going to feature prominently," Contestabile told PocketGamer.biz. The PopCap exec believes that the play first, (maybe) pay later model of mobile games will likely take over.

"I think that, one year from now, 95 percent or more of iOS game downloads might come from freemium games, and 80 percent or more of the revenue could be associated with them," Contestabile told the website. "The freemium model is extremely powerful because it allows developers to reach the biggest possible audience, and it allows players to choose if and how to pay for content, after having tried it out."

While Contestabile did say that there's still a place for premium game experiences, or pay-to-play games, that approach is losing its luster for most games. It wouldn't be terribly inaccurate to call this "The Facebook Effect." The fact that companies like Zynga and EA (which now owns PopCap) have made serious dough with free-to-play Facebook games has certainly had a visible impact on mobile gaming, which has a distribution model fairly similar to social networks. Almost Free is here to stay, and it looks like PopCap wants to lead the charge.

Are you excited to hear that more free-to-play games are coming from PopCap? Which property do you hope gets the free treatment next, or are you hoping for more original games? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment

Dunkin' Donuts pushes its brand with a free Sims Social Lawn Chair

Dunkin' Donuts strikes again in The Sims Social. On top of all the free fan gifts from Playfish and EA rolling out daily on the game's official fan page, the American coffee-and-donuts chain has chipped in for the first Sims Social-branded virtual item in the form of an exclusive Dunkin' Donuts Lawn Chair.

To get the chair, you've got to 'like' the official Dunkin' Donuts Facebook page here and then head over to the section of the page titled "DD & The Sims Social".

Owning the lawn chair adds 250 points to your house value, which is a modest, but no small amount. It also sells for 15 Simoleons, which is chump change, but hey, free furniture! And lastly, the chair comes with a bit of extra animation.

Just click on the chair, and your Sim will get the option to "Sit" or "Drink Dunkin' Donuts Coffee". So kick back, and watch your Sim lie down on the chair to sip from a steamy cup.
Dunkin Donuts Sims Social Lawn Chair
Do you enjoy branded goods in games? Do you think it makes them more realistic? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment