Virtual Protests Erupt In YoVille

-Sweets Factory Icon- YoVille, one of the largest virtual worlds on Facebook, recently experienced a relatively large protest against a major change yesterday which modified the way users can earn virtual currency. Previously, users entered a widget factory from where they could earn coins. While users can still earn coins there is a new process in which users must spend money to make money (as is typical in the real world). A number of users are furious and in the past few hours I’ve received numerous users frustrated with the change.

The position of the users was that less money was being generated per user per hour. Most likely Zynga implemented this new place as a way to stave off inflation but sudden changes that are intended to impact the money supply can result in user backlash. Whatever the rationale behind the protests is, it appears that they are most likely much ado about nothing. So far one site which is collecting signatures for a protest has only 67 signatures.

With over 16 million monthly active users, 67 signatures will hardly suffice at driving change. With many users investing countless hours into the game however, one can understand their frustration with a change that would require them to invest more time. Zynga claims that the new model doesn’t have any impact on the potential revenue being generated though. They have stated that “If you manage your bakery well then every day you will earn just as many, or even MORE, coins than you did at the old factory”.

So are these new protesters just unintelligent? Possibly, although a more rational explanation is that the users are simply against change. So to all of those users who dislike the YoVille sweets factory: deal with it … it’s just a game. If Zynga really wanted to manipulate the economy more aggressively, there would most definitely be a much more aggressive backlash among the more than 16 million users.

Update
Many commenters have pointed out that this article is inaccurate. The petition I was referencing is here and is now up to 85 signatures. The majority of the comments here have been driven from Zynga forums where users are indeed frustrated with the change. I personally logged in to the app however to talk to people and saw no live demonstrations taking place which means that is now a forum driven issue. Thousands of people will always complain when change happens to an application with millions of users. To those people that were offended by my intelligence comment, it was an attempt to fuel the fire which is clearly taking place on the comments.

View our latest post about how the protests were unsuccessful.

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7750116 CommentsVirtual+Protests+Erupt+In+YoVille2009-09-19+21%3A23%3A14Nick+O%27Neill »

What a bunch of absolute garbage. This guy should go to Yoville.com and post a link to this and see how many ppl out there are so stupid as he put it.

Count me in one of the unintelligent crowd then because Zynga is officially off my application choices.

Comment by Danielle Franklin — September 19, 2009 @ 2:50 pm
It's obvious you don't play the game, Nick.

The protests aren't over change, they're over the fact that YoVille is asking us to schedule our real lives around when the sweets will burn (lost game money).

As to the real world, tell me: if someone hires you in a bakery, do you *expect* to pay *them* when you clean their ovens?

A simple solution has been asked—no, *begged* of Zynga: give players the option to choose the old Widget Factory or the new Sweets Factory for in-game work. They have ignored us. And player reports on comparisons of profits made in both factories vary far from the numbers Zynga publishes.

Several of us were *drafted* (with no warning or info) to be "testers" for the new factory. There was a lot of practical negative feedback which Zynga ignored, and they continued moving players to the new factory until now it's game-wide.

You also ignore one other point, Nick: many of these players have used their *real world money* to purchase "YoCoins" to use in-game for buying game items. When you see coins you've purchased going down the drain, because you're paying *twice* for oven-cleaning and ingredients because some batch of cooking *burned*… well, do you get angry if someone lifts a five, or a twenty, from your wallet?

All Zynga needs to do to make *all* their players happy is to give players the option on which factory to work in. They not only haven't done this, they haven't even addressed it in their communiques.

People play to have fun, to escape the stress of the real world. Zynga has introduced a real world element that removes the fun for many, induces stress, plus for some, saps real world money they've spent in good faith to buy items, not to lose to burned batches and oven-cleaning.

It's just a game? Yes—but when you purchase something, you ought to get what you paid for… and many of us have purchased a LOT of game coins with REAL money.

PS—among the many players who are angry are several computer programmers and software specialists—hardly unintelligent folks, Nick. And they know bad planning and execution when they see it.

Comment by Chris Allen — September 19, 2009 @ 3:19 pm
I, a former happy Yoville player, am neither unintelligent or against change. One of the problems is when some who don't agree resort to name-calling when lacking accurate information. Hundreds of yoville players have lodged complaints; however, many were "lost" due to an "error" when forum entries were merged by the powers that be. Many of us were paying customers of this particular Zynga game. At one point, we were told the new factory was being "tested". We were never told the factory was going to entirely replace the factory we used and enjoyed. Even though the testing was shown to be unfavorable re. the "sweets factory", the sweets factory was forced upon every facebook player without warning. This sort of tactic when used against paying customers is, at the very least, misrepresentation. I, for one, would not have invested my real money in a game that I would not enjoy playing. I did enjoy the game before the change and encouraged many friends to join. I have no problem with change, having gone to college during my late thirties and earning my second degree near the time of my fortieth birthday. I am not unintelligent, attested to by the fact that the American Father of Hermeneutics once referred to me as "the most creative mind" he'd ever known. However, I do believe in honesty. Honesty is the entire truth, not misleading business practices. One site may have had only 67 signatures/complaints. Many sites, that were full of complaints about the change, have been deleted as quickly as possible on the forums and on the blogs at yoville.com That is why many of us have lodged complaints and have begun a new game at facebook. Miniplanet is one of the many new games former Yoville players are now using.

Comment by Angela Fox Smith — September 19, 2009 @ 3:59 pm
99% of players hate the sweets factory. The other 1% work for Zynga, I'm sure The unintelligent ones are Zynga for not listening to their players.

Comment by Jami — September 19, 2009 @ 4:30 pm
Here alone you can count 26,713 YoVillains who said NO. http://apps.facebook.com/causes/348210/ … m=e5767d02

this was posted on the forums at yoville. The "no" is to the sweets factory.

Comment by Angela Fox Smith — September 19, 2009 @ 4:43 pm
http://media.causes.com/574579

Comment by Angela Fox Smith — September 19, 2009 @ 5:11 pm
Yoville, according to Zynga

YoVille is a Virtual World that allows users to create personal avatars that live in custom decorated homes. YoVillians, can chat, play mini-games, attend live events, and interact with real friends leaving them messages and gifts. When users are not online, their friends can come and visit their apartments and join their crew to help them make more money while they work. After work, YoVillians can head into town to shop to buy new furniture, clothes, and even buy pets!

How can you " chat, play mini-games, attend live events, and interact with real friends leaving them messages and gifts" when you spend all of your time "baking" and trying to make enough "to buy new furniture, clothes, and even buy pets"?

BTW, I'VE SINCE QUIT THE YOVILLE. I WAS LEVEL 50, MAKING AT LEAST 1050 COINS/DAY ON THE WIDGET FACTORY. I ONLY HAD TO SPEND LESS THAN A MINUTE EACH VISIT. I'D RATHER SPEND MY TIME SAYING HI TO MY FRIENDS, GIFTING THEM AND DECORATING MY APARTMENT.

Comment by Kim — September 19, 2009 @ 5:11 pm
Yoville is a great game to play, and catch up with friends.. I just dont think The Sweet factory is fun, you guys should bring back the Widget Factory at least you have the chance to choose your job Sweet Factory you cannot do that. Or you may even get a rare furniture item. Who wants to bake Cakes and Cookies all the time…………….

Comment by Sharon — September 19, 2009 @ 5:42 pm
Very well said Angela. I also use to buy yocash for the game. I didn't mind at the time because I was playing a game I really enjoyed. But in the 7 months since I began playing, many items that were coming out for sale were yocash, and had a higher price tag. I saw this a zynga being greedy and were forcing players to buy more yocash or do surveys to get it. Either way zynga is making a huge profit off a once fun game. Like I said before I don't mind paying to play as long as I'm enjoying myself. I have an Xbox 360 and pay to play live. I buy games and couldn't be happier with my online experience. I will be joining the many that have already stopped playing yoville and look for something else.

Comment by Vanessa — September 19, 2009 @ 6:25 pm
Unless/until the Sweet Factory is offered as an OPTION, rather than the only choice, I won't be playing YoVille. I play several FB games. Zynga is the MOST stingy with game coin and the MOST aggressive in withholding game activity unless you spend actual cash/money. I'm seriously considering the same action with FarmVille… for the same reason. The economy sucks, people! Most of us don't have much discretionary income.

It is for THIS reason I am most angry about this change. Yes. This is a GAME. Therefore, it ought to be FUN, not a constant source of irritation and aggravation. I enjoyed being able to log into the game every 6 or 7 hours. pop into the factory, grab some coin, and then spending a few minutes visiting friends and spiffing up my homes. If I got busy/distracted, I didn't lose coin I'd already earned because I didn't get back to the factory. With this change, I HAVE to watch the clock so I don't LOSE coin I've invested. Sorry, but for me, that is not fun, and it is not how YoVille was first designed to function. I'm already playing a couple games that I have to watch the clock with and I'm just about burned out with them. I'm not interested in having yet another time-sensitive game to track. If they are changing the rules on me, I choose not participate. Plain and simple.

I'm not planning to leave YoVille entirely, just in case they finally figure out that they are supposed to be listening to and responding to their players. But I won't be baking any goods or spending much, if any, time in YoVille for the foreseeable future. I was getting irritated with the game BEFORE this. Its bad enough that I have a Government that doesn't give a rip about what I think or what I feel. I'll be damned if I'll tolerate the same attitude from a GAME!

Comment by Facebook User — September 19, 2009 @ 6:29 pm
Zynga do not give a rats arse about their users only interested in making money… I had an escaalted issue that they played around with and did nothing to resolve… I can't wait to support their competition and Facebook should take note…..

Comment by Jakob — September 19, 2009 @ 6:41 pm
We are not dinosaurs complaining about "Change," Nick. YoVille players have rolled with many changes (and bugs). Nor are we unintelligent. Implying that we are only one or the other is insulting on *two* counts.

As for the "67 signatures on only one petition," you didn't do much investigation on this, did you? Read the posts above, and you'll see why so many "NO's" aren't there to be seen, and also at least ONE site with tens of thousands of "NO's."

I'd also like to know where you got your figure of "16 million active users monthly"… from Zynga? Does that include their Myspace players? Does that include players who joined the game but don't play, so that their friends could gain more crew? Is it an actual count of each *active* player—or is it counting how many times the game gets logged into, whether it's one person hitting it 20 times per day, or 1 time per day?

Again, Zynga has not even given the simple request to allow players to choose which factory we work in the dignity of a response. Instead, they've chosen to keep rah-rah promoting the Sweets Factory.

YoVille introduces a new line of products every couple weeks that run for a very limited time. Players who buy (with REAL money) YoCoins and YoCash from Zynga have an advantage in being able to purchase these items during their limited run. Players who do not, or cannot afford, to pay Zynga, must earn (and save) their coins for that via game play—and the major source of income for them is the Factory.

When thousands of players report a loss of income between the new factory and the old, it means something. When the prices of new items on average goes *up* at the same time, and more items require YoCash (which cannot be earned in game) to buy, it also means something.

*many suffer in-game income loss due to mandatory change by Zynga

*average prices for new and limited time items go up

*more of said items require YoCash to buy them

I don't know how you read this… but to me, it looks as though Zynga wants more players to make less in the game (because they've put in extra time and scheduling requirements with this that many players just can't do), and thus there will be more people tempted to buy YoCoins and YoCash from them in order to purchase these higher-priced, limited time items.

The only players who seem happy with the new factory are the ones who have the real world *time* to schedule factory stops into their lives, and/or who don't mind what others feel is "real world drudgery", and/or don't mind losing coins to burned product if they miss logging in at the appropriate time, and paying yet *more* coins to clean and prep again.

For many of us, we don't have the time to log in on a precise schedule, we don't want an in-game necessary aspect that causes stress and a feeling of drudgery similar to what we face in real life—we're here to have fun. And for those of us who spent our hard-earned dollars buying YoCoins from Zynga, having them go down the Sweets Factory drain due to burned batches is not what we paid our money for—we bought those coins to augment our in-game income, to *use* said coins to purchase items in game.

Comment by Chris Allen — September 19, 2009 @ 6:46 pm
"With over 16 million monthly active users, 67 signatures will hardly suffice at driving change."

—Please get your facts straight. Maybe if you went out of your way to do better research on the official YoVille forum http://www.yoville.com, you'd find that there are a lot more than the alleged 67 signatures you saw.

"So are these new protesters just unintelligent? Possibly, although a more rational explanation is that the users are simply against change."

—I played YoVille for about a year, and I've seen it change. I welcomed change. But when you change the core structure of the game that is social networking and home decoration, then that's changing the whole point of why YoVille joined YoVille altogether. I don't like timed games, the very reason why I don't play FarmVille. By introducing the Sweets Factory, Zynga managed to force FarmVille into YoVille.

YoVille was meant to be fun. A lot of us do have legitimate reasons for not finding the Sweets Factory fun.

Comment by KimChi — September 19, 2009 @ 6:59 pm
Wow. Brilliance is not related to social aptitude. Get lives people. Lmbo.

Comment by GA — September 19, 2009 @ 7:08 pm
This looks like some zynga propaganda sh*t! There are several different petitions out there!

Here are 2 petitions I found:

http://www.petitiononline.com/YoSWFno/petition.ht...

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/petition/423216777

Along with the FB cause here with over 26,000 members:

http://apps.facebook.com/causes/348210/

Just take a look at the forums assh*le. There are thousands of protesters, and those are only the ones that speak english and actually have the time to speak up. People are signing petitions left and right, and just because you picked one with 67 signatures doesn't make our cause insignificant.

You call us unintelligent? Well, in fact you are because you either didn't research your story properly or you're putting out propaganda to make our complaints seem insignificant.

This is bull. Get your story straight moron.

Comment by Jemmy — September 19, 2009 @ 7:38 pm
BTW, I found this article unnecessarily condescending to players who, for whatever reason, have strong feelings about the changes. MOST people do not appreciate change when they either were not consulted about the changes that impact their life and/or when misinformed about the extent/consequences of changes. It is not the FACT there are changes we resent, but the WAY those changes have been implemented. I don't appreciate either characterization for my protest.

Comment by Facebook User — September 19, 2009 @ 7:43 pm
You obviously aren't a player of the game, or you would understand why so many of us are upset. Go to Yoville.com and take a look at the THOUSANDS of complaints on the message board (which doesn't include all of the ones which were "lost" due to a technical error.) All of those complaints in just a couple of days! I followed the boards during the testing period, and the feedback from the original testers was almost all negative. Why would a company go forward with something that tested so negatively? Also, not a single response from the developers to address our complaints. Not even a "screw you people."

Zynga's reason for doing this wasn't to limit the money supply, it was to blackmail us into visiting the site more often. The new system is a carbon copy of Farmville, except with cupcakes instead of crops. Works for Farmville right! Well it doesn't work for Yoville. I loved that game, and now I can't stand it.

I have tried the new sweets factory, and with the schedule I am able to keep, I make about the same amount of coins as I did before, not more, but with a lot more hassle. I have a job and I sleep, I cannot keep checking Yoville to make sure my cupcakes aren't burning. It is inconvenient. What's more, there are technical glitches, and you don't always get paid.

And yea, I'll deal with it. I'll spend my time and money on Smallworlds from now on. I'm curious to see what will happen to the traffic for the site over the next week.

Comment by Rod Foglio — September 19, 2009 @ 8:01 pm
Obviously, you have been given incorrect information. There may be a site created for petitions that most don't know about, however, if you go to the application site, THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS of complaints have come in. The creaters of yoville can't delete them faster than they are coming in. Threads are continued because they are getting too large, only for the beginning the thread being "lost".

Not only that, but the administrators of yoville are actually censoring the post and removing immediately one's that tell the truth. They censor out competitors application names, and so much more.

Sorry you don't have the entire story, but the jest of it is Yoville is cutting back all ways to make "free" coins to the game will become a paid game only. In addition to the cutting back on the "free coins", all new lines are mostly yocash, which is real money, or the one or two freebies are so expensive no one can afford them. For example 1800 coins for a pair of Pajamas..!!!

Comment by Annie — September 19, 2009 @ 8:25 pm
Great comments from the posters! Like many others, I don't intend to stay on Yoville, unless it's just to visit friends. I'm wondering how this will actually affect Facebook. I, for one, signed on to FB many, many times each day just to play Yoville.

Comment by Juli Lett — September 19, 2009 @ 8:40 pm
An editorial crock…

Many of us in Yoville have spent the better part of our adult lives cooking and cleaning for our families….what kind of overpaid rocket scientist came up with a game concept for Yo-plebes to not only cyber cook and cyber clean for fun, but force their players to pay for the priveledge?

…will we have to pay to clean toilets next? Change diapers? ….Yeah that sounds like a blast!!!! What a relaxing escape!

Comment by Miss Gator — September 19, 2009 @ 8:47 pm
:::So are these new protesters just unintelligent? Possibly, although a more rational explanation is that the users are simply against change. So to all of those users who dislike the YoVille sweets factory: deal with it … it’s just a game. If Zynga really wanted to manipulate the economy more aggressively, there would most definitely be a much more aggressive backlash among the more than 16 million users.:::

I am 'dealing' with it there Dick… errr, I mean Nick…

I dealt with it by removing all Zynga apps from my Facebook account….

I'm pretty sure unintelligent wouldn't be one of the words used to describe me, and I don't mind change, in fact I encourage it, when it's a POSITIVE change.

As for 67 people? You're just plain ignorant, check the Yo Fourms, browse a bit and get an accurate idea before you go running off at the mouth with inaccurate information.

Comment by Jim — September 19, 2009 @ 8:47 pm
So when in disagreement bring out the name calling? I play the game but am in no way unintelligent or against change. What I am against is being completely disregarded when this is a game I invest real money in. Zinga was aware of the unhappy gamers when in the beta testing of the new sweets factory, yet they still implemented the change (even though we had been told that they were just “testing it”). I don’t like being lied to or misled. I doubt you would like it either Mick, were you to be in my position or Angela’s.

As for the 67 users unhappy, Zinga is really full of it. I have heard personally from more than 67 users and since Angela posted the above link, the member’s number has jumped to 26,790. I am also aware that negative posts and/or complaints have very conveniently been lost due to some” glitch” in the system.

I am not off to check Miniplanet and screw YoVille.

Comment by Erika Benites — September 19, 2009 @ 9:10 pm
Wow, Nick O'Neill, author of this article. You are either a Zynga employee or a Zynga shill (in every sense of the word). Get a clue, man.

Comment by April — September 19, 2009 @ 9:13 pm
This is a fine example of lousy, irresponsible journalism. The author is clearly too eager to get his opinion across to do two minutes of research. Just ONE look on the forums at YoVille.com turns this entire article upside-down–the negative reaction to the sweets factory is beyond overwhelming, and there are plenty of reasons given for this reaction that have nothing to do with people’s IQ or attitude toward change.

Comment by Julia — September 19, 2009 @ 9:14 pm
Do your research, Mr. http://www.JournalistWannabe.com

Comment by Lauren — September 19, 2009 @ 9:35 pm
I must add…even though I am apt to change, I do not find it 'fair' when Zynga consistently has server trouble in which players cannot logon. When this happens, our cookies (money) burns away in their ovens that they force us to cook in. We are NOT reimbursed, and simply must eat (no pun) the loss. What were they thinking?

Comment by Facebook User — September 19, 2009 @ 10:01 pm
I have taken my part in the protest on yoville, i loth this sweets factory, if i had the power, i would blow it to bits, yoville can shove this factory straight up its "pie" hole. I will refuse to work there. I am a guy, i work on widgits, not on cakes. We the people protest sweets, bring back widgit now, we are widgit warriors, to hell with sweets, and i agree with all the other protesters.

Comment by Brian thunderbird ro — September 19, 2009 @ 10:04 pm
People dont like change ??? Do you even play the game to understand this CHANGE ? How much do you get pay to write such things ? Go to Yoville forum ! Or play the game for once and see it for yourself !

Comment by Trang — September 19, 2009 @ 10:15 pm
Ahahaha so much hate when their Facebook game breaks.. Hording not acceptable anymore simple as that lol..

Comment by YoVille_Hata — September 19, 2009 @ 10:18 pm
You are a moron. The cause group AGAINST the stupid Sweets Factory has OVER 27,000 PEOPLE. 67 people my behind – you didn't pay attention in journalism school, did you, when they taught you to get all the facts before spouting off on something? Otherwise, you reveal yourself for the idiot you are.

And no, I don't have to pay my employer to work for them, idiot. I don't know what kind of pyramid scheme you're working for, buddy, but in the REAL world, my employers pay ME to show up and do my job. I don't pay them for the paper I use, or the ink I use, or the computer programs I use. Nor do I pay for the phone lines, office equipment maintenance, or any of it. I do my job, I get paid.

Good lord, you are probably one of the BIGGEST idiots on the planet. Perhaps you should apply to Fox News for a job – they don't give a crap about reporting cold, hard facts.

Comment by Sinnerstar — September 19, 2009 @ 10:40 pm
After re-reading your article, I have to conclude that you are STILL a moron. This isn't about resistance to change, idiot – this is about Zynga attempting to a) up their daily log-in numbers by forcing people to check on stupid virtual baked goods to make money (and by upping their daily log-ins, they make more money) and b) by the users earning less virtual money, Zynga (stupidly) believes we'll spend more REAL money to buy virtual money (it ain't happenin'). As you can see, this isn't "against" change at all – this is against corporate BS. WoW (World of Warcraft) operates on a similar principle. While you can't legally buy money for the game, they have made it so that users have to log-in and play DAILY in order to get anywhere. This increases advertising revenues and all kinds of other things you probably don't understand, because you're an idiot and business economics is way beyond your limited understanding.

Comment by Sinnerstar — September 19, 2009 @ 10:46 pm
For anyone who would suggest there are very few people objecting to the sweets factory should troll through the forum. There is petition after petition signed by HUNDREDS of people.

Comment by Teresa Lawson — September 19, 2009 @ 11:01 pm
No need to argue with intelligent people, especially if it`s not their field of expertees or interrest. THE PROTEST GETS ALL THUMBS UP – TO THE REST – THE SELF PROCLAIMED SCIENTISTS ON THIS FORMULA , GO PACK BOXES AT K.F.C. FOR A DOLLAR A DAY AND HAVE FUN DOING IT.You have the right to love what your doing and we are allowed to hate what we are getting…

Comment by Leon Nel — September 19, 2009 @ 11:59 pm
Quote:
“So far one site which is collecting signatures for a protest has only 67 signatures”

I find that you say “one site” and do not name the site, completely atrocious. The numbers are STAGGERING if you would take the time to view more than ‘one site’; if even that ‘ one site’ exists. Your lack of intelligence causes me to question your ability as a reporter. I hope you don’t get paid, and this is stricty volunteer work. It is quite eveident that you do not play the game avidly (if at all). You are biased, and obviously completely ignorant to what is going on. You have already made up your mind before writing this article; this is just a game. You have reported the query around your little head, and went to bed after 4 minutes of investigating (if that).

Comment by Facebook User — September 20, 2009 @ 1:47 am
67 people?!?!?!? How much did they pay you to write this? THOUSANDS of negative comments still on the forum, even though they have removed many. Tons of people stating they are no longer spending money on Zynga games, and calling in and emailing complaints. Hundreds joining FB groupd protesting this. How many more that say nothing ans simply write off Zynga as a pathetic company that doesn’t respect it’s paying customers?

“Just a game”? This game is PAYING Zynga. The players, that are quitting in droves, were paying the advertisers. Honestly, if they don’t fix this, I hope they crash and burn, and go out of business.

Comment by Deborah Fisher — September 20, 2009 @ 1:52 am
“So are these new protesters just unintelligent? Possibly, although a more rational explanation is that the users are simply against change.”

Out of curiosity, how much did you get to write this review from Zynga?

Am I disgusted? You bet I am. I had thought to start plunking some real life tender into the game, because I’d actually enjoyed it very much and wanted to upscale my living quarters.

Now. Zynga can look elsewhere for revenue.

My suggestion to you would be to take a serious look around the Forums and the parent forums of Zynga (where harsh and severe censoship has taken place over the past few days)

Then.. come back and write something a bit more un-biased… Please.

Comment by Dody Gonzales — September 20, 2009 @ 2:00 am
Vanessa – September 19th, 2009 at 10:25 pm

Very well said Angela. I also use to buy yocash for the game. I didn’t mind at the time because I was playing a game I really enjoyed. But in the 7 months since I began playing, many items that were coming out for sale were yocash, and had a higher price tag. I saw this a zynga being greedy and were forcing players to buy more yocash or do surveys to get it. Either way zynga is making a huge profit off a once fun game. Like I said before I don’t mind paying to play as long as I’m enjoying myself.

When thousands of players report a loss of income between the new factory and the old, it means something. When the prices of new items on average goes *up* at the same time, and more items require YoCash (which cannot be earned in game) to buy, it also means something.

This article is obviously written by someone who is very arrogant towards the people's views, and very insulting. A varied agerange play yoville, I play it for fun and escapism from the daily dreg of work and poverty in the real world.

I'm furious about the state of the economy in this country and elswhere, where once again the greedy capiltalists are exploiting the poor.

Admit it, in the real world, peoples wages being very low does not encourage people to spend more. They don't have the money in the first place, and the minute we work it goes straight back to the government to buy them a new mansion/fancy car or invest in a form of state control.

This game was fun to escape the state of this country's undemocratic mess, not to encourage exploiting poor people just wanting a bit of fun. The idea of getting people to spend during a recession isn't working, not in the real world and not in a fantasy game land either!!!

just like when facebook was changed. When are you going to start listening to people, before you know it, this game, and many internet sites will be boycotted and you'll loose all your lovely pennies that you've stolen of the average person.

Comment by ray — September 20, 2009 @ 3:55 am
Following on, a statement from someone studying for a degree!

Vanessa – September 19th, 2009 at 10:25 pm

Very well said Angela. I also use to buy yocash for the game. I didn’t mind at the time because I was playing a game I really enjoyed. But in the 7 months since I began playing, many items that were coming out for sale were yocash, and had a higher price tag. I saw this a zynga being greedy and were forcing players to buy more yocash or do surveys to get it. Either way zynga is making a huge profit off a once fun game. Like I said before I don’t mind paying to play as long as I’m enjoying myself.

When thousands of players report a loss of income between the new factory and the old, it means something. When the prices of new items on average goes *up* at the same time, and more items require YoCash (which cannot be earned in game) to buy, it also means something.

This article is obviously written by someone who is very arrogant towards the people's views, and very insulting. A varied agerange play yoville, I play it for fun and escapism from the daily dreg of work and poverty in the real world.

I'm furious about the state of the economy in this country and elswhere, where once again the greedy capiltalists are exploiting the poor.

Admit it, in the real world, peoples wages being very low does not encourage people to spend more. They don't have the money in the first place, and the minute we work it goes straight back to the government to buy them a new mansion/fancy car or invest in a form of state control.

This game was fun to escape the state of this country's undemocratic mess, not to encourage exploiting poor people just wanting a bit of fun. The idea of getting people to spend during a recession isn't working, not in the real world and not in a fantasy game land either!!!

just like when facebook was changed. When are you going to start listening to people, before you know it, this game, and many internet sites will be boycotted and you'll loose all your lovely pennies that you've stolen of the average person.

Comment by Raychelle Bradley — September 20, 2009 @ 3:57 am
stolen ofF the average person – CORRECTION.

Comment by Raychelle Bradley — September 20, 2009 @ 4:01 am
what a pathetic attempt of writing, I really hope this guy isn't a real journalist or a student going into journalism.

you obviously don't even play the game at all. I play this game everyday and i see it atleast 50/50 on the sweetsfactory issue and Zynga just basically rammed it down every yovillians throats with no word, no vote, no choice for any of us. Yoville has a long history of glitches that have frustrated every player at some point or another but we all have played through it. I stand by my principles cause i'm just a stubborn jerk sometimes. Some people have just shrugged there shoulders and moved on with their yo-life but i for one will not! Pull out your history book and read about the birth of a great nation called America! Think where we all would be if someone didn't stand up and say " NO MORE!" I think you should start a new account and try to get started with this sweetsfactory yourself, just try it from scratch and see if you like it. I think about all the new players on this game and how difficult it'll be for them under this new platform. The old factory was easy to use and fair to everyone. This monstrosity is nothing but a slap in the face to every player. I think yovillians should ellect an in game representative, A mayor that will listen to it's citizens and put those concerns in the face of Zynga because they do not listen to thier customers.

I'm Rambling now.

oh snap! my damn cookies are burning! have to go!

Comment by Jody Dunn — September 20, 2009 @ 4:08 am
All we are saying is give us a choice. I decided to give the sweet factory a try. Last night baked. This morning I emptied. After I cleaned and mixed again, I had made a whole 72 coins. This was after the 85 they gave me for logging in. I am not a mathmatechian but something does not seem to add up here.

Comment by Karen Graves Holt — September 20, 2009 @ 6:05 am
I JUST AGREE WITH ALL FORMER COMPLAINTS

THIS REALLY IS SO UNFAIR

Comment by brenda — September 20, 2009 @ 7:45 am
I REFUSE TO SPEND REAL MONEY ON A CARTOON GAME

Comment by brenda — September 20, 2009 @ 7:55 am
Once again the author is missing the mark. It was not necessarily that change was made, since many changes have been made since I have played the game, it is in the way the change was implemented. Players were not informed, even though it was a major change and the testing had proven it was an unwelcome change. In this way, things were being misrepresented, which is never a good way to do business. After the change, when there were many complaints, the complaints went unanswered, ignored, and deleted. The thing I was taught from a very young age is that honesty is in telling the entire truth. We were not treated with honesty, then were ignored. How is this good business practice? To be led to believe the players actually had a say in the factory part of the game, to change it without notice, then to ignore, unanswer, and delete complaints is a very disturbing way for any company to act toward their customers.

Comment by Angela Fox Smith — September 20, 2009 @ 8:56 am
Quoting Nick in his update to the article:

"Many commenters have pointed out that this article is inaccurate. The petition I was referencing is here and is now up to 85 signatures. The majority of the comments here have been driven from Zynga forums where users are indeed frustrated with the change. I personally logged in to the app however to talk to people and saw no live demonstrations taking place which means that is now a forum driven issue. Thousands of people will always complain when change happens to an application with millions of users. To those people that were offended by my intelligence comment, it was an attempt to fuel the fire which is clearly taking place on the comments."

*You still ignore the multiple off-site petitions and the thousands who protest. You *still* do not provide any proof of your "16 million users" assertion, nor exactly *how* that number is determined (again, are we talking people with the app? People who actually log into the app regularly? Number of times per day the app gets logged into, regardless of whether it's one player doing so multiple times, or one count per player, no matter how many times they log in?) And are you getting your figures from Facebook, or Zynga? (Many of us don't trust figures from Zynga right now—especially after getting our own sets of figures for Sweets Factory work which are at great variance to the "official" projections from Zynga for income.)

*You also ignore that many have "voted" by simply deleting the game. And, is your "16 million users" from *before* this fiasco started, or after?

*As to the live demonstrations, what? Not everyone approved of those, since it hurt other players far more than it hurt Zynga. Many realized this, and have since kept their protests to the forums, to other sites, and to other communications. People are acting more mannerly now—and you think that's a sign that the issue is closed, other than "a few cranks"?

*As to it being forum-driven, you say that like it's a bad thing. Said forums are for *feedback*… we're GIVING feedback; when, that is, the threads aren't deleted or "lost to a glitch."

*YET AGAIN, people are upset because they've invested their time (and in MANY CASES, some of the little recreational funds they have in real life) into this game… and they are seeing their time and real money go into paying at the Sweets Factory, rather than buying in-game items.

*And Nick, did you bother to look at the threads where people are voting on this issue? I have one going, where nearly every reply is "NO" to the question, "Do you like the Sweets Factory"—and I just started it yesterday, and it's already up to 8 pages. Surely even *you* can figure out that, if "most players are happy with the change," the replies *ought* to reflect that.

*Zynga continues silent on the plea, "Give us a choice of factory to work in, please!" Given that the factory is the major way players can earn game-coins to purchase items, and many players see less earnings (or even a loss) with the Sweets Factory… and given Zynga's total lack of response to the plea… doesn't it seem logical to you that the reason they're ignoring us is because they hope less in-game earnings will mean more players paying real world money to purchase game coinage?

*We will happily shut up and go away, if Zynga will give us that simple choice.

*Until then, we will continue to oppose Zynga's apparent strategies for "encouraging" players to spend more real money, we will continue to spread the word to counter their apparent strategy of "don't worry about these folks quitting—new players ignorant of all this will quickly replace them," by letting those potential new players *know* what's happened… and we'll see if Zynga will listen to numbers, and falling revenues.

*Finally, your continued assumption that this issue is merely one of "people don't like change" (as has occurred many times in the past, with various online games) is in error. AGAIN, these people have rolled with MANY in-game changes from YoVille—not to mention having had great patience for the numerous game-glitches and problems with hackers—this is NOT a "simple issue of players rejecting change." Do you get angry when your bank begins charging you fees that you weren't paying before Nick? Does it make you angry when they do it with no notice or warning? Does it make you even angrier when someone says "You're being silly—banks do this all the time, get over it!"?

*This issue is as much about REAL MONEY WE'VE SPENT TO USE IN-GAME, as it is about dislike of the SF's work system, and/or the stress it's introduced into the game for many players. It is NOT an "Oh, they're stuck in a rut and don't like change—stupid players!" issue.

Comment by Chris Allen — September 20, 2009 @ 9:27 am
I am not happy about the change at Yoville, the application is no longer user friendly. I will have to see for myself if I continue to play.

Comment by Paulette Hunter — September 20, 2009 @ 10:50 am
You are a moron. It's that simple.

Comment by fact checker — September 20, 2009 @ 11:01 am
I don't think it's fair to use an internet petition as a source. Most people know those things are worthless, & that no one really pays any attention to online petitions. There's no reason to waste my time signing it. As a person who has worked in customer service for many many years, I have been told that the vast majority of unhappy customers will never complain to the company…they just go somewhere else. But you can bet that they'll also mention their bad experience to other potential customers! If the message boards are full of angry YoVille players, you can bet that there are many more out there who will just go away without saying anything!

Comment by Cherie Atkinson Clar — September 20, 2009 @ 11:53 am
The new sweets factory is terrible! You cannot make near as much money as with the widget factory. Considering the cost of items seems to keep rising how are we suppose to keep up? the average profit on the sweets is 20 coins per day, thats factoring in the cost of the product and the cleaning versus the final sale amount. A hoodie for 500 coins is going to take 2 days of baked goods to buy how fair is that? Bring back the widget factory and leave the sweets factory as a side game like the motoracing and fishing!

Comment by Jennifer Vance — September 20, 2009 @ 12:53 pm
I even read on the forums tonight how when someone complained to customer service (as in actually calling customer service for the company) the rep said that was the 50+ consecutive call complaining about the Sweets Factory. I am part of a group on FB that protests how we were forced to use the factory without proper instructions, how we pay money to use it, and how we get penalized if we don’t logged into the game on a set schedule. That and the amount of work people now have to do to get perhaps a few more coins is not worth it.

“To those people that were offended by my intelligence comment, it was an attempt to fuel the fire which is clearly taking place on the comments.”

The fire is already sky high; you just would rather have a story based on sensationalized notions instead of actually doing some research.

Comment by Jessie — September 20, 2009 @ 9:55 pm
Please whoever read this page , give in a hand to help spread the words.

Comment by Trang — September 20, 2009 @ 10:03 pm
The Sweets Factory could work if they made some adjustments. For example, allowing a cushion of time for people to get back to take out baked goods instead of their being burned – upping the return and reducing the ridiculous amount of 10 yo coins just to clean the oven. I have been getting disgusted with yoville anyway, the Sweets Factory just cemented it. I had to fight 5 days to get my yocash for joining a book club. I did a survey and when I never got my yocash I queried. I was told to “copy and paste” the last page of the survey – like I’m going to go all through the survey again. Meanwhile, I never did get the yocash and am being unundated by junk email. It seems to me that Zynga is in financial trouble and trying to get out of it by using us.

Comment by Edie Cerniglia — September 20, 2009 @ 10:45 pm
Nick O’Neill ….

That link to the petition that you were ‘referring’ to in your article is NOT the only petition out there. There are MANY, MANY MORE of them. So you cannot possibly sit there and type inconclusive evidence, until you find out all the FACTS. And by the way. This little statement that you made really irritates the crap out of me … “it appears that they are most likely much ado about nothing”… NOTHING?? I realy don’t think over THOUSANDS of complaints, not only here, but on MySpace and others as well is as you put it “Nothing” ….

Here is a link to another petition that has OVER 430 signatures as I write this, and it is steadily climbing.

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/petition/423216777

***************************************************

ZYNGA – You have taken away the ‘Peoples’ Choice, taken away their right to visit your game at their own leisure. It is these very ‘People’ who have shown you loyalty, have watched and help your Game Application grow into the success it is today. These are the ‘People’ that have given you their money & their ideas to help improve your little success story. WHY have you denied them their Choice? WHY have you taken that away from the ‘People’ that have helped you grow Zynga? …. WHY?
After all Zynga, You Did create this Game for US – ‘The People’ to play. So, do the right thing Zynga, and let us play the game you gave ‘Us’ the way we want to play it.
Just remember, it will be You ‘Zynga’, that will miss out in the long run, if you do not listen to those who have helped you ..

Comment by Raelie — September 20, 2009 @ 11:55 pm
History tends to repeat itself. If misrepresentation is accepted this time, it will happen again. (How many of us were told the widget factory was to be replaced by a sweets factory? Or, were we being led to believe we would have some choice in the matter?) Misrepresentation is no honest way to run a business.

Comment by Angela Fox Smith — September 21, 2009 @ 12:08 am
i just want to say that zynga talks all this crap about scammers? and they are the biggest scammers i have come across. they get you to buy yocash with your credit card and now all this is about the sweet factory is they don’t want you to be able to buy are have enought money to buy the things they sell for coins … so that why they did this its all a big scam,,, they are scammers making it where if you want some thing you have to use your credit card for yocash and coins…. i hope every body stops playing all there games and they go in a hole. think about it that all this has added up to them making more real money.. oh and by the way the ceo of zynga last yr made 70 billion dollars off of 2 of the games that was texas holden
and farmville….. that was just off of those 2 games. they don’t care what we want all they care about is the all mighty dollar..scamming people. stop playing there games

Comment by angela — September 21, 2009 @ 2:46 am
I HATE the sweet factory and I've lost respect for zynga and how they treat their customers!! Closing threads, not answering questions… AVOIDING THE ISSUE!! We have BIG numbers and I don't care what they say!! All I see is anger at yoville!!! GET RID OF IT OR AT LEAST COMPRIMISE!!

Comment by Dee S. — September 21, 2009 @ 4:46 am
When was the last time you went to work and had to PAY your employer to do your job? The sweet factory is just another way to force people to buy yocash or yocoins. The bottom line is profit for Zynga.

My vote is a BIG NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! to the Sweets Factory.

Comment by Nancy — September 21, 2009 @ 7:07 am
you might want to think about writing another article if you want to be taken seriously

Comment by cyn — September 21, 2009 @ 7:14 am
NO TO THE SWEET FACTORY!! ZVNGA YOU GET ENOUGH MONEY,, YOVILLE IS SUPPOSE TO BE A FREE GAME. IN REAL LIFE YOU DON'T PAY TO GO TO WORK. NO MORE YO-CASH!!!

Comment by Rowdy Rob — September 21, 2009 @ 7:47 am
Beginning to wonder if the author does work for Zynga. I see the same type of justification happening after the author was told about doing a poor job with the article as those at Yoville did after complaints were made about their changes. No need to justify/make excuses if you do a good job in the first place.

Comment by Angela Fox Smith — September 21, 2009 @ 7:47 am
First I find it the funniest thing I have ever read. This writer is clearly being paid by Zygna to shoot down the info hitting other web sites. I cant believe they are that dumb to believe that one little no body writer can change the truth

Second It just shows that they truly do not care. I have gone from 10,000 to 2000 coins trying to give their factory a chance.

And apparently this writer doesnt have a clue how to use the site. He logged in and did not see one protest. Ummm you have to join the protest on the same server. Do you know how to do that? apparently not. But I am going to help you with your lack of computer knowledge. Look in events for a protest. Then go there. buddy one person there and then you follow them when they leave the event and go after them buy clicking join same room. No protest my hind leg.

Which goes to show why there are so many problems with the game if Zygna hires employees who dont even know how to use a computer.

The players in this game are not fighting change. We are fighting disrespect, Disloyalty. The players who built their game for them are now being driven out because they think they will bring in a younger crowd. Kids dont have credit cards and cant buy cash and coins,

They released this as what they said a test to some players. ALL the remarks were negative. They said they tweaked the factory. no they didnt. They then forced it on all of the other players who have real lives and cannot go every 4 hours to bake cookies nor do they want to.

The issue with the factory is If we wanted to play cake dash we would leave yoville and go play cake dash but who over the age of 8 wants to play cake dash.

They had a factory there. If they wanted to make it so we had to build some thing why arent we building widgets with the same pay that was in place and we go down the line an at the end we get our pay right then and there. Why are we having glitches where they ovens burn the products 30 minutes to an hour before they are scheduled to come out? Why are we having glitches where they are subtracting more coins than required to do the game? and why are the completely ignoring all the glitches and things that need to be fixed in the game to introduce something the majority of the players hate? Why did they release the tiger and country wall paper neither of which work and they refuse to fix it or is it they do not have qualified employees who can fix them?

The only thing missing in this game now is Chef Ramsey standing in the factory screaming at us. But with the rudeness of some of the ninjas I guess we are getting that too.

The problem with is factory is it is time consuming, takes away from play time, has to many glitches, looses coins, and just pure down and out boring. So if it aint broke why fix it with something that is ruining the game?

So if you really want to see how this is not only impacting the game but Facebook in general I suggest you actually learn how to play the game. Go play that factory for one week and see how time consuming your life becomes with a virtual world. Only use the coins you earn to try to furnish your apartment with, and still have time to socialize in the game with friends, attend events and dont forget to get back to your ovens before they burn.

BUT do it as an hidden player. Do not let zygna know you are in there under another account. Play it as a true player plays it not as one they give you access with. Then you will see for yourself what the real players are going through.

Comment by Kathie — September 21, 2009 @ 8:26 am
i really dislike the sweets factory! i just dont understand why we are charged to work their we already are charged for everything else and for those of us who dont have a credit card we really have to spend our mone right and try to earn it and with this new factory we are spending more than we're making plz do something to change this i like this game and so do friends and family but we will all stop playn if we feel its not fair!!

Comment by christina — September 21, 2009 @ 11:01 am
I hope zynga will ends up with no customers at all. They deserve it because of what they have done. They have betrayed all the loyal customers, who have spent time and money to help make the game better .

Comment by Lars — September 21, 2009 @ 11:43 am
this article is innacurate…..there are thousands of people who dislike the factory…..go check out the yoville website and you will see for yourself

also there are many people who do not use the forums to express their anger…..i have however people (that were in my crew) who have removed the application as well as all other zynga applications…not just because of the sweets factory which is simply the last drop but because the of generally bad customer service…..

perhaps youll understand when you have issues with the company yourself

Comment by cristina — September 21, 2009 @ 12:23 pm
This article is clearly written to upset and downplay the real problems.

The sweets factory doesn't satisfy the needs of all or even most players.

I, for one, quit the game over this issue and the fact that when I signed up for yocash there were problems that only an automated response would handle. I needed questions answered and never got my $156 in yocash to spend. All I got was all kinds of spam in my email box for my efforts, a headache and time spent badly on a game where the game creators appear to enjoy playing emotional mind games with the players.It was supposed to be fun. It started out as very fun with the widget factory and when I anticipated my first yocash. Then, the sweets factory came along, taking my money and making me schedule my next visit to the factory too closely for my real life to allow. The yocash never came in. Quite a few automated responses to my unanswered questions later I decided to just leave the game. When yoville became more stressful then real life and I was being played with by the makers of the game I decided it was time to just leave.

I'm writing this to stand up with the rest of the yoville gamers.

Comment by sunshine — September 21, 2009 @ 1:26 pm
By the by. When you go to sign the petition they want your street address. Perhaps that is the real reason hardly anyone is on the petition.

Comment by sunshine — September 21, 2009 @ 1:45 pm
It's their application… how people can do protest for this kind of stuff is amazing. Of course if you loose real money in the changes, there is something, but that's not the case I think.

Comment by Sam Marketer Montrea — September 21, 2009 @ 5:08 pm
The unintelligent one is obviously you who decided to poorly write this story with incorrect and not enough information (seriously my children 5th grade and 7th grade know how to write better then this garbage). The sweets factory was poorly implemented, despite the beta testers reviews zynga put the stupid factory "live".

A popular saying "Why Fix Whats Not Broken ?"

Comment by Ronnie — September 21, 2009 @ 5:24 pm
"To those people that were offended by my intelligence comment"
Yeah, why don't you learn some grammar and go back to school! It's obvious you don't know how do to any REAL reporting.
Try looking at the cause here: http://apps.facebook.com/causes/348210?m=40c37195
You know, the one with nearly 35,000 members??

Just tell us this, are you really that stupid?? Or did Zynga pay you to write this?

CNN got to the story before you did: http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-330338
And there's is FAR MORE unbiased than yours.

Why don't you do the world a favor and throw away your computer and never get on the internet again. Maybe then you can learn to do some real reporting.

Comment by Jemimah — September 21, 2009 @ 6:40 pm
Follow up with Angela, now it's 34695 ppl on http://apps.facebook.com/causes/348210/ . Check it mr Nick O Neil !

Comment by Elmar — September 21, 2009 @ 7:51 pm
I signed the petition and I know of hundreds of others that did. So you are saying I am one of the only 67??? Come on!!! Go on Yoville Lounge and ask how many signed 2000+ members. Go read there comments!! You can not read them on forums or yoville blog cause they are being deleted!! This is completely bias!!! Zynga implemented this time management game with in yoville and completely ruined a very fun virtual world. It is just another farmville now!! Zyngas silence in this speaks multitudes and are taking the lets wait and see attitude. I am gone!!

Comment by Cindy Beveridge Wrig — September 21, 2009 @ 8:37 pm
Typo Yoville Lounge 6000+ members

Comment by Cindy Beveridge Wrig — September 21, 2009 @ 8:54 pm
Hold on to your hats Zynga and it is growing http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=12962489288...

Comment by Cindy Beveridge Wrig — September 21, 2009 @ 9:08 pm
Crappy Slanted Article but great comments!

There really has to be a small number of people who actually like the Sweets Factory. I am not one of them.

I used to enjoy the game, but the time schedule now is a major turn-off. It seems like "work" is the priority; to get there on time and not lose money instead of visiting friends, exchanging gift and going to events. The change has sure taken the fun out of it.

And Zynga refuses to listen to us or acknowledge that there is a problem. HELLO??? IS ANYONE HOME???? I have seen numerous protests and participated in a few rather large gatherings in front of the Sweets Factory. I have seen hundreds of post on their own forum, against the SW, only to have the entire thread removed so as to make it appear that people like the change.

A week before this change occurred, I did purchase YoCoins for a house, hoping that I could earn more coins to decorate. I regret the purchase now and will never again purchase anything with real money at YoVille. I thought it was an investment in a game I enjoyed. Instead it was the beginning of Yoville's demise and I won't throw good (real) money after bad.

I currently await a response from Zynga, but I'm not holding my breath. I would like to see the game go back to being fun, but I am prepared to leave it if it doesn't.

Comment by Barbara Perry — September 22, 2009 @ 5:37 am
Follow up with Elmar , now 35966 at http://apps.facebook.com/causes/348210/

Comment by Mark — September 22, 2009 @ 7:01 pm
well to be honest i dont like to make zynga control my real life timeing cuz of waiting the sweets to get coocked!

in other hand i have the right to work or not .. so i am stasfied with maxing my self and my friends also i can visit them in thier houses gain my coins save them .. and no need to work to spend what i gain on those sweets..

Comment by middle east yovillia — September 22, 2009 @ 11:12 pm
what they dont say is that you have to go in every 4 hours 24 hours a day to generate more, if you go in like I do then you actually loose money on the widget factory . This is a way for Zynga to geterate cash purchases rather then virtual money

Comment by Kim — September 23, 2009 @ 12:14 am
oops ! 36792 already ??? http://apps.facebook.com/causes/348210/

Comment by Emily — September 23, 2009 @ 12:40 am
the following was posted on the forums and immediately had the thread closed so no one could make a comment:

they cheated and lied…they got caught..stealing Mafia wars…so now they are being sued,,,so thats why they started they SF…because now you get less money so they want you to buy yocash from them….so they can pay the lawsuit..! shame on them…..!! so thats why were are in the dupe…because they were stealing…and getting yocash for them..! so now they want us people pay their lawsuit fees…! pathetic.

Comment by Angela Fox Smith — September 23, 2009 @ 10:58 am
Thanks to you, more people will be able to sign the petition that you believe is the most accurately one! Thanks Nick!

Comment by Lizzette DeJesus — September 23, 2009 @ 11:46 am
I just finished reading (which makes me "intelligent"), the comment of Chris Allen on Sept 19th. I agree totally with his/her words. I have a life outside my computer, and dont have time to watch a clock to make sure my goods dont burn. At least with the Widget factory you knew that after 6 hours you could go back to "make your money", and you didnt lose your earnings if you were late. At least give us a choice. I willl reap in the rewards of the FREE money each day, but I refuse to spend my money to make money. I dont spend money in my REAL WORLD JOB to make money. As for those that havent spoken up they probably wont.. not everyone likes to voice their opinion in these votes, etc. But you can count me in on the 200 plus people that have voiced their protest against the sweets factory.

Comment by GraceMcNeill — September 23, 2009 @ 3:59 pm
I am currently losing sleep waiting on my stupid pies to finish baking, so I don't lose all my money AGAIN!

This is a much unwelcomed change and will hinder my urge to play this "game"

Thanks.

Comment by erin — September 23, 2009 @ 10:36 pm
Geez, why'd you all spend your REAL $? I started playing Yoville right b4 it switched to the Sweets Factory. I didn't understand what happened and assumed I made it to a new level. As a new player though I found I make much more play $ in the sweets factory than i did in the widget factory. So, I like it the "new" way.

Comment by Teresa — September 24, 2009 @ 11:59 am
I am not happy with Yoville and the Sweets factory. It was fine when the Widget factory was still in use because I have problems getting on Yoville and can only get to the site once in a while. I have reinstalled Flashplayer 3 times and I still have problems. The thing is I do get on sometimes I just can't plan when it will work. So I don't like the sweets factory because when I need to go on to take something out of the oven I can't get on and then the food burns and all the money I spent is wasted.

Comment by Julie — September 24, 2009 @ 4:58 pm
i dont like it at all u got to pay to clean and bake it is suppose to be work to make money and it needs a time count down till the food is ready i dont live on fb but checking it all the time sucks to see if its ready i like the widget factory much much better… if your going to do that make stuff to buy much much cheaper

Comment by lisa — September 24, 2009 @ 5:23 pm
I agree most everything said here.Im pro choice on this issue.The fact that he hasent seen any live protests tells one that he has not even logged in on the game.I have been wearing my barrel and protesting everyday.My posts have been deleted in the zynga forums and even on my own msg board at my house.So I protest in game because they cant shut me up there.i have recieved a couple of notices to stop my activities.But i told them if they didnt like it to delete my acct.I log off and on several times to hit the other servers and get the word out to protest.Does he know that there is about 14 diff. servers for this game?Lets get more peeps to log on and protest in game.Maybe he will see the live protests then.Is he on the zynga payroll?

Comment by tailfuzz — September 25, 2009 @ 2:49 pm
Hate it! I vote no to the SF. Will not bake cookies. Just hanging in to see if anything changes.

Comment by MARY — September 25, 2009 @ 3:34 pm
give us a choice…listen to us and will you tell us were to vote so our vote can add so u can have a more accurate number

Comment by pj — September 26, 2009 @ 12:22 am
This is a load of baloney. It has nothing to do with intelligence and very little to do with change in general, but more to do with the type of change and how dramatically it affects multitudes of players. Your intelligence comment is insulting and mean spirited. Your comment about lack of interest in change may be true for some, but not all protesters have this same issue.

First of all, the majority of people who joined the game joined based social interaction and designing and creating your own space, not to bake things.

Secondly, a lot of people liked it because it was unique. It was different from all the other games out there and you could meet people from around the world while having fun in a game format without having to worry about clocking in or “oh, no! I need to do such and such or else…” (fill in the blank as applies to all the games with log-in requirements.)

Third, many people use YoVille as an “escape” from real-life, why on earth would they want a game to mimic real life, not that an employer charging for supplies and cleaning is realistic. Few people would stay employed in a job where an employer required them to pay a fee – they would quit and look for something more financially sound. So, let’s not equate it to real life, because it isn’t, it’s an escape, a fun way to meet other people, to put some creative energy to use, and a lot of other things, but no, it’s not real life, so don’t try to make it so!

People have real lives outside of virtual world and as such often cannot abide by a time clock for a game. This is especially true of adults with jobs, kids, and many other responsibilities that just cannot PREDICT when they can next come back to the game. Sometimes it may be 4 hours, sometimes a day later, but the point is they do NOT know for sure when, so they cannot PREDICT which baked good works for them at any given time. In REAL life there are family emergencies, employers that expect you to stay later without notice if an issue arises, flat tires (along with a multitude of other car problems that do happen), sudden illnesses, ISP dropouts, power outages, computer glitches, server errors, and the list can go on. Any of these REAL LIFE issues are priority over a game, not necessarily by choice, but because that’s just the way it happens. One can’t say, “oh today I plan to get in a car accident, let me do the 3 day goods because that’s when I should be done towing my car and getting out of the hospital.” At the same time one may say hey, I think this business trip is going to take 2 days, so put in a 2-day baked good. Then, another co-worker and you solve it together and you are able to accomplish the business in a day. Now you have to wait and wait and wait for that 2-day good to finish.

With the widget factory you did not have to worry about loss of coins; loss because if you don’t arrive on time to the Sweet Factory, you will lose all you invested. Sure there is POTENTIAL to make more at the Sweet Factory on SOME, not all options, but there is potential to lose money too, something that widget did not do – take money from you. Additionally, they did not take into consideration people actually – sleep. How can anyone clocking the number of times they suggest to get additional coins? If you clocked into the widget on one day 3 times and then missed a day and then came back and clocked in 2 times it was just because that was how your schedule worked and when you could get there. It has nothing to do with making more money versus less money and more that a game presumes I should manage my schedule around it. I cannot predict the future….Can you?

Comment by Facebook User — September 26, 2009 @ 6:50 am
Funny how every comment I see here confirms that this was an unpopular change. I understand Zynga’s position on this and I understand the position of protesters but I will never understand the random people who want to belittle the angry players for being upset about this. Why do you care?

Comment by Lindsay — September 28, 2009 @ 4:07 am
I love how the author explains the “intelligent” comment he made by saying that he was only trying to “fuel the fire”. LMAO!!! Riiiight. All of us “unintelligent” people really believe that crap.

The Sweets Factory is a waste of time and the most annoying thing on Facebook.

Comment by Nicole — September 30, 2009 @ 8:57 pm
LOL Cut him some slack. He's not very old and I have seen a photo of him, so please cut him some slack. He definitely looks as if he needs it. hahahahahahaha! Miniplanet rocks!

Comment by Angela Fox Smith — October 3, 2009 @ 1:41 pm
My crew members rooms are all showing up with the same blue tile floor and brown walls I enjoy playing but i am ready to call it quits because I can't even se my crews decorated homes. My daughter is a crew member and I can't even see her kitchen bathroom bedroom. Is any one else having this problem?

Comment by Janet — October 3, 2009 @ 4:53 pm
Did anyone mention Zynga’s lack of concern for accumilating glitches and loss of REAL money due to unprotected scam and hacks? REAL money Items NOT working? REAL money disappearing from accounts and Zynga’s lack of compassion to remedy these glitches? The sweets factory may be one of MANY reasons I quit! Zynga just plain does not give a rats rir about it’s players concerns and issues.

Comment by nese wolfchild — October 5, 2009 @ 1:26 pm
Hey Nick, I guess you do not play the game and not so much up on that Petition. I did not sign because it wanted to much personal info and I would not be leaving a note here except that I was able to FBConnect.

It's all about time. The widget factory took all of about 5 seconds to collect a paycheck and then on to socializing and fun.

The bakery takes more than a minute and with Zynga having flash that boggs down the computer and freezes computers up, that's too long. Zynga does not want to address any of their real issues. They ignore them and continue to "improve" their game.

Well, you can only add so many new features without fixing the problems before the customers get fed up.

The bakery is the virtual straw that broke too many backs in cluding mine.

Too bad Zynga's race to the top of the pile leaves so many bitter.

Comment by Facebook User — October 9, 2009 @ 6:39 am
Look I understand that this change is frustrating but what I don't understand is why every one seems to be so mad at Zynga. If you play some of their other games including Roller Coaster Kingdom, Cafe World, and FarmVille they all run on the same basic concept, you have to play so often or your going to lose money. Like in FarmVille before you plant crops you have to know that you can get back on around the time that their ready to harvest or else they spoil. So before you set something to bake you should know that you can get back on around the time it's done to take it out of the oven or else it burns. I mean it's not like cookies are the only thing you can bake. I think that someone needs to make a calculator for YoVille like they have for CafeWorld, FarmVille and FarmTown (not developed by Zynga).

Though it also sounds like there are other problems that people are having with YoVille and I can't comment on those, some of them seem to have to do with real money, which I would never spend. I just wanted to say that I am one person who is not against the Sweets Factory, and no I don't work for Zynga, it just seem more like their other games.

Comment by Clea Blackwolf — October 30, 2009 @ 7:22 am
To respond to Clea, The reason we are all so upset with Zynga is because of how they changed the game Yoville. If I wanted a game that worked on a schedule I would play farmville, or Roller Coaster Kingdom or some other game. To be honest, I just don't have that kind of time to sit around and wait for virtual cookies to be done. With the widget factory, we were not penalized for "skipping" a day, but with the sweet's factory we are. On top of that, they have increased the prices of most items in the game. (Do you remember Halloween when some costumes were running between 5000-25,000 coins!) That's a lot of cookies! Zynga has designed the game so you almost have to PAY to play.

On top of that, people are running scams, and this is a big problem in Yoville. A few weeks ago, somebody scammed me for a costume that I paid REAL money for, and gave me zero coins for it. I reported it to Zynga who sent me the "typical letter" they send out. It was insulting after I spent real money on this game to have zero respect for the people who I gave the money to.

I have never heard of Mini-planet, but I am going to check it out.

Comment by Mr. E — November 6, 2009 @ 7:12 am
Time to go play Onverse.
http://www.onverse.com/invite.aspx?r=35947

It’s alot more fun than Yoville which I played from the beginning when it first came out. On Onverse you get an apt on there too. Plus it is like a video game and chat room all in one. They are adding new GOOD stuff to do and explore constantly. Your Avatar gets to actually run around and go places fast.

The Onverse is an online virtual universe full of people who like to hang out with their friends and play games. Come on in, your avatar is waiting…

Is it for me?

Other friend networks out there give you a 2D profile that you can venture out from. We give you a home. Fill out your web profile, then head into the game to get your free apartment. Meet up with your friends for a dance party or head out and explore for points. Use your points to buy new clothes for your avatar or furniture for your pad. We’re an ever-expanding online universe.

http://www.onverse.com/invite.aspx?r=35947

Comment by Sue Zie Que Pie — November 11, 2009 @ 8:39 pm
I completely disagree sir. I made my cookies. Got 8 hours of sleep did my laundry, logged on and BURNT. also I made the cookies at around 9:00 the night before. That is insanely impractical and I'm deleting my Yoville right now. Third time it's happened and I'm on this thing everyday so this should not be happening.

Comment by Kayla — November 20, 2009 @ 2:55 pm
"DO NOT DELETE MY COMMENT HERE…THIS IS MY OPINION AND YOU SHOULD NOT DELETE IT…THANK YOU"

ONVERSE THE NEW VIRTUAL CHATROOM

Go here to join a better Chat/Game:
http://www.onverse.com/invite.aspx?r=35947
(just copy and paste to your browser)

The Onverse is an online virtual universe full of people who like to hang out with their friends and play games. Come on in, your avatar is waiting… Is it for me? Other friend networks out there give you a 2D profile that you can venture out from. We give you a home. Fill out your web profile, then head into the game to get your free apartment. Meet up with your friends for a dance party or head out and explore for points. Use your points to buy new clothes for your avatar or furniture for your pad. We're an ever-expanding online universe. I'm still not sure… Check the links to the right. There is a ton of information and screenshots to view. Onverse yourself… get inside! http://www.onverse.com/invite.aspx?r=35947

Comment by Sue Zie Que Pie — November 26, 2009 @ 6:19 am
Well sir I don't know if you think I am smart enough to do math but I decided once and for all to determine exactly how much money I earn at sweets vs. widget. I am hoping that my college degree as an occupational therapist has helped me understand math concepts such as adding and subtracting. So at the beginning of my workday on Yo I had 2395 coins. I baked cookies 4 times taking them out every 4 hours. At the end of my work day I had 2987 coins. So by my estimation in my possibly ignorant mind I figured the math problem should look like this. 2987-2395=592. So for all that work i earned 592 coins. I earned 2x that much at the widget factory in one day and only had to clock in 2 times not 4. I dunno in my ignorance but it does seem that I was earning more before. I guess all us idiots should have done better math so we would know that OH NO! Zynga surely isn't screwing us. I guess we are just adding wrong huh? And I signed the petition that had more people on it. I too play these games to escape the real world. If I wanted to be in the real world why I reckon I would not go to the computer as I could just be right there in the real world at my very own house. I also have removed ALL Zynga games and refuse to play them. Especially after I was scammed trying to earn yocash. And after my attorney said we could sue them over that scammy ad I was quite excited to learn I could get REAL cash not yocash. So I guess my ignorance over being scammed must outweigh my intelligence of knowing I was scammed enough to know to hire an attorney. But I guess that is what we ignorant folk do.

Comment by Bobbie — November 30, 2009 @ 9:46 pm
LOL For those who’ve watched, yoville app stats have gone down since all the hoopla re. the factory changes and the way the changes were implemented. Interesting there has been no follow up article about any of this. Also interesting that there was finally a poll on the yoville forums by the powers that be in regard to the factories. Quoting from the blog post by Platinum Ninja on the forum : “Our poll results also showed that the Widget Factory won by a landslide so we wanted to listen to our players and give you all the chance to work on Widgets again!”

Too little too late for many of us. Merry Christmas to all, even to those who do biased reporting.

Comment by Angela Fox Smith — December 24, 2009 @ 5:46 am
I think by bringing the Widget Factory back for the holidays has just poured sale in to the wounds of the many who did not want that SWEET SHOP in the first place. The ones who came on after it was gone have no clue what it was like. Many of my friends left the game. The POINT was to meet friends, and now its full of scammers and FAKE money, people selling $100,000.00 coins on paypal for $29.00. They have a pair of PINK retro sunglasses in there selling for 300K, and all they have to do is put them on the market again so people don’t sell all they own to get those sunglasses!

I was right in the middle of a trade when they shut down to do this change and I lost 150K in coins and did not get my purchased piece. I can’t write to them because I forgot my password and when I use my password it says it belongs to is already registered. DUH yes to FARMTOWN!
I have no clue how to write to them. my sister & brother wrote to them about loosing coins 2 weeks ago and NO REPLY!

I’d rather keep WIDGET.

BOTH would be the best solution. Then they can see who uses what. The poll that they did showed Widget won out.

We shall see!

Comment by Michele McBride — January 4, 2010 @ 6:44 pm
Even if you have over 40 crew you make NOTHING at the widget factory. Everything nice is SO expensice, youd have to use real money to have any fun, the game could be so fun, if you could just play it free. This whole money making shit ruins it. Everything has to always be about money why cant i have a little virtual playhouse why does everything have to take years to save up for and some things you cant get unless you buy?? its just not fair i only got 300 dollars each visit to the factory and thats nothing if a pair of shoes you cant try on first cost 400 esp if the shoes end up looking bad, and everything is thousands of dollars even a wime glass is 350 coins seriously. Im so upset.

Comment by jenny — January 7, 2010 @ 4:10 am
Play Onverse It's more fun than Zygna games
http://www.onverse.com/invite.aspx?r=35947

It’s alot more fun than Yoville which I played from the beginning when it first came out. On Onverse you get an apt on there too. Plus it is like a video game and chat room all in one. They are adding new GOOD stuff to do and explore constantly. Your Avatar gets to actually run around and go places fast.

The Onverse is an online virtual universe full of people who like to hang out with their friends and play games. Come on in, your avatar is waiting…

Is it for me?

Other friend networks out there give you a 2D profile that you can venture out from. We give you a home. Fill out your web profile, then head into the game to get your free apartment. Meet up with your friends for a dance party or head out and explore for points. Use your points to buy new clothes for your avatar or furniture for your pad. We’re an ever-expanding online universe.

http://www.onverse.com/invite.aspx?r=35947

Comment by Sue Zie Que Pie — January 10, 2010 @ 7:29 pm
Well wooohoooo the Sweet factory has been scrapped. So much for the "only a few voices" remark. Nick, stick to commenting on issues you actually have true experience with. Signing into a game once or twice hardly entitles you to think you know anything about the game or it's players. And ^5 to Chris Allen. Your right on!

Comment by Terri — January 11, 2010 @ 7:20 am
i think yoville are good and i think that you should earn you coins and pay for yo cash as other games make you pay well done yoville

Comment by elizabethhigris — January 11, 2010 @ 9:49 am
I just started playing YoVille. I would like to protest the systems neighbors that pop up. One had a sign reading "I want your ya-ya." I looked down and the name of the neighbor was "killer". WHAT KIND OF GAME IS THIS???

Comment by Diana — January 25, 2010 @ 10:21 am
i am ashamed of this sight what i wittnessed this morning febuary 19 2010 how could you take advantage of people the way you do i wouldnt have believed it until i seen it over and over my daughter donna guerrero has been telling me there cheating i payed no mind to it until this morning at work we sat and watch donna play poker she had won the 1st and 2nd round proceeding to the 3rd round her and 1 gentleman remaining you removed her from the room she recieve nothing now with 5 people watching internet working no flaus on our part you tell me what went wrong fix it or remove your poker tournament.

Comment by pamela — February 19, 2010 @ 7:49 am
how do you change your name on mini planet I mean it is so hard to think how mini planet isn't a easy name changer lol

Comment by amie-beth — March 11, 2010 @ 6:55 am
what kind of game is yoville

Comment by amie-elizabeth — March 11, 2010 @ 6:56 am
i came into my yoville apartment and saw i had very little coins . i was saving for a house . i did not know the coins could be taken . now i have to start saving all over again . it is just a game i know but i know i had about $3000.000 coins . now nothing . sis go to peoples house – visit and reported to the factory so i got some coins but not as much as i had . can i get the coins i had back ? janice wright – wrightracing55@yahoo.com

Comment by janice wright — April 27, 2010 @ 8:44 pm
There must be somethng dreadfully wrong in YoVille now so many of the long time players are leaving . the prices are soaring sky high in events and sales greed has completely taken over the city. Is there nothing that can be done about this? I must say that your last little one day adventure of the wonderful Victorian display did not help it is the best items you have come up with since the mafia and every one wanted it however it was one day and mostly all yo cash. The house a t coins was wonderful but not enough time for any one to save to obtain it. and the furniture is now selling for 200k or more like 700k for items at sakes. only the greedy can survive. what can you do to make this better. bring this item back for one. make the bank have a yo cash dealer that people can trust so they do not get ripped off all the time. for another. scammers are always saying they are yo cash dealers and taking peoples hard earned coins. now it is up to you but every one is tired of being riped of and the rich keep getting richer and the poor to medium class end up having to quit

Comment by Laura — May 16, 2010 @ 7:55 am
you know, i kinda liked the sweets factory, if you had good timing, you could make lost of money, FAST!

if you dont like the sweets thats fine with me

it wouldve been a good idea to give users the choice of factory, but i can see how that wouldve been hard

as for the people that spend real money on things and end up getting 'ripped off', saying its your fault would be mean, and inacurite, but its pretty true, you can earn money on the game without spending real cash

i think it would be a good idea to use the bank, right now its pointless, i think it would be cool if you were able to deposit/withdraw money from it

thanks for letting me share my oppinion!

Comment by stevie =D — July 21, 2010 @ 6:01 pm
i remember starting this game ever since it was launched, and i hav to say, yoville is rather corrupted now. YoBabies, Yo whores, scammers… Wer is the yoville i used to know? Yoville used to be such a user frendly place… not just the players now who are messed up… Zynga is too . God, the sweets factory was retarded. i wish zynga wasnt so fkd in the head. evry single cool thing u can buy is yocash, and its not possible to earn yocash. lame.

Comment by ratik — August 14, 2010 @ 2:45 pm
and i hate those 'babies' that run around asking for mommas. if u log onto yovil and chek the events in the 'jobs' section, u wil see a big list of 'mwe want mwommy's. yobabies then ask ther 'mwommys' to buy them stuf [especialy yocash items, how pathetic]. thats also how zynga gets mony. its no wonder they made smal mouths for (female) avatars, bows and pjs on sale [not the bow and small mouth on sale]. peopl can then dres up like babies and then act like them. and these babies are so annoying….

Comment by ratik — August 14, 2010 @ 3:18 pm

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