Zynga Prepaid Cards Hit U.S. Retailers

Social game developer Zynga announced that its prepaid game cards for titles like FarmVille and Mafia Wars are now available at several major U.S. retailers, including 7-Eleven, Inc., Best Buy, GameStop and Target. The $10 and $25 cards, which offer an alternative way of buying in-game goods (e.g. virtual furniture, power-ups) to consumers who don't have access to credit cards or bank accounts, will work with Zynga's free-to-play titles on Facebook, as well as on standalone sites such as FarmVille.com, MafiaWars.com and YoVille.com. Zynga's titles attract over 235 million monthly active users and 67 million daily users. FarmVille alone, which is easily the most popular application on Facebook, has more than 82 million monthly active users on the social network. The company's other well-known games include Cafe World, Texas HoldEm Poker, Fishville, and dozens of others. The roll-out of prepaid cards comes several months after Zynga secured a $180 Million investment, which it said would go toward the firm's continued growth. Since then, the company has opened two new development studios in Los Angeles and Bangalore, India, with the latter branch expected to hire around 100 employees. "Social gaming is going mainstream and consumers around the world are connecting with people through games like FarmVille and Mafia Wars," says Zynga's senior vice president Vish Makhijani. "By partnering with 7-Eleven, Best Buy, GameStop and Target, our games can be accessed by a broader audience of new and existing players."